VP of Operations

Job Title: VP Operations

Industry: Defense Manufacturing/UAS

On-site Location: Tampa, FL

Relocation Provided: Yes

Salary Range: $145,000 - $180,000

Must be US Citizen (ITAR)

Job Overview:

Our client is seeking a hands-on, high-impact VP Operations to build and scale its U.S. operational infrastructure in Tampa, FL. Reporting directly to the CEO, this executive will own the end-to-end U.S. operations lifecycle—from demand and production planning through procurement, receiving, assembly, quality, and customer shipment—while serving as the operational bridge to global headquarters. The immediate priority is to establish a resilient U.S.-based defense supply chain capable of supporting rapid growth, domestic-content expectations, short UAS production cycles, and stringent regulatory requirements.

Minimum Requirements:

• 10 years of progressive experience in manufacturing operations and supply chain management, including at least 5 years in a leadership role in aerospace/defense manufacturing
• Significant operations leadership experience within the U.S. defense industry;
• Must understand the regulatory and contracting environment, including FAR/DFARS and defense supply-chain compliance.
• Proven track record leading and optimizing complex manufacturing, production, procurement, logistics, quality, and supplier operations.
• Strong working knowledge of ITAR/EAR and export-control requirements relevant to defense hardware and UAS operations.
• Demonstrated ability to build, localize, and scale a U.S. supplier base under tight availability, cost, capacity, and compliance constraints.
• Hands-on leadership style with the ability to work directly on the production floor, with suppliers, and with business development/customer teams.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder-management skills across different cultures, time zones, and global functions.
• Ability to work on-site in Tampa, Florida and to operate effectively in a fast-growth, startup-style environment.
• Must be US Citizen (ITAR)

Preferred Requirements:

• Direct experience in UAS/UAV, drone, autonomous systems, or related unmanned defense platforms.
• Experience with small UAS supply chains, rapid production cycles, electro-mechanical hardware, batteries, motors, sensors, payloads, or related components.
• Deep knowledge of U.S. government contracting standards, domestic-content requirements, and Buy America / supply-chain Americanization initiatives.
• Experience implementing or optimizing ERP systems and advanced supply-chain planning tools.
• Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, and scalable production-system expertise.
• Experience working for a smaller, yet international organization.

Responsibilities:

• Lead all U.S. operational functions, including procurement, supply chain, logistics, production, quality assurance, quality control, receiving, and shipping.
• Create and execute the U.S. supply-chain strategy, identifying and qualifying domestic suppliers while balancing capacity, cost, lead time, quality, and defense compliance.
• Translate business-development and customer demand into resource, procurement, production, and delivery plans that support revenue and program milestones.
• Build scalable operational processes for a growing U.S. manufacturing site, with clear accountability, metrics, controls, and operating rhythms.
• Drive Lean Manufacturing and continuous-improvement initiatives to increase throughput, quality, predictability, and cost efficiency.
• Develop strategic supplier relationships and contingency plans to reduce supply-chain concentration and component-risk exposure.
• Own operational performance against production targets, customer commitments, cost objectives, and broader P&L expectations.
• Ensure compliance with applicable U.S. and international regulations, including ITAR/EAR and defense-related procurement requirements.
• Serve as the U.S. operational liaison to global headquarters with teams such as Finance, HR, IT, and other global functions, maintaining alignment with global policies and culture.
• Partner closely with business development, engineering, customers, and external partners to support new programs, changing requirements, and rapid scale-up.
• Recruit, develop, and lead the operations organization while remaining personally engaged in day-to-day execution and issue resolution.