Director of Operations - Integration

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Director of Operations - Integration
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
Salary: 120,000-140,000 (negotiable)
Position Type: Full Time (Permanent hire)
Industry: Audio Visual

Category: AV Integration

*This position requires current or recent experience in the Audio Visual / AV industry. While the title may sound similar to roles in other industries, this is specifically an AV-related position. Please apply only if your background includes relevant AV, live events, systems integration, or closely related industry experience.*

Summary

The Director of Operations – Integration provides operational leadership across engineering, project management, project coordination, and programming functions within a technical integration business unit. This role is responsible for ensuring projects are planned, engineered, coordinated, programmed, and managed efficiently, profitably, and in alignment with quality standards, budgets, schedules, and client expectations.

This leader drives operational excellence by developing scalable processes, improving execution discipline, supporting resource planning, and building high-performing teams. The position partners closely with senior integration leadership to translate strategic priorities into day-to-day operational execution while promoting accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

The role works cross-functionally with sales, account management, technical leads, field operations, managed services, procurement, warehouse, and other operational teams to ensure alignment from project handoff through closeout and long-term client support. While this position does not directly manage field installation technicians, it plays a key coordination role in labor planning, scheduling alignment, execution readiness, and quality outcomes.

The ideal candidate brings strong operational leadership experience, a solid technical foundation, organizational discipline, and the ability to scale teams, workflows, and systems in a growing project-based environment.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Lead engineering, project management, project coordination, and programming teams within the integration business unit.
• Ensure projects are engineered, planned, coordinated, programmed, and managed according to company standards, client expectations, budgets, and schedules.
• Drive operational consistency, accountability, execution discipline, and continuous improvement across functional teams.
• Establish scalable workflows, standards, best practices, reporting structures, and operational systems to support growth.
• Monitor and improve key operational metrics, including project health, utilization, forecasting accuracy, profitability, closeout timelines, billing efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
• Partner with senior leadership on operational planning, forecasting, staffing, labor planning, and resource management.
• Identify bottlenecks, execution risks, and resource conflicts early; implement mitigation strategies and process improvements.
• Participate in operational reviews and escalation management for complex, high-profile, or at-risk projects.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work with sales leadership and account teams to improve project handoffs, scope alignment, forecasting accuracy, and execution planning.
• Coordinate with technical leads and field operations leadership to support scheduling alignment, labor planning, execution readiness, and quality standards.
• Partner with managed services leadership to support smooth project turnover, service readiness, client continuity, and long-term customer success.
• Collaborate with engineering, procurement, warehouse, programming, operations, and other internal teams throughout the project lifecycle.
• Participate in pre-planning for large or complex opportunities to confirm operational readiness and delivery feasibility.
• Foster a collaborative, solutions-oriented culture between sales, operations, technical teams, and field leadership.

Team Leadership and Development

• Provide leadership, mentorship, and development for engineering, project management, project coordination, and programming team members.
• Build a culture focused on accountability, collaboration, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Support recruiting, onboarding, performance management, training, and career development initiatives.
• Develop future leaders within the integration organization.
• Ensure teams have the resources, training, communication, and support needed to execute successfully.
• Strengthen alignment between office-based, field-based, and client-facing teams.

Project Execution and Delivery

• Support successful project delivery from sales handoff through closeout.
• Ensure project planning, documentation, scheduling, change management, quality assurance, and closeout processes are consistently followed.
• Uphold quality standards, including project readiness, execution quality, and final delivery expectations.
• Conduct project and operational reviews to identify risks, execution gaps, and improvement opportunities.
• Assist teams in resolving complex project, client, vendor, subcontractor, or operational challenges.
• Maintain strong relationships with clients, vendors, subcontractors, and internal stakeholders.

Financial and Process Management

• Support operational budgeting, forecasting, margin management, labor planning, and external labor strategies.
• Monitor project and operational financial performance to improve predictability, profitability, and efficiency.
• Analyze operational reports and trends to support data-informed decisions.
• Assist with subcontractor coordination and external resource planning.
• Lead process standardization, operational optimization, and continuous improvement initiatives across the integration business unit.

Required Qualifications

• 7–10+ years of leadership experience in AV integration, technology integration, low-voltage, technical services, or a related project-based industry.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional operational teams and managing complex technical projects.
• Strong understanding of project delivery methods, operational workflows, resource planning, and systems integration environments.
• Experience scaling teams, processes, reporting, and operational structures in a growing project-based business.
• Demonstrated success improving operational efficiency, accountability, execution consistency, and team performance.
• Strong operational leadership and organizational management skills.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, coaching, and team development abilities.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, labor planning, margin management, and operational performance analysis.
• Ability to drive accountability while maintaining a collaborative and solutions-focused leadership style.
• Systems-thinking mindset with a focus on scalability, consistency, and continuous improvement.

Preferences

• AVIXA CTS and/or CTS-D certification.
• PMP certification or experience using PMP-based project management methodology.
• Experience with AV networking, DSP, control systems, programming, commissioning, or similar technical disciplines.
• Familiarity with Crestron or comparable technology platforms.
• Experience with ERP systems, operational reporting tools, and project management software.
• Lean process improvement, operational optimization, or similar continuous improvement experience.