Position Summary
The Director, US Operations, is a senior operational leader responsible for overseeing all domestic operational activities for a global time-critical specialty logistics provider. This role ensures consistent execution of high-velocity, high-integrity logistics operations across the United States, supporting mission-critical shipments in industries such as aerospace, life sciences, medical, semiconductor, automotive, and high-tech manufacturing.
The US Operations Director leads regional teams, optimizes national network performance, drives operational excellence, and ensures compliance with federal and international regulations governing specialized time-critical logistics.
Operational Leadership & Network Performance
- Lead all US operational activities, including hub/terminal oversight, network performance, field operations, and mission-critical shipment control.
- Ensure the rapid, reliable, on-time execution of time-critical shipments, including NFO (Next Flight Out), hand-carry/OBC, same-day, high-value, controlled-temperature, and hazardous shipments.
- Develop and execute operational strategies aligned with global standards and customer expectations.
- Oversee capacity management, routing, carrier/partner selection, and contingency planning for expedited and complex logistics scenarios.
People Leadership & Development
- Direct and mentor regional managers, supervisors, customer operations leads, and control tower teams.
- Build a high-performance culture emphasizing accountability, speed, accuracy, customer excellence, and risk mitigation.
- Implement workforce planning, training initiatives, and leadership development that scale with company growth.
Quality, Compliance & Risk Management
- Ensure operational compliance with TSA, FAA, DOT, OSHA, IATA, and international trade regulations (including import/export controls).
- Enforce adherence to global Quality Management Systems (QMS) and SOPs.
- Partner closely with Quality, Compliance, Security, and HSE leaders to ensure consistent operational discipline and audit readiness.
Customer & Stakeholder Engagement
- Serve as the primary operational liaison for major US customers, ensuring service performance meets the stringent requirements of time-critical shipments.
- Partner closely with account management, sales, and executive leadership teams to translate customer requirements into scalable and repeatable operational processes.
- Lead customer-facing operational reviews, including QBRs, MBRs, root-cause analysis discussions, and continuous-improvement updates.
- Oversee escalations and critical incident resolution, ensuring rapid communication, decision-making, and recovery plans tailored to customer needs.
- Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders across aerospace, high-tech, life sciences, and manufacturing industries, ensuring alignment on service expectations, SLAs, and operational KPIs.
- Collaborate with global counterparts to support cross-border service needs, customer onboarding, and specialized service configurations.
- Support solution design for new business opportunities, offering operational insight on routing, compliance requirements, transport modes, and risk mitigation strategies.
- Ensure customer feedback is systematically collected, analyzed, and translated into operational enhancements, performance improvements, and technology/tool upgrades.
- Represent US operations in customer audits, supplier evaluations, and compliance reviews, ensuring readiness and accuracy in all documentation and responses.
- Develop customer-specific contingency plans for mission-critical operations, including redundancy playbooks, alternate routing, and proactive risk monitoring.
Process Improvement & Innovation
- Lead operational excellence initiatives, including process mapping, root-cause analysis, and optimization of workflows, technology, and systems.
- Drive digitalization of the operational ecosystem: visibility tools, control towers, automation, analytics, and exception-management systems.
- Implement continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma).
Financial & Performance Management
- Monitor KPIs, SLAs, on-time performance, productivity, and network efficiency.
- Identify and execute cost-optimization opportunities without compromising service integrity or regulatory requirements.
- Reduce operational risk, improve speed-to-recovery, and enhance customer satisfaction metrics.
Experience Requirements – Required Experience
- 15+ years of progressive experience in logistics, transportation, time-critical operations, or global supply chain.
- 7+ years of proven leadership experience in multi-site or national operations management.
- Demonstrated success within at least one of the following domains:
- Time-critical / expedited logistics
- NFO / Same-day / On-board courier
- Life sciences or temperature-controlled logistics
- Aerospace AOG or high-value tech supply chains
- Strong knowledge of US transportation networks (air, ground, charter, brokers, carriers).
- Proven expertise with TSA/FAA security frameworks, export/import controls, and IATA/DOT regulatory environments.
- History of leading large operational teams and improving performance in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.
Experience Requirements – Preferred Experience
- Experience in a global logistics organization with international coordination.
- Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt certification.
- Experience implementing or scaling operational technologies (TMS, visibility platforms, control towers, automation).
- Background supporting customers in aerospace, semiconductors, medical devices, biotech, or other regulated industries.