The Aerospace Corporation

Principal Director – Service Operations

The Aerospace Corporation

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Hybrid

Location: ChantillyCaliforniaVirginiaUnited States

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Salary

💰 $180,800 - $271,200 per year

Job Level

Tech Stack

About the role

  • Develop and execute the IT operations and user experience strategies to ensure service availability, reliability, and scalability across classified and unclassified environments
  • Define and monitor operational KPIs, SLAs, and Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) to track and enhance service performance and user satisfaction
  • Establish and maintain runbooks, operational playbooks, and standardized operating procedures to ensure consistent and efficient operations.
  • Drive a customer-centric IT culture focused on service excellence and operational efficiency
  • Oversee enterprise-wide incident management, including escalation, communication, root cause analysis, and recovery efforts
  • Oversee problem management processes to identify systemic issues and eliminate recurring failures
  • Manage the change management process in partnership with Application Development, Infrastructure, and Security teams to balance speed and risk mitigation
  • Ensure consistent adherence to ITIL-based service management practices, driving continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Collaborate with infrastructure and cloud teams to maintain high availability, reliability, and scalability of IT systems
  • Leverage operational data, automation, and analytics to eliminate root causes and improve service resilience
  • Manage the enterprise service desk function, ensuring fast resolution times, high-quality support, and positive user experiences
  • Drive initiatives to enhance quality of service, self-service capabilities, automation, and ticket reduction
  • Align service desk operations with end-user platforms (e.g., endpoint engineering, identity, and collaboration tools) for seamless user support
  • Improve service turnaround times, quality, and customer satisfaction metrics across all support channels
  • Partner with Stakeholder Partners to align IT operations with mission and business priorities
  • Collaborate with Application Development, Infrastructure, and Security teams to support deployments, upgrades, and platform changes
  • Coordinate with data management teams to ensure operational readiness and support for analytics platforms, data pipelines, and mission-critical services
  • Ensure operational compliance with NIST, CMMC, and corporate governance frameworks
  • Participate in OCIO governance forums, contributing to strategy, alignment, and operational planning
  • Identify and mitigate operational risks, ensuring regulatory and corporate compliance for classified and unclassified environments.
  • Maintain documentation, controls, and evidence to support audits and meet internal and external regulatory requirements.
  • Lead and mentor a team of IT operations, service desk, vendor management professionals across multiple locations
  • Foster a culture of accountability, reliability, and continuous improvement within the team
  • Develop training, certification, and career development plans to build a high-performing workforce
  • Oversee vendor and managed service provider relationships, ensuring cost-effectiveness, performance, and value delivery
  • Manage budgets, resource allocation, and co-sourcing arrangements to optimize operational efficiency
  • Support organizational growth and productivity improvements by continuously evaluating and enhancing IT infrastructure and operations
  • Drive innovation through data-driven insights, automation, and continuous improvement initiatives
  • Deliver measurable value through operational excellence, cost optimization, and exceptional user experiences.

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, or a related field is required
  • A minimum of (10) years of progressive IT leadership experience, with at least 5 years in senior IT operations, service delivery, or enterprise IT roles is required
  • Must be extremely customer-focused, solution-oriented and results-driven
  • Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and align cross-functional teams and executive leadership
  • Demonstrated success in leading large, geographically dispersed teams, managing budgets, and delivering enterprise-scale IT services
  • Strong strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills with the ability to manage complex projects and deliver results on time and within budget
  • Expertise in ITIL frameworks, and IT service management processes, including incident, problem, and change management
  • Proven ability to lead and motivate diverse teams, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Benefits
  • Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
  • Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
  • Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
  • 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
  • Flexible spending accounts
  • Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
  • Relocation assistance
  • Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
  • Education assistance programs
  • An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect
Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools
IT operationsservice deliveryincident managementproblem managementchange managementITILdata managementanalyticsautomationservice desk management
Soft Skills
customer-focusedsolution-orientedresults-drivencommunicationstakeholder managementstrategic thinkingproblem-solvingdecision-makingteam leadershipcollaboration
Certifications
Bachelor’s degree in computer scienceBachelor’s degree in Information SystemsITIL certification