Chief Operating Officer — Mission-Systems Portfolio

The mandate

A mission-systems portfolio has a strong multi-year order book but uneven conversion into accepted units, fielded capability and cash. Engineering release, material, production, integration and customer evidence use separate routines, allowing incomplete work to move downstream. The board has planned a new COO role to build one operating system before backlog growth overwhelms delivery.

Approximately 2,000 employees and material partners span programmes, engineering operations, manufacturing, supply, quality, test, deployment and support from Washington, DC. The COO owns operations, industrial performance, facilities, delivery, workforce deployment and operating transformation, reporting to the Group Chief Executive or nominated sponsor. Design, quality, safety, security and export authorities retain independent judgement.

The first operating model will trace requirements through accepted delivery. Each stage needs entry evidence, accountable owner and exception route. The COO will expose queues and unfinished work rather than permit schedule reports to count started activity as progress.

Engineering release is a production input. Drawings, bills, software, interfaces and test requirements must be mature enough for controlled work. Operations will reject incomplete packages through agreed gates while ensuring engineering receives rapid, specific feedback.

Material readiness includes effectivity, provenance, quality evidence and programme reservation. A kit is not complete because the part number exists in stock. The COO will reduce cannibalisation and unofficial substitution, using escalation and qualified recovery routes.

Production flow will focus on bottlenecks and variability. Secure cells, special processes, authorised skills and equipment may constrain output. Local utilisation is secondary to end-to-end completion. Priority changes must show displaced work and customer consequence.

Integration and test need protected readiness. Configuration, procedures, instrumentation, software, safety and customer witnessing should be complete before scarce facilities are occupied. Premature entry creates expensive rework and false milestone confidence.

Defect handling will separate containment from correction. Non-conformances and software anomalies need technical disposition, traceability and recurrence learning. The COO will prevent output pressure from shortening independent review or moving unresolved issues into field support.

Customer acceptance will be prepared during build. Evidence packs, configuration records, test results, training and delivery items should have owners and due dates. Waiting until physical completion to assemble proof delays cash and trust.

Supplier operations will use stable signals and fast decisions. Critical suppliers need forecast, configuration and technical response. The COO will manage sub-tier, obsolescence and quality recovery with procurement and engineering. Expediting cannot replace a credible plan.

Workforce deployment will map skills and eligibility. Cleared engineers, inspectors, test specialists and field teams are shared constraints. Cross-training needs observed competence and authorised access. Overtime reduction will follow stable coverage rather than precede it.

Facilities and continuity plans must be realistic. Loss of secure space, power, test assets, cyber systems or a critical supplier can stop multiple programmes. The COO will run scenarios, establish alternate routes and reconcile work after recovery.

Daily management will use a small number of actionable measures: ready work, queue age, shortage, first-pass yield, test entry, acceptance and cash dependency. Each review should decide the next constraint. Historical explanation without action will not continue.

Benefits will include completed output, schedule, cost, working capital and cash, measured separately. Moving incomplete work or deferred defects outside the boundary is not improvement. Leaders will be accountable for portfolio flow, not local activity.

Field deployment will remain part of order conversion. Site readiness, authorised personnel, spares, training and customer interfaces must be planned before shipment. A unit held at destination because access or acceptance prerequisites were missed is neither operational capability nor completed economic delivery.

What you will own

• Mission-systems order conversion and operating system.
• Engineering, material and test readiness.
• Production, integration and customer acceptance.
• Supplier, configuration and defect flow.
• Workforce capability and shared constraints.
• Facilities, cyber and industrial continuity.
• Actionable daily management and benefits.
• Operations leadership and succession.

The first 12 months

Within 45 days, trace priority orders, identify hidden queues and protect constrained integration or test assets. Establish acceptance evidence owners.

By month six, implement readiness gates, constraint planning and supplier recovery. Build capability coverage and customer acceptance routines.

At twelve months, improve order conversion by 20%, first-pass yield by 10 percentage points and on-time customer acceptance by 25 points. Work-in-progress age should fall 30%, while 95% of formal test starts meet readiness evidence and no quality, security or safety authority is overridden.

What the sponsor will examine

• Started work separated from completed output.
• Engineering releases usable at point of work.
• Material proven suitable for configuration.
• Test assets protected from premature entry.
• Acceptance evidence built alongside product.
• Leaders optimising portfolio flow.

The person

You bring 28+ years in aerospace, defence or mission-systems operations, including COO or large-portfolio authority. Your record includes multi-year backlog conversion, engineering-to-test flow, suppliers, government acceptance and a workforce above 1,500.

Candidates must show a delivery system improved through readiness rather than overtime and a milestone stopped for incomplete evidence. The permanent role is onsite in Washington, DC with secure-site and customer presence. Eligibility requirements apply.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is USD 500,000–750,000 plus annual incentive and long-term participation linked to conversion, acceptance, quality, cash and leadership. The permanent onsite Washington, DC role reports to the Group Chief Executive or nominated executive-committee sponsor. Planned hiring precedes further backlog ramp.

Confidentiality

The portfolio, orders, programmes, customers, technical evidence, suppliers, facilities and delivery data remain confidential. Further information follows eligibility, conflicts and signed confidentiality. Any attempt to infer the sponsor through outreach to government buyers, defence contractors or programme participants will end consideration.