Full-Time

Senior Manager

Operations Excellence and Analytics

Posted on 8/18/2026

United Airlines

United Airlines

10,001+ employees

Global airline for passengers and cargo

Compensation Overview

$140.6k - $183.1k/yr

+ Bonus + Long-term incentive compensation

No H1B Sponsorship

Chicago, IL, USA

Hybrid

Three days on-site per week, Tuesday through Thursday, at CSC-Willis Tower in Chicago.

Bachelor's, Master's, MBA

Category
Engineering Management (1)
Required Skills
LLM
Python
Six Sigma
Regression
Data Visualization
Data Science
R
Neural Networks
Apache Spark
SQL
Machine Learning
Tableau
Hadoop
Databricks
Data Analysis
Reinforcement Learning

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Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in a quantitative field such as Mathematics, Statistics, Operations Research, Economics, Computer Science, Engineering, or related work experience.
  • At least 5 years of experience in data science and/or analytics.
  • At least 2 years of experience in a leadership or supervisory role.
  • Experience with exploratory data analysis, feature engineering, clustering, regression, tree methods, supervised and unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, neural networks, natural language processing, simulation, optimization, and parametric and nonparametric classification methods.
  • Expertise in at least one quantitative analysis package, such as Python or R.
  • Proficiency in writing complex queries and procedures using SQL.
  • Data visualization skills using one or more reporting tools, such as Spotfire, Tableau, or ggplot2.
  • Deep technical knowledge of statistics and machine learning methods, including testing model assumptions and selecting appropriate methods.
  • Ability to communicate complex quantitative analysis and algorithms clearly, precisely, and actionably to technical and non-technical stakeholders at all management levels.
  • Strong relationship management and influence skills across business, technical, and operational stakeholders.
  • Business development skills to source new analytics projects, apply the team's analytics capabilities to business problems, and build relationships with stakeholders to support operational decision-making.
  • Experience taking projects from exploration through completion by learning a business problem, finding the required data, building models from scratch, and deploying a solution to end users.
  • Understanding of the capabilities and limitations of generative artificial intelligence tools and ability to use them for research, analysis, content creation, and problem-solving while validating outputs and following responsible artificial intelligence, data privacy, and security policies.
  • Willingness and ability to travel 5–10%.
  • Willingness and ability to work a hybrid schedule with three days in the office Tuesday through Thursday at CSC-Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
  • Legal authorization to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship.
  • Successful completion of the interview process.
  • Reliable and punctual attendance.
Responsibilities
  • Manage a team of 3–4 data analysts by guiding them on modeling techniques, approaches, and methodologies.
  • Partner with business teams throughout Technical Operations and United to uncover previously unknown opportunities that can be solved quantitatively, define use cases, and manage the analytics portfolio based on value, complexity, and business need.
  • Ensure alignment and prioritization with business objectives and initiatives, help business owners make faster and smarter decisions, and translate the Standards and Excellence strategy into the analytics strategy, metric architecture, and dashboard and data product roadmap.
  • Design key performance indicators and objective functions to unify disparate business units and align goals and incentives.
  • Establish and maintain key performance indicator governance, metric definitions, data quality controls, review cadences, ownership routines, and sustainment mechanisms so analytics products remain trusted, actionable, and embedded in ongoing business performance management.
  • Build and deliver presentations explaining drivers of operational performance, including recommendations for improving outcomes, and translate complex analysis into executive-ready stories, recommendations, and decisions.
  • Execute solutions to business problems using data analysis, data mining, optimization, statistical modeling, and machine learning techniques; identify trends, root causes, and constraints in operational and financial data.
  • Translate analytical models into business actions while accounting for existing systems and process constraints.
  • Partner with Digital Technology and platform teams to design, build, and activate data assets, dashboards, and decision-support tools, connecting delivered work to measurable operational and financial outcomes.
  • Encourage the development and sharing of internal best practices and foster collaboration with internal and external teams.
Desired Qualifications
  • A master's degree in a quantitative field such as Mathematics, Statistics, Operations Research, Economics, Computer Science, Engineering, and/or an MBA, or related work experience.
  • At least 7 years of experience in analytics.
  • Airline experience or knowledge of airline operations.
  • Familiarity with aircraft systems and/or maintenance.
  • Experience with predictive maintenance, reliability analytics, operational performance management, or labor productivity analysis.
  • Lean Six Sigma certification.
  • Understanding of experimental design principles.
  • Background with cloud computing and big data platforms, particularly PySpark, Hadoop, Databricks, Palantir, or similar ecosystems.

