Title:  Lead Specialist, Ops Resilience & Crisis Mgmt

Your Mission at Virgin Galactic

We seek a Lead Specialist, Operational Resilience & Crisis Management to ensure mission and workplace readiness through emergency response, crisis management, and resilience program execution. This role is critical for supporting real-time operations, managing the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and driving continuous improvement.  You will serve as the primary executor for program delivery, emergency coordination, training, exercises, and post-incident analysis. You will lead operational resilience initiatives that safeguard flight missions and enterprise operations.

Responsibilities

• Emergency Response Planning: Develop and maintain alternate response procedures for flight emergencies, including in-flight anomalies, ground emergencies, and mission abort scenarios. Ensure alignment with FAA regulations and Virgin Galactic’s Safety Management System.
• Real-Time Crisis Management: Support live flight emergency response by monitoring situations, activating protocols, and providing accurate data to the Crisis Management Team. Lead and manage emergency activations, ensuring timely decision-making and resource allocation for flight and non-flight related emergencies impacting teammates, assets and facilities.
• Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Management:  Staff and oversee EOC positions during activations. Assign roles, establish operational rhythms, track resources, maintain logs, produce situation reports, and manage documentation and EOC processes.
• Training and Exercises: Design, coordinate, and lead a variety of exercises, including tabletop simulations, drills, and full-scale scenarios. Develop and deliver training programs on emergency protocols, flight response procedures, and employee awareness. Track participation and evaluate effectiveness.
• Post-Incident Analysis: Lead after-action reviews by compiling data, facilitating debriefs, identifying root causes, and recommending improvements to plans, training, and EOC processes.
• Risk Management: Identify emerging threats and hazards. Conduct risk assessments, update risk registers, and propose mitigation strategies. Maintain Business Impact Analyses (BIAs) and Business Continuity Plans (BCPs).
• Metrics and Reporting: Analyze resilience metrics, including maturity scores, recovery time objectives (RTO), recovery point objectives (RPO), and risk trends. Develop dashboards and reports for leadership visibility.
• Compliance and Best Practices: Ensure adherence to FAA mishap reporting requirements and integrate emergency management activities with industry standards (ISO 22301). Research and apply best practices to continuously improve resilience programs.
• Collaboration and Communication: Facilitate cross-training and collaboration with internal teams and external partners. Manage alert/warning systems and risk intelligence tools to maintain situational awareness.
• Workforce Emergency Preparedness & Culture: Develop workforce preparedness programs and facility drills.  Build preparedness culture through awareness campaigns, leadership briefings, recognition to embed resilience behaviors and accountability.  Assess readiness through surveys, discussions, feedback to strengthen employee confidence and preparedness.

Required Skills and Experience

• 8+ years in resilience operations, business continuity, crisis/incident management, emergency management, risk management, workforce preparedness/training (aerospace/aviation preferred).
• Proven experience leading drills, delivering training, managing EOC activations/staffing, developing response procedures, conducting risk assessments, coordinating crisis response, building preparedness culture, and writing after-action reports.
• Knowledge of FAA Part 450, ICS/NIMS, ISO 22301, 22361, 22336, BIAs/BCPs, business continuity and enterprise risk frameworks.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office/SharePoint, resilience platforms, mass notification systems, data visualization, and risk registers.
• Strong analytical, facilitation, and communication skills; calm under pressure.
• Adaptable, collaborative, detail-oriented; committed to safety culture.
• Preferred: CEM, CBCP, ICS/NIMS, bachelor’s in related field, flight/mission support experience.

#LI-LN1

The annual U.S. base salary range for this full-time position is $99,700.00–$152,075.00. The base pay actually offered will vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, location, and experience and take into account internal equity. Other forms of pay (e.g., bonus or long term incentive) may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and other benefits, dependent on the position offered. For more information regarding Virgin Galactic benefits, please visit https://vgcareers.virgingalactic.com/global/en/benefits

Who We Are

Virgin Galactic is an aerospace and space travel company, pioneering human spaceflight for private individuals and researchers with its advanced air and space vehicles. We are making the dream of space travel a reality, delivering spaceflight at an unprecedented frequency, with the development of next generation space vehicles. 

Export Requirements 
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. Person (either a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident or a protected individual as defined 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) or be able to obtain the required authorization from either the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Department of Commerce. The applicant must also not be included in the list of Specifically Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. See list here.

EEO Statement
Virgin Galactic is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Virgin Galactic is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status. 

Drug Free Workplace
Virgin Galactic is committed to a Drug Free Workplace.  All applicants post offer and active teammates are subject to testing for marijuana, cocaine, opioids, amphetamines, PCP, and alcohol when criteria is met as outlined in our policies. This can include pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, and accident related drug and alcohol testing. 

Phoenix Employment Requirements
For individuals seeking employment at our Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport facility, employment is contingent upon you obtaining and maintaining a TSA authorized security badge.  This includes initial and annual mandatory background checks that are governed by TSA, and conducted by the Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport badging office.