Location: Seattle, OR (Hybrid; on-site required during peak production periods)
Reports to: CEO
Manages: Project Managers, Production Supervisors (and Director of Production, as applicable)
Compensation: $110,000–$150,000 base + performance bonus (DOE)
Role Purpose The Director of Operations is the operational backbone of a growing live events and AV production company.
This role owns the systems, processes, people, and execution that ensure complex live events are delivered consistently, profitably, and without CEO intervention.
This is a hands-on leadership role in a growing live events and AV production environment. The Director of Operations translates vision into execution, builds repeatable systems, and holds the team accountable to clear standards. The role must also be capable of planning and executing large-scale events when needed.
What Success Looks Like (12–18 Months)
- Events are planned earlier with fewer surprises
- A clear five-step production process is consistently followed
- Project Managers operate with confidence and clarity
- Production logistics are organized and repeatable
- Last-minute issues and rescues are significantly reduced
- Delivery capacity increases while maintaining quality
- The CEO is no longer embedded in daily operations
- The Director of Production focuses on technical excellence
1. Own and Enforce the Production Process Finalize and implement a standardized five-step event workflow:
- Needs Assessment
- Planning & Preparation
- Pre-Event Production Logistics
- Execution
- Post-Event Analysis
- Driving adoption across all projects
- Training Project Managers and production leads
- Auditing events for quality and compliance
- Improving the process through real-world feedback
2. Lead Day-to-Day Operations
- Oversee operational planning and execution
- Ensure timelines, budgets, staffing, and logistics are realistic
- Run production readiness meetings and PM check-ins
- Ensure clear handoffs between sales → PM → production → warehouse
- Identify and remove operational bottlenecks
- Directly manage Project Managers and production supervisors
- Set clear expectations, deadlines, and accountability
- Coach PMs on planning, budgeting, communication, and follow-through
- Identify skill gaps and training needs
- Build a repeatable onboarding and development path for PMs
- Align closely on show execution
- Provide structure and operational clarity
- Ensure consistent production standards
- Remove administrative burden from technical leadership
- Maintain clear roles and accountability
- Manage project management and operational tools
- Oversee file storage and documentation standards
- Improve internal communication workflows
- Drive efficiency through better systems and structure
- Forecast staffing and production capacity (90-day / 180-day outlooks)
- Identify when to add PMs, coordinators, or supervisors
- Partner with the CEO on hiring plans
- Ensure the company can take on new work without overloading the team
- Protect margins through better planning and execution
- Monitor labor efficiency and production costs
- Identify operational improvements that increase profitability
- Partner with the CEO on budgeting and resource planning
- 7–12+ years in live events, AV production, or production-heavy services
- Experience managing operations, logistics, and teams
- Experience leading Project Managers or production staff
- Strong understanding of event workflows, labor models, and show execution
- Demonstrated financial discipline and budget management
- Proven ability to implement and enforce processes
- Direct, clear communicator comfortable managing strong personalities
- High accountability, strong follow-through, and calm under pressure
- Background in AV production, technical direction, or production management
- Experience scaling a small-to-mid-sized production company
- Experience stabilizing chaotic or inconsistent operations
- Familiarity with tools such as ClickUp, Rentman, Vectorworks, and Microsoft Office
- Experience working alongside a founder/CEO
- A coaching or advisory role
- A consultant position
- A purely strategic leadership role
- A people-only manager
- A corporate COO who delegates execution
Personality & Style Fit The ideal candidate is:
- Structured, decisive, and practical
- Ego-light and ownership-heavy
- Comfortable setting and enforcing standards
- Respected by technical teams
- Focused on outcomes rather than theory
- Able to balance empathy with accountability
- Energized by improving how things work
This role exists to:
- Professionalize operations
- Increase consistency
- Develop the team
- Reduce key-person risk
- Enable sustainable revenue growth
- Allow the CEO to focus on clients, sales, and strategy