United Airlines is a large American airline that moves people and cargo around the world. Its main product is airline travel—selling tickets for trips and offering extras like baggage handling and in-flight purchases, plus shipping cargo. The service works by operating a big network of international and domestic flights, using aircraft and crews to transport passengers and freight between destinations. The company focuses on running flights efficiently, improving the passenger experience, and pursuing environmental initiatives to reduce its impact. It differentiates itself through a global route network, scale, and a mix of passenger and cargo services, along with a commitment to responsible operations. The goal is to provide reliable, safe, and sustainable air travel for individuals and businesses while growing revenue from tickets, add-ons, and cargo.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Chicago, Illinois

Founded

1926

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Q2 2026 revenue rose 16% to $17.7 billion, showing strong demand.
  • Premium revenue jumped 16% and contracted business revenue surged 27% in Q2 2026.
  • Cargo revenue climbed 22.6% in Q2 2026 as yields strengthened despite flat capacity.

What critics are saying

  • July 2026 reservation outages exposed fragile systems across Newark, Houston, Dulles, and San Francisco.
  • United’s Q2 2026 guidance assumes nearly $6 billion extra fuel expense this year.
  • A repeated tech meltdown can trigger cancellations, refunds, and brand damage before 2027.

What makes United Airlines unique

  • United’s 2026 A321XLR economy-plus table row sells premium space first in U.S. aviation.
  • MileagePlus plus Chase delivered 11.3% loyalty revenue growth in Q2 2026.
  • United’s global network and cargo arm create diversified demand beyond domestic leisure traffic.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Parental Leave

Employee Assistance Program

Commuter

Paid Holidays

Paid Time Off

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

11%

1 year growth

11%

2 year growth

11%
Ticker Report
Aug 19th, 2026
Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New $12.94 Million Investment in United Airlines Holdings Inc $UAL

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 95,139 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,938,000. Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its […]

The Traveler
Aug 16th, 2026
Focus Partners Takes Fresh Stake in United Airlines

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions has initiated a new multi-million dollar position in United Airlines, highlighting renewed institutional interest in the carrier’s post‑pandemic growth story.

Yahoo Finance
Aug 14th, 2026
United Airlines sees loyalty revenue surge 13% as Amex cardholders boost premium spending

United Airlines reported strong second-quarter results driven by loyalty programmes, with American Express playing an unexpected role despite not co-branding a card with the carrier. United's MileagePlus card is issued exclusively by Chase through 2029, but Amex channels premium spend through its Platinum cardholders, who can designate United for a $200 annual credit on bags and fees. Business Platinum holders receive a 35% rebate on economy fares booked through Amex Travel. The airline also benefits from Amex's transfer partnerships with programmes like Air Canada Aeroplan and Singapore KrisFlyer, which provide access to United seats. United's chief commercial officer reported new co-branded card accounts rose 22% year-over-year, hitting a second-quarter record, whilst card spend increased 14%. Loyalty revenue grew 11.3%, or above 13% when adjusted for accounting changes.

Yahoo Finance
Aug 7th, 2026
Record 153,359 commercial flights tracked on 23 July as airline stocks soar

Global commercial air travel hit a record on 23 July with 153,359 flights tracked worldwide. The milestone comes during peak summer holiday season and follows strong growth trends, with 2026 passenger traffic expected to rise 5% over 2025. US carriers are benefiting significantly. Delta Air Lines is up 35% this year, whilst United Airlines Holdings and Southwest Airlines have each gained about 19%, outpacing the S&P 500's 13% rise. All three posted strong second-quarter results in July, beating Wall Street expectations despite higher jet fuel prices. Delta expects full-year income of about $73 billion, up 15% from 2025. United raised its earnings forecast to $9–$11 per share. Southwest reported earnings of $0.94 per share on revenue of $8.72 billion, exceeding analyst estimates. Robust demand continues despite increased fares and capacity constraints from Boeing and Airbus production backlogs.

Airline Economics Ltd
Jul 30th, 2026
United Airlines secures $750M term loan for fleet investment

United Airlines has secured a $750 million term loan to fund its fleet investment programme. NatWest acted as sole underwriter, arranger and initial lender for the aircraft-secured financing. The deal highlights NatWest's capabilities in underwriting large-scale aviation financing transactions for major carriers.