Director of Program Operations, Saronic

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Program Management, or a related technical/national security field (MBA Preferred)
• 10+ years of experience in program operations, program management, or operational leadership roles
• Demonstrated experience building scalable processes in a growing organization
• Proven ability to operate effectively under ambiguity, urgency, and competing priorities
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to interface confidently with technical and non-technical audiences
• Physical Demands
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Occasional standing and walking within the office
• Manual dexterity to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, and other office equipment
• Visual acuity to read screens, documents, and reports
• Occasional reaching, bending, or stooping to access file drawers, cabinets, or office supplies
• Lifting and carrying items up to 20 pounds occasionally (e.g., office supplies, packages)

Desirable

• Saronic Technologies is seeking a Director of Program Operations to build, scale, and operate the systems, processes, and surge capacity that enable reliable execution across Saronic’s growing portfolio of Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) programs
• The Director of Program Operations is a team leader of the Programs organization — ensuring that analysts, schedulers, digital development, and services delivery teams have the structure, tools, and support required to scale execution across all customers
• This role focuses on designing and institutionalizing program operating models while remaining deeply hands-on with program strategic directions to alleviate execution risk, ambiguity, or demand spikes
• This role partners closely with the VP of Programs, Program Directors, and cross-functional executives across Engineering, Product, Production, and Growth
• The Director is also expected to embed directly into programs, customer engagements, partnerships, or internal initiatives to provide ad-hoc surge support and stabilize execution when required
• You'll own and lead the Program Operations function, defining how programs are stood up, governed, tracked, and supported across Saronic
• Establish scalable operating models that support increasing program count, customer complexity, and delivery tempo
• Define clear process and decision ownership between Program Operations, Program Management, and Technical Program Management
• Serve as the senior escalation point for cross-functional execution issues that impact multiple programs or customers
• Design, implement, and maintain program management processes, workflows, templates, and governance standards
• Lead enterprise initiatives to improve visibility into cost, schedule, risk, staffing, and customer commitments
• Own program operations tooling and reporting strategy in partnership with Finance and internal software development teams
• Ensure program processes support both government and commercial execution models without unnecessary overhead
• Act as on-demand surge capacity for high-priority internal and customer-facing needs, including program stand-up, recovery, and executive support
• Embed directly within programs when execution risk emerges to stabilize operations, align stakeholders, and drive decisions
• Lead special projects and time-sensitive initiatives on behalf of the VP of Programs and executive leadership
• Absorb ambiguity and shifting priorities to protect program teams and leadership bandwidth
• Serve as connective tissue across Engineering, Software, Operations, Production, Quality, Finance, and Mission teams
• Resolve execution friction by clarifying ownership, sequencing, and accountability across functions
• Support Program Directors and TPM leaders with operational structure, planning, and executive-ready inputs
• Support and, when required, lead customer-facing engagements that demand senior operational credibility
• Prepare leadership for executive-level reviews, demonstrations, and external engagements
• Ensure customer commitments are clearly defined, operationally achievable, and consistently tracked
• Support rapid response to emergent customer requests and mission-driven priorities