Director of Operations

Company Description

Inspired Flight’s Purpose Statement says it all - Conserving resources, creating jobs, and saving lives by innovating the American drone manufacturing. Founded in San Luis Obispo, California our entirely U.S. based team designs, builds and supports highly capable and flexible drone platforms for both commercial and government customers.

Our purpose driven team exemplifies our Core Values. We are:

Collaborative:
We harness the collective intelligence and energy of our team to surpass individual potentials and achieve shared goals.

Resilient:
We approach obstacles with flexibility and creativity, supporting one another to stay focused, resourceful, and determined.

Diverse:
We place a high value in people of all heritages, genders, sexual orientations, and points of view to spark innovation and solutions, enriching our work environment and outputs.

Continuously Improving:
We are committed to ongoing learning and innovation by always seeking ways to enhance our processes, products, and personal expertise.

Underlying all of this is our deeply rooted belief that the cutting‑edge aerial tools we create are advancing an industry that is good for people, good for our planet and good for the United States of America.

This is an in‑office position for hire at Inspired Flight’s HQ in San Luis Obispo, CA.

The Director of Operations is responsible for day‑to‑day execution across manufacturing, order fulfillment, shipping, and supply chain alignment with production needs. This role ensures aircraft systems and components are built efficiently, production stays on schedule, and customer orders ship on time and in full. You’ll manage frontline leaders and specialists, run production cadence, remove blockers quickly, and drive continuous improvement in safety, quality, delivery, and cost.

This is a hands‑on, highly cross‑functional role partnering closely with Engineering, Customer Success, and Finance to meet build schedules and delivery commitments.

This role will report directly to the VP of Operations within the Operations department. This is a prime opportunity for a highly motivated and creative professional who thrives in a high‑growth environment and is looking for career development and advancement.

• Lead day‑to‑day production operations for all Inspired Flight platforms, subassemblies, payload integrations, and accessories
• Translate build plans into clear shop‑floor schedules, priorities, and standard work.
• Monitor throughput, labor utilization, task time, and constraints; surface risks early and drive mitigation plans.
• Lead daily operational routines, including tiered stand‑ups, Gemba walks, and corrective action reviews focused on safety, quality, and productivity.
• Partner with the Production Supervisor to ensure all Manufacturing and Assembly Leads/Technicians are properly trained, certified, and held accountable to best‑practice standards.
• Drive tight coordination with Engineering and Quality on ECO integration, NPI rollout readiness, DFM feedback loops, and root‑cause corrective actions for defects.

• Own the full order‑to‑ship workflow: kitting and staging, final configuration, system‑level testing, QA handoff, packaging, and outbound logistics.
• Own communication channels for backlog tracking & planned shipments to key stakeholders
• Ensure all compliance documentation is complete before shipment (export controls, QA records, customer contract deliverables, serialized records, etc.).
• Coordinate cross‑functionally with Customer Success to ensure readiness for fleet deployments, dealer shipments, and service/support loops.

• Lead Inspired Flight’s production planning cadence to align inventory, labor, and build priorities to delivery targets and strategic bookings.
• Maintain ERP/MRP accuracy in Net Suite, including BOMs, routings, work orders, inventory locations, shrinkage, and cycle count discipline.
• Champion Lean principles and continuous improvement initiatives: 5S, standard work, waste reduction, workstation optimization, and line…