Head of Business Operations, Houston
Zipline
About Zipline
About You and The Role
You are an operational leader who thrives at the intersection of strategy, systems, and execution. As Head of Business Operations for Platform 2 in Houston, you’ll serve as one of three core leaders responsible for running the market alongside the Head of Maintenance Operations and Head of Commercial Operations.
Your role is to make the system run: ensuring day-to-day operations perform flawlessly, the network scales efficiently, and every flight, delivery, and partner experience is executed with precision. You’ll drive operational readiness, build scalable systems, and ensure that our people, processes, and partners are aligned to deliver a world-class customer experience. This role reports directly to the Head of Operations.
What You'll Do
- Lead Zipline’s Platform 2 Operations in Houston: Own operational performance for all delivery, fleet, and logistics activities, ensuring targets for safety, reliability, and throughput are consistently met.
- Coordinate Market Leadership: Partner closely with the Head of Maintenance Operations and Head of Commercial Operations to align priorities, manage tradeoffs, and deliver growth and service excellence across the Houston region.
- Drive Operational Readiness and Scaling: Design and execute launch plans, readiness reviews, staffing models, and process improvements as we grow fleet size, service area, and customer volume.
- Build and Lead Teams: Recruit, develop, and lead a high-performing operations organization capable of scaling with growth and adapting to dynamic operational challenges.
- Ensure Safety and Compliance: Oversee site-level adherence to Zipline’s safety management system and regulatory frameworks, working cross-functionally to close gaps and mitigate risk.
- Deliver on KPIs: Own key operational metrics for uptime, delivery success, cost per delivery, and customer satisfaction and continuously push for improvement.
- Partner Cross-Functionally: Work closely with Engineering, Flight Operations, Product, and Regulatory teams to translate field feedback into actionable improvements.
What You'll Bring
- 12+ years of experience in operations, logistics, aviation, or manufacturing, including 5+ years leading large, multi-disciplinary teams.
- Proven success in building and scaling operational systems or facilities in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
- Strong analytical and process-driven mindset able to translate complex systems into clear, measurable outcomes.
- Skilled at leading through ambiguity and driving alignment across internal and external stakeholders.
- Track record of building culture, developing talent, and holding teams accountable to operational excellence.
- Deep understanding of safety, compliance, and performance management in regulated or mission-critical environments.
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, operations, logistics, or a related field (MBA or equivalent experience preferred).
- Must be based in or willing to relocate to the Houston, TX area.
What Else You Need to Know
This role requires an ability to spend significant time in Houston, TX.