Senior Operations Manager

Job Location – Bristol, UK

Job ID – 40458

About this opportunity and L3Harris UK

Operating at 11 sites in the United Kingdom, L3Harris supports Britain's mission to secure and strengthen the country by delivering sovereign innovation across the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains. L3Harris’ Bristol location is the Headquarters for our Maritime UK business – a leading global supplier of integrated marine control systems and simulation products for warships, submarines and high‑end commercial marine vessels worldwide. Since its inception, L3Harris has continuously iterated upon our Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) technology and successfully exported and delivered the system to over 300 vessels across 27 navies worldwide. We have additional Maritime UK sites in Burgess Hill, Barrow‑In‑Furness and Portchester. Together, we are powering the Royal Navy’s adoption of autonomous surface vehicle technology as well as delivering autonomous capability to UK ports, harbours and offshore energy service providers.

The Senior Operations Manager for Maritime UK business unit is a strategic leader responsible for driving end‑to‑end operational excellence across manufacturing, supply chain, and program execution. This leader will serve as the Operations Lead responsible for all strategic and daily execution of the operations team, managing the production/facilities environments, field service, training and vessel commissioning across the various UK locations. This role owns critical performance metrics including safety, quality, delivery, and cost, while leading cross‑functional teams to achieve operational scalability and program success in a highly regulated defense environment. This individual will report directly to the Director of Operations for Global Systems with dotted line reporting to the site General Manager.

A few of our employee benefits are:

• Hybrid working where possible, three days onsite per week
• Half day finish on a Friday
• 25 days holiday per year (plus bank holidays), increasing with long service and with the opportunity to buy/sell up to 5 days
• Private medical insurance with optional family cover
• Pension scheme of up to 8% employer contribution
• Life Assurance 4x salary (flexible up to 10x)
• Group income protection
• Flexible opt‑in extras such as a health care cash plan, dental insurance, gym membership, critical illness cover, cycle to work scheme, travel insurance and electric car scheme
• Employee Family Assistance Program providing mental health and wellbeing support
• Professional membership reimbursement (discretionary)

What the role will involve

The responsibilities of your role will include the following:

• Lead multidisciplinary operations teams across Engineering, Planning, Quality, Facilities, Safety, Continuous Improvement, Training, and Commissioning.
• Develop and execute strategies to achieve business objectives across cost, quality, delivery, and customer satisfaction.
• Build, develop, and retain a high‑performing team through effective talent management, succession planning, and inclusive leadership.
• Drive operational excellence and employee engagement through Lean principles, continuous improvement, quality enhancement, and safety initiatives.
• Ensure Manufacturing, Operations, and Quality are fully engaged throughout the product development lifecycle to optimise manufacturability, testability, and inspectability.
• Partner with Programme Management, Engineering, Supply Chain, and other functions to deliver strategic and operational objectives.
• Monitor and report on strategic goals and operational performance, implementing action plans to drive continuous improvement.
• Lead the deployment of operational strategies, best practices, and performance measures across the organisation.
• Manage performance and deliver results within a complex matrix environment.

What you’ll bring

The role requires the following experience and skills:

• Bachelor’s Degree and minimum 9 years prior related experience OR Graduate Degree with a minimum of 7 years of prior related experience
• Deep knowledge of Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence across functions and geographies
• Comprehensive knowledge and skills within a specific technical or professional discipline and may have broad understanding of other areas within the job function.
• Fundamental knowledge in EHS to drive zero injury plans with a proactive approach
• Extensive experience in Shop Floor Management of electrical cabinet assembly, system integration and testing and or related commodities/processes
• Working knowledge and experience in Earned Value Management and/or comprehensive estimate‑at‑complete (EAC) establishment and analysis

Important to know

Due to the nature of our work many of our roles require a UK nationality and the ability to obtain a security clearance. Applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment must meet the requirement of right to work in the UK and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information and will be subject to government security checks.

L3Harris Technologies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to maintaining a workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination and offers equal opportunities for all. Applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and marriage and civil partnerships.