Director, Infrastructure

Company Overview

Aireon deployed the world’s first global space-based air traffic surveillance system, providing real-time aircraft monitoring capabilities around the world, including over the poles, over the oceans and in remote areas.

Aireon data enables safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly aviation travel, resulting in significant CO2 emission reductions. More than 20 Air Navigation Service Providers representing more than 40 countries – including NAV CANADA, NATS (UK), Air Traffic and Navigation Services (South Africa), Airports Authority of India (AAI), and ASECNA (Africa) -- rely on Aireon data to navigate aircraft in their airspaces.

We are committed to offering an employment experience and benefits package that enables you and your family to grow with us and to share in our success.

Position Summary, Job Requirements & Responsibilities

The Director of Infrastructure leads and manages a team of technical experts supporting the growing Aireon product portfolio using the latest cloud technology including DevSecOps , Data Engineering, and Agile practices. Reporting to the Sr. Director of Integrated Products and working closely with the Director of Product Management, Director of Product Engineering, the PMO, and the Security team, this role requires effective communication and collaboration to achieve company goals.

This role is based on McLean, VA, and reports in-office on average 3 days per week and additional days to support any coordinating meetings.

What You'll Do

The Director of Infrastructure ensures that Aireon product technology supports the needs of products while maintaining quality, safety, and security. Aireon’s products are grouped into multiple categories, including real-time data delivery (less than 600 milliseconds from satellite to customer), data fusion, historic data products, APIs, and user-interface-interactive products. This role utilizes the latest in technology to meet the goals of the company within budget and at a rapid pace.

Leadership and Strategy:

• Develop and communicate a clear vision and strategy for Aireon’s cloud infrastructure aligned with company goals and objectives.
• Lead, motivate, and mentor a diverse team of professionals, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Collaborate closely with stakeholders across the organization, including within Engineering/security, Sales, and Customer Success, to prioritize initiatives and ensure alignment with business priorities.
• Communicate clearly and concisely to multiple audiences from technical stakeholders to non-technical executives.
• Effectively manage changes in priorities.
  
  

DevSecOps Leadership:

• Oversee the DevSecOps team responsible for maintaining and optimizing our Azure-based infrastructure.
• Provide strategic guidance on infrastructure architecture, deployment automation, and security best practices in collaboration with security and architecture teams.
• Drive initiatives to improve system reliability, scalability, and performance without compromising security and integrity.
• Implement principles of infrastructure as code (IaC) to automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration management.
• Drive the implementation of Azure Pipelines for automated deployment (CI/CD), ensuring seamless integration and delivery of software updates and releases.
  
  

Data Engineering Leadership:

• Manage and support the Data Engineering team responsible for leveraging Databricks for data processing, analytics, and machine learning.
• Drive the development of robust data pipelines, data models, and data-driven solutions to support business intelligence and decision-making processes.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to identify opportunities for leveraging data assets to drive business value and competitive advantage.
  
  

Agile Practices Oversight:

• Lead the Agile Practices team to promote Agile methodologies and best practices.
• Guide Agile processes from implementation, iteration planning, backlog management, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, transparency, and adaptability within Agile teams to drive efficiency and productivity.
  
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

Work closely with the PMO, Product Management, Sales, and other cross-functional teams to ensure alignment on product roadmap priorities, feature requirements, and release schedules.

Facilitate communication and collaboration between development teams and stakeholders to address challenges, mitigate risks, and drive successful project delivery.

Act as a liaison between technical teams and senior leadership, providing regular updates, insights, and recommendations on cloud infrastructure initiatives.

Required Qualifications

Experience & Education Requirements / EEO

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science or related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in a leadership role overseeing infrastructure, preferably in a fast-paced technology-driven environment.
• Strong understanding of DevSecOps principles and best practices, with experience managing cloud-based infrastructure (Azure preferred).
• Proficiency in data engineering concepts, tools, and technologies, with hands-on experience with Databricks or similar platforms.
• Deep knowledge of Agile methodologies, with experience implementing Agile practices and driving organizational change.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
• Strong leadership capabilities, with a track record of inspiring and motivating teams to achieve ambitious goals and deliver exceptional results.
• People management: challenges employees to be extraordinary, embraces ambiguity and complexity, and utilizes coaching to grow and improve employee capabilities.
• Effectively communicate the expectation levels and vision of the organization in a way to motivate and encourage staff to achieve high performance and generate growth.
• Able to obtain and maintain an SF-85P public trust
  
  

Desired Qualifications

• Master’s degree desirable.
• Technical background in air traffic management (ATM) and ADS-B
• Background in large application software engineering.
  
