Director of Operations, Part 135

Company Overview 

Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas—including airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refueling, special mission aviation, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation. 

Wherever we operate, we build vertically integrated full stacks of capability—designing, building, and operating turnkey solutions that let customers scale capacity while benefiting from continuous cycles of innovation. With operators and engineers under one roof, we close the gap between lab and field—what we call connecting design with effect. 

Metrea’s solutions are built for elegance: effective, efficient, and evolving. This approach enables our partners to do more with less and achieve outsized, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats. 

Headquartered in Washington, DC, Metrea has facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and beyond.

Special Air Missions Group (SAM) is responsible for developing and delivering Metrea’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Special Mobility, and Aerial Firefighting (AFF) capabilities. SAM oversees the integration of new mission systems, ensuring operational readiness across specialized aviation operations. It manages fleet maintenance, regulatory compliance, and strategic partnerships to enhance mission effectiveness. By consolidating expertise and infrastructure, SAM ensures Metrea’s  
 airborne capabilities remain adaptable and mission-ready across dynamic operational environments. 
 

Position Summary 

In this role, you will lead the safe, compliant, and efficient execution of Metrea’s Part 135 flight operations. You will exercise operational control over charter operations, oversee regulatory compliance, and guide the operational strategy of the certificate in coordination with company leadership and FAA oversight personnel.
 

You will be successful if you can balance safety, compliance, client execution, crew leadership, and operational decision-making in a dynamic environment. This role requires strong judgment, credibility with regulators and crews, and the ability to lead a growing operation while maintaining high operational standards.
 
 Experience operating in complex, high-tempo environments such as military special operations aviation, tactical airlift, or advanced multi-engine turbine operations is highly valued.

What You’ll Do

• Exercise operational control over all Part 135 flight operations in accordance with FAA regulations and company procedures.
• Lead the operational execution and regulatory compliance of the Part 135 certificate.
• Oversee flight crew qualification, training compliance, currency tracking, and operational readiness.
• Maintain compliance with applicable FARs, ICAO requirements, company manuals, and OpSpecs.
• Coordinate with the FAA, internal departments, and external stakeholders on operational matters, inspections, approvals, and audits.
• Develop and maintain operational policies, procedures, and standardization programs that support safe and scalable operations.
• Support operational risk management, SMS initiatives, and safety investigations as required.
• Supervise operational leadership personnel, including the Chief Pilot and other assigned operational staff.
• Support fleet growth, aircraft onboarding, route expansion, and operational capability development.
• Serve as a senior operational representative to aircraft owners, charter clients, vendors, and regulatory agencies.

What You’ll bring 

• FAA qualifications to serve as Director of Operations under 14 CFR 119.71.
• Previous operational leadership experience within a Part 121 or Part 135 environment.
• Strong working knowledge of Part 91 and Part 135 operational requirements and operational control responsibilities.
• Experience leading flight operations, crew management, and regulatory compliance programs.
• Demonstrated ability to make operational decisions in time-sensitive, high-pressure, and mission-critical environments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work effectively across departments and with regulatory agencies.
• Experience developing or managing training, standardization, or safety programs.
• Current FAA ATP Certificate with multi-engine privileges.
• Ability to qualify as PIC under company operations and insurance requirements.

Highly desired

• Prior experience as a military special operations, tactical airlift, or multi-engine turbine pilot.
• Experience operating complex aircraft in dynamic, austere, or high-consequence operational environments.
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