Ground Operations Lead Jobs (NOW HIRING)

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. This role sits within the Special Air Missions Group area of Metrea 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

For this role, as an Aviation Ground Operations Manager (GOM), you will work out of our Tampa, Florida office location no less than three days per week. The GOM sits within the Special Air Missions (SAM) Group and reports to the Head of Maintenance, Maintenance (US) Capability Area.

This role is focused on maintenance ground safety and is responsible for ensuring the safe execution of Part 145 maintenance and aircraft ground operations across both the Tampa home base and globally deployed ISR aircraft operations.

The GOM plays a key role in fostering an organisational culture of effective safety management, risk awareness, and occurrence reporting, working across multiple project locations to promote safe behaviours and practical risk mitigation in a distributed and deployed operating environment.

You will work closely with Maintenance and Operational leadership to embed safety into day-to-day activity and ensure compliance with:

• FAA Part 145 and applicable FARs
• AS9100D (as applicable to operational safety)
• DCMA 8210-1D
• ICAO Annex 19 Safety Management principles

This is a hands-on, operational role delivering real-world safety outcomes in support of aircraft maintenance operations both in Tampa and across globally deployed mission locations.

What You’ll Do

• Ensure safe execution of aircraft ground operations and maintenance activities in accordance with approved procedures, technical data, and company Ground SOPs
• Lead the continuous improvement of ground and maintenance safety programmes and site-specific safety plans across all locations
• Perform periodic inspections, audits, and monitoring programmes to ensure compliance with regulatory, contractual, and company requirements
• Identify safety hazards associated with maintenance activities, aircraft ground operations, and deployed environments, and collaborate with Maintenance Leads and Managers to develop and implement effective corrective actions
• Develop and maintain safety policy, procedures, and risk assessments for all activities related to aircraft ground operations at home base and on global deployments
• Translate corporate safety standards into practical Capability Area (CA) goals, objectives, and KPIs
• Identify trends and proactively drive initiatives to eliminate incidents, including near-miss and hazard reporting programmes
• Ensure effective occurrence and safety reporting, supporting a culture of transparency and continuous improvement
• Oversee new-hire safety orientations, ensuring assignment of safety training and tracking of completion
• Plan and facilitate OSHA-compliant safety training aligned with project phases, risks, and deployment environments
• Lead incident and accident investigations, including root cause analysis and report generation, maintaining all required regulatory safety records
• Coordinate emergency drills, equipment inspections, and fire prevention procedures across operational sites
• Support deployed teams operating in austere or high-risk environments, ensuring safe execution of tasks
• Coach and develop Site Safety Representatives (SSRs) through ongoing feedback and structured development plans
• Work closely with Maintenance and Quality leadership to ensure safety is fully integrated into maintenance planning and execution
• Support the implementation and continuous improvement of an FAA and ICAO Annex 19-compliant Safety Management System (SMS) for ground and flight operations
• Support internal and external oversight activities, including FAA, DCMA, and customer audits, ensuring readiness and effective response

What You’ll Bring

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Must have a current Security Clearance (Secret or above)
• Minimum 5+ years of aviation experience, including lead or supervisory roles
• Demonstrated experience in:
  • Aviation safety within maintenance or ground operations environments
  • Hazard identification, risk management, and incident investigation
  • Working in Part 91, Part 135, or Part 145 environments
• Strong working knowledge of:
  • FAA regulations
  • Safety Management Systems (SMS)
  • Aviation operational risk management
• OSHA 30-hour Certification (required)
• Proven leadership with the ability to influence without authority across distributed and deployed teams
• Clear and effective written/verbal communication skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office software platforms

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

• Previous military aviation or government contract experience
• Experience operating under or supporting DCMA 8210-1D requirements
• Experience supporting deployed, expeditionary, or austere aviation operations
• OSHA 500 Outreach Trainer Certification
• FAA Safety Training or equivalent aviation safety education
• Experience coordinating emergency preparedness, fire prevention, and response resources
• Background with FAA Part 91, Part 135, and Part 145 aviation activities and coordinating safety efforts for multi-site global organizations

Our Firmware At Metrea, our single core value, Rooted in Humility, and our four cornerstone attributes—Entrepreneurial, Systematic, Discerning, and Over-Deliver. These form what we call our Teammate Firmware. Just like technical firmware connects software and hardware, our Firmware is the con stant interface between our mission and our people. It defines how we show up, how we work together, and how we solve complex problems. Our team Firmware creates a web-like, hyper-collaborative, dynamically hierarchical way of working that helps us adapt quickly, communicate openly, and distribute decision-making to where expertise actually lives. It enables groups to self-organize around hard problems, shift flu idly as priorities evolve, and operate with the trust, curiosity, and discipline required in a complex mission space. This foundation allows us to deliver elegant, effective solutions and uphold our purpose: protecting our precious inheritance.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical plan options

HSA/FSA accounts

Dental and vision coverage

6% employer 401(k) match

Fully paid parental leave for all new parents

Generous PTO

Life and disability insurance

Long-term and Short-term disability coverage

AD&D Coverage

Pet Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Subsided gym membership / plans through Wellhub   

Work Authorization / Security Clearance Must be legally authorized to work in the United States Must be a U.S. citizen Eligible to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance

AAP / EEO Statement This Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work This is a full-time exempt position with typical working hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Hours and work shifts may change in accordance with department and business needs. Exempt Employees must have the ability to be on-call and available, as business needs require.

Work Location Tampa, FL

Work Environment This job operates in an office setting Travel 25%