  

About You

You are an effective communicator, you have strong oral and written communication skills with the ability to communicate vision, thoughts, ideas, and solutions to various audiences.

You are highly analytical, and have the ability to solve complex and ambiguous problems.

You are a natural leader, and have the natural ability to provide cross funcitonal leadership, motivate and metor teams in a matrix environment.

You are hands on, and demonstrate hands-on experience with building and scaling software products and solutions.

1-3-6-12 Month Plan

In the first month we'll expect you to…

• Assess the current state of the infrastructure teams, including DevOps/DevSecOps, Data Engineering, and Agile Practices.
• Meet individually with team managers and key team members to understand their roles, challenges, and objectives.
• Review existing processes, workflows, and tools used by each team.
• Identify any immediate areas for improvement or optimization within the infrastructure process.
• Develop a plan for establishing clear communication channels and improving collaboration between the different teams.
  
  

At 3 months we'll expect you to…

• Establish baseline performance metrics for each infrastructure team, including key indicators related to productivity, efficiency, and quality.
• Implement strategies to enhance team effectiveness and cohesion, such as team-building activities or training programs.
• Conduct a comprehensive review of the Agile practices within the organization, identifying opportunities for refinement or adjustment.
• Work with team managers to address any bottlenecks or challenges hindering progress and productivity.
• Begin drafting a long-term roadmap for the infrastructure team, aligning with the company's overall goals and objectives.
  
  

At 6 months we'll expect you to…

• Drive the implementation of improvements identified in the first three months, ensuring alignment with established goals and objectives.
• Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within the infrastructure teams.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of Agile practices and make adjustments as necessary to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• Develop a strategy for scaling the infrastructure teams to support future growth and expansion.
  
  

At 12 months we'll expect you to…

• Lead the infrastructure teams in achieving key milestones and objectives outlined in the long-term roadmap.
• Establish a culture of accountability and ownership within the teams, empowering team members to take initiative and drive results.
• Evaluate the performance of each infrastructure team and provide feedback and support as needed.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to develop strategic initiatives for the upcoming year, based on insights and lessons learned from the past 12 months.
• Continuously monitor industry trends and developments, identifying opportunities for innovation and growth within the infrastructure space.
• Drive the execution of strategic initiatives to position the company as a leader in infrastructure within the industry.
  
  

About The Team

The Aireon integrated product team is currently close to 30 internal contributors with staff augmentation to accommodate product management / customers high priority needs. In addition, the integrated product team is supported by matrixed personnel for program management, service desk, finance, systems engineering and operations. The team made up of a multidisciplinary team that strives to develop innovative products in an agile environment. The team has both remote and local team members that stay connected through Microsoft Teams / Outlook with daily scrums to ensure collaboration and disciplined execution in infrastructure and deployment. There is a mix of formal and informal meetings that span general communication meetings, formal development processes and team celebration gatherings. The culture of Aireon is embodied within the integrated product team with a focus on customer centricity, employee engagement, urgency towards performance and innovation insertion into the product roadmap. Aireon seeks to invest in our employees such that they leverage disruptive technologies and continuously share knowledge within the team and with the aviation industry associations.

Perks And Benefits

• Premium medical, dental and vision plan
• Life Insurance and AD&D
• Short Term and Long Term Disability
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Retirement 401K plan with Employer Matching
• Education Assistance and Tuition Reimbursement
• Paid Time Off, Sick Leave, Floating Holidays
• Paid Parental Leave
• Company Sponsored Events
• Employee Referral Program
  
  

Aireon is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or status as a protected veteran. EOE of Minorities/Females/Vets/Disability and other protected categories.