Operations Specialist 3 - Aerospace & Defense

Be the Team's Deepest Problem-Solver

Every ops floor needs a small number of people who can be handed the hardest problem in the queue and trusted to get it right — balancing cost, speed, and customer impact without defaulting to escalation. As an Operations Specialist III, you're that person for your team.

You resolve what OS I and OS II can't, you help the team solve it themselves next time, and you understand the business well enough to make the close calls — which carrier, which cost, which tradeoff — that protect both service quality and margin. For the rare issue that needs to be fielded by someone supporting Ops leadership and account managers directly, you know when to bring in an Ops Expert.

What You'll Do

Must be able to perform all responsibilities included in the Operations Specialist II job description, in addition to the following:

Resolve the Hardest Escalations

• Independently resolve all escalated issues using available resources with minimal to no assistance
• Assist in resolving team member escalations and questions
• Anticipate problems before they surface and act early

Make the Margin and Cost Tradeoffs

• Understand margin versus total cost for an order and apply that knowledge to additional charge approvals
• Balance speed, cost, and customer impact when making big-picture decisions, without defaulting to escalation (e.g., choosing a carrier based on service reliability and error-rate history rather than the fastest or cheapest option alone)
• Maintain deep, practiced knowledge of the trade, regulatory, and compliance requirements relevant to your assigned sector

Set the Standard for the Team

• Serve as the go-to resource on sector-specific process nuance and edge cases within the team
• Flag SOP gaps and suggest improvements to your supervisor based on frontline experience
• Uphold team expectations by leading through example
• Maintain any certifications required for your assigned sector and stay current on related compliance requirements; assist teammates with related questions

Maintain a Balanced Level of Performance

As an OS III, you'll be expected to maintain minimal to no errors or service failures, make sound decisions under pressure, and meet the customer service standards appropriate for this level. Specific metrics vary by sector and will be communicated by your direct reporting supervisor.

Requirements

• Demonstrated success as an Operations Specialist II, or equivalent experience independently resolving complex, time-critical logistics escalations
• Working knowledge of margin and cost tradeoffs, and comfort applying that knowledge to real-time approval decisions
• Deep, near-expert familiarity with the trade, regulatory, and compliance requirements relevant to your sector
• Track record of coaching or supporting less-tenured teammates through difficult issues
• Sound judgment under pressure, with a track record of getting ahead of problems rather than reacting to them
• Willingness to obtain additional certifications, where applicable within your sector
• Available for 2 weeks of training in person on-site in our Carlsbad, CA headquarters

Advancement to Ops Expert

Ops Expert is a step up in scope, not just tenure: it moves from executing within your sector to being the escalation point leadership and account managers turn to directly, with elevated coaching and live-operations responsibility. To advance, you'll need to demonstrate all of the following:

• Minimum of 9-12 months in the OS III role
• Consistently meeting or exceeding OS III performance standards, tracked through ongoing 1:1 check-ins and confirmed across two consecutive Semi-Annual Reviews (SARs)
• Demonstrated ability to guide teammates in real time — catching and correcting issues as they happen, not just after the fact
• Working familiarity with monitoring and resourcing tools (e.g., Zendesk, Twilio, live dashboards) beyond your own queue
• Willingness to obtain additional certifications required for the Expert tier, where applicable, in addition to your existing sector certifications
• Manager recommendation, confirming readiness to operate as the sector's top escalation resource and take on informal team-leadership responsibility

Compensation

• Hourly pay range: $26-30/hr
• High-quality health, vision, and dental care plan options
• 401K company contribution program
• Professional learning and training reimbursements