Engineering Operations Director

Iridium is an award-winning and innovative satellite communications company with bragging rights to the only network that offers voice and data connectivity anywhere in the world.   For over 20 years, Iridium’s unique network and services have supported critical communications needs for individuals, businesses, and the evolving Internet of Things.

At Iridium, we understand the importance of staying connected and the limitations of traditional communications networks. People across the globe, including first responders, humanitarians, global militaries, scientific researchers, and lone workers, as well as ships, aircraft and remote operations all rely on Iridium to stay connected. We take our responsibility for providing these essential communications very seriously and pride ourselves on offering a reliable lifeline when needed.  Likewise, Iridium is committed to providing an exciting and innovative workplace, where employees are challenged to think outside the box and collaborate on new, bold ideas and solutions.  Our talented teams are passionate about their work and the impact our company makes around the world.  Iridium fosters an empowering and inclusive culture that allows employees to genuinely be their best selves.   We are looking for others who want to join this truly unique company that celebrates our employees and provides the opportunity to truly make a difference in the world.

What We’re Looking For:

If you are an experienced operational leader who excels at bringing clarity, structure, and strategic discipline to complex engineering organizations, then you will be excited about the Engineering Operations Director position with Iridium! In this role, you will lead the operational backbone for a diverse hardware, software, and systems development portfolio, ensuring that teams can focus on delivering high‑quality, reliable, and scalable solutions that advance Iridium’s evolution and long‑term roadmap. Your main focus will be to guide operational planning and execution across multiple engineering teams, partnering closely with senior leaders, technical experts, cross‑functional stakeholders, and financial partners, as well as defining operaional standards, knowledge-management practices, and data governance that strengthen engineering execution. If you take pride in simplifying complexity, aligning stakeholders, and enabling teams to deliver at their best, this is a great opportunity for you.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead operational planning and alignment across a myriad of software, hardware, and related technical teams
• Oversee staff planning and resource visibility to ensure clear understanding of workload, capacity, and availability
• Develop and maintain cost and schedule estimation frameworks to support both early‑phase planning and initiative approval
• Coach engineering staff in building clear task lists, structured work breakdowns, and reliable scoping materials
• Establish and maintain organizational priority frameworks that communicate near‑term focus and long‑term direction
• Lead quarterly and monthly operational reviews and create executive‑ready communication that highlights progress, risks, and trade‑space decisions
• Oversee budgeting and forecasting processes for multi‑initiative engineering portfolios; translate engineering activity into financial insight
• Build strong partnerships with internal finance, accounting, and operational support teams to align planning and reporting
• Develop and enforce data‑management standards, including repository structure, access control, archival workflows, and knowledge‑management practices
• Promote scalable, secure, and sustainable operational processes that support engineering effectiveness and product evolution
• Translate business needs into operational frameworks, decision models, and communication packages
• Collaborate with cross‑functional partners to drive organizational readiness for supply‑chain or manufacturing‑related workflows as the scope expands
• Advocate for continuous improvement, efficiency gains, and workflow simplification across engineering operations
• Communicate priorities, dependencies, and decisions clearly to technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Evaluate operational metrics and use data to guide improvements in predictability, quality, and delivery performance
• Partner with finance teams and translate complex engineering work into budget‑aligned plans

What You’ll Need to Succeed:

• BS degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field
• 15+ years of related experience in engineering operations, technical leadership, or program‑aligned execution roles
• Demonstrated ability to lead multi‑disciplinary operational frameworks across hardware and software environments
• Experience with cost and schedule estimation, including ROM development and structured forecasting models
• Strong understanding of engineering lifecycles, configuration control, and technical decision‑making workflows
• Expertise in knowledge‑management, document‑control systems, and data governance practices
• Demonstrated ability to develop roadmaps, operational strategies, and long‑term execution models
• Familiarity with Agile concepts and modern engineering practices
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present information, drive discussion, and respond to difficult scenarios with limited preparation across all employee groups
• Capable of being a strong motivator and source of direction for your team and exemplifying commitment to your team’s goals
• Have a people-oriented mentality and actively promote cross-functional team building
• Able to confidently drive discussions, raise support for key ideas, and tailor your communication style to a wide range of audiences
• Possess the creativity, resourcefulness, and decisiveness needed to manage risks and respond to critical situations
• Have a strong sense of urgency in driving projects to completion and be motivated to achieve outcomes and results
• Excellent prioritization skills and the ability to effectively coordinate the activities of multiple groups

Things That Would be Great if You Brought to the Table:

• Understanding of telecom or satellite communication systems and protocols
• Knowledge of lifecycle maintenance best practices and operational readiness models
• Training or certification in Agile methods such as Scrum or Kanban
• Experience improving or designing engineering workflows and process frameworks
• Familiarity with supply chain or manufacturing interfaces

We’ll also need you to:

• Be able to work in the office at least 60% of the time (3 or more days a week) to foster collaboration with the team and stakeholders
• Be able to travel up to 10% annually for meetings, workshops, and cross-site collaboration
• Be available for operational escalations when necessary
• Be a US Citizen

Work Environment:

This position primarily works in an office setting and is largely sedentary with the majority of the position working with a computer. The role typically requires the use of basic office equipment such as a phone, video, computer, keyboard, mouse, and printer. 

We believe in-person connection drives innovation, strengthens mentorship, and builds culture, while flexibility enables employees to do their best work. Under Iridium’s Hybrid Work Policy, employees are expected to work at least three days per week (approximately 60%) in an Iridium office to support collaboration, relationship-building, and professional growth.

Additional Information

This job description outlines the general nature and level of work for this role and is not a comprehensive list of duties, responsibilities, or qualifications. Employees may be assigned additional responsibilities as needed.

Iridium is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.