Head of Flight Operations

Company Overview

Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas. These include airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refueling, special air missions, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation. We own the whole stack: designing, building, and operating turnkey capabilities that give our partners decisive, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats.

Our operating model is built around three interlocking pillars. The Support Groups provide a global shared-service – spanning people, finance, platform, operations, legal, and engagement. This frees up our Core Groups, who develop and own mission capabilities end-to-end, to focus entirely on delivery. The Market Groups apply a regional lens, ensuring that our agile and adaptable capabilities remain aligned to the wicked problems that matter most to our partners across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific.

At the heart of our model is a simple but powerful idea: be a true partner with skin in the game. Our partners need effects, not just equipment. By owning the full stack – from the lab to the field – we are able to drive a continuous cycle of innovation that keeps our partners ahead. It's a fast-moving, intellectually demanding environment where talented people are given real responsibility, work on problems that matter, and contribute to an enterprise that is growing quickly and deliberately.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, with facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as Continental Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Group Overview

Metrea is actively building its presence in Australia as part of a deliberate, globally coordinated expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. Our Asia-Pacific Market Group, headquartered in Brisbane with an additional office in Perth, is the enterprise's dedicated regional interface — connecting Australia's national security community with Metrea's full suite of capabilities across three core domains: Aerospace, Electromagnetic & Cyber, and Digital & Synthetic. Metrea is now bringing that same depth of mission expertise and proven operating model to Australia.

Underpinning these capabilities is a global network of Support Groups spanning people, finance, platform, operations, legal, and engagement — ensuring that as we grow in Australia, we do so with the full weight of an established global enterprise behind us.

Metrea's solutions are built for elegance: effective, efficient, and evolving — enabling our partners to scale capacity and achieve asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats.

Special Aviation Missions (Australia - AUS) Group (SAM) is one of two Groups responsible for developing and delivering Metrea’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Aerial Firefighting (AFF) and Special Mobility capabilities. Alongside SAM (US) and SAM (EU), SAM (AUS) oversees the integration of new mission systems, ensuring operational readiness across specialised aviation operations in and from Australia. It manages regulatory compliance and strategic partnerships to enhance mission effectiveness. By consolidating expertise and infrastructure, SAM Groups ensure Metrea’s airborne capabilities remain adaptable and mission-ready across dynamic operational environments.

Position Summary

The Head of Fl ight Operations is responsible to the Head of SAM-AUS ( acting as the Accountable Manager (AM) ) for the delivery of safe, compliant and effective flight operations to meet the requirements of Metrea’s Manned aircraft programs in accordance with applicable CASA regulations and Metrea operating procedures. This role is also responsible for ensuring close coordination between the various organisations within the Metrea Enterprise to ensure that the business meets internal and external requirements.

What You'll Do

As the Head of Flight Operations, you will be responsible for the safe, compliant and operational effectively delivery of diverse flying operations across a range of aircraft types, geographic locations and missions. Responsibilities fall into the following main areas:

Effective Operational Delivery: Ensure flying operations are conducted in support of delivering key national security effects to our customers and partners

Flight Crew Management: Supervise flight crew ensuring pilot qualification, ratings and recency requirements are met. Manage pilot performance and operational adherence to SOPs, including mentoring and professional development. Support pilot recruitment and onboarding

Operational Safety Management: Ensure flying operations are conducted safely, including establishing and maintaining operational standards, SOPs and active operational risk management

Safety Culture and Leadership: Act as the operational role model within the organsiation, align with Metrea’s FIRMWARE and a Just Culture, encouraging open communication and driving continual improvement in flight operations

Regulatory Compliance: Ensure operations are delivered in compliance with appropriate CASA regulatory requirements, Metrea’s operations manual and the companies core value

Documentation Development: Support as appropriate the establishment of regulatory documentation in support of capability establishment and continual development of additional capabilities

What You Bring

The successful candidate will have the following key qualifications, skills, and experiences:

At least five (5) years of relevant aviation flight operations experience of which at least two (2) years should be from the aeronautical industry in a management position responsible for oversight of air crew

Minimum 2500+ hours total fixed wing time with experience in twin engine turboprop (e.g. King Air 300) and/or jet aircraft (e.g. Challenger or Global aircraft)

1000 hours PIC (Pilot-In-Command) time in which 300 PIC hours must be in similar aircraft type

Experience in Special Mission aviation

Detailed knowledge and practitioner level operational delivery experience as a key person (nominated person) in CASA Part-138 operations or similar

Intimate knowledge of the Australian government customer’s methodologies for setting requirements for contracted airborne services

Experience with airborne assets, missions and effects across complex aviation operations, with the ability to quickly understand Metrea’s capability portfolio and how we support customer mission outcomes

CASA commercial pilot licence

MECIR

CASA Class 1 Medical

Must have a current AUS Passport

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

Preferred: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Aviation Management, Project Management, Business Administration, or related field

Proficient in Microsoft 365, project management principles, quality management systems (e.g., AS9100), and safety protocols

Benefits

Private Health Insurance

Generous PTO

Annual incentive plan

Paid parental leave

Life and disability insurance

Income Protection Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Novated Car Leasing

Work Authorisation / Security Clearance

Ability to obtain and maintain a n AGSVA Security Clearance.

Inclusion Statement

We are committed to building a team that reflects a broad range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and make hiring decisions based on capability, potential and alignment with our values. If you require any adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please let us know.

Our Firmware

At Metrea, our single core value is Rooted in Humility, and our four cornerstone attributes are Entrepreneurial, Systematic, Discerning, and Over-Deliver. These form what we call our Teammate Firmware. Just like technical firmware connects software and hardware, our Firmware is the constant interface between our mission and our people. It defines how we show up, how we work together, and ho