Shipyard Facilities Operations & Asset Reliability

Saronic · Defense · Austin, TX · Port Alpha

This role is for a Director of Shipyard Facilities Operations & Asset Reliability. The primary focus is on ensuring the uptime and performance of critical production assets (cranes, docks, utilities, facilities) and overseeing the execution of capital projects for shipyard expansion and upgrades. The role involves establishing maintenance strategies, managing capital and facilities budgets, and leading teams responsible for facilities, maintenance, reliability, and capital projects. It requires strong technical judgment, financial rigor, and experience in heavy industrial or shipyard environments.

What you'd actually do

  1. Own reliability and availability of all production-critical assets, including: Cranes, hoists, and heavy lift systems Shiplifts, docks, transfer systems, and waterfront infrastructure Electrical power distribution, water, compressed air, and utilities Buildings, foundations, pavements, and fixed facilities
  2. Establish and enforce a disciplined preventive and predictive maintenance strategy to prevent unplanned outages
  3. Own end-to-end execution of capital programs, including: Yard expansion and facility build-out Major equipment purchases and infrastructure upgrades Utility capacity expansions and site development
  4. Lead annual capital planning and prioritization aligned with production forecasts and long-term strategy
  5. Lead facilities, maintenance, reliability, and capital project teams

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Facilities Management, Construction Management, or related technical discipline
  • 10+ years experience in heavy industrial, shipyard, manufacturing, or infrastructure-intensive environments
  • 5+ years leading facilities, maintenance, reliability, or capital programs
  • Demonstrated experience owning uptime of critical industrial assets
  • Proven track record delivering capital projects on time and on budget
  • Strong understanding of: Preventive, corrective, and predictive maintenance systems
  • Asset lifecycle management and reliability principles
  • Capital project controls and financial governance
  • Experience interfacing with engineering, finance, contractors, and regulators
  • Ability to balance short-term operational risk with long-term capital strategy

Nice to have

  • Experience supporting shipyard, port, or waterfront industrial operations
  • Background in reliability engineering or asset management programs
  • Experience with large mobile cranes, ship lifts, docks, or heavy industrial utilities
  • Familiarity with environmental, building, and infrastructure permitting
  • Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience
  • PMP or equivalent project management certification

What the JD emphasized

  • critical production-enabling assets
  • preventing infrastructure-driven production outages
  • long-term capacity growth
  • capital projects on time and on budget
  • reliability principles