Director of Operations

Job description

### Key Responsibilities - Lead recruiting for all Philippine engineering roles from entry to senior level. - Assess candidates on culture fit and behavioral alignment with Rocket's core values. Curiosity, Initiative, Follow Through, and Growth — not on technical aptitude. Technical assessment is owned by engineering leadership. - Build and sustain a talent pipeline to support growth from 30 to 40+ engineers. - Partner with the HR Manager on offer structures, onboarding, and Philippine labor law compliance. - Serve as the primary cultural anchor for 30+ engineers across experience levels. - Motivate, influence, and retain entry-level, junior, and senior developers through direct presence and relationship, not through hierarchy. - Identify team morale and engagement issues early and resolve them before they affect delivery or retention. - Maintain a working environment aligned with Rocket's values and the expectations of a US-headquartered professional services firm. - Provide leadership and decision-making support to the HR Manager and Finance Manager, who handle execution of their respective functions. - Maintain oversight of payroll, benefits, compliance, and facilities for a 40+ person engineering office. - Ensure operational infrastructure scales appropriately as the team grows. - Maintain visibility into project delivery performance across Manila-based engineering teams. - Collaborate with the CIO to make decisions on team augmentation, restructuring, or resource allocation when delivery optimization is required. - This is a strategic oversight function, not day-to-day project management. Project delivery accountability sits with engineering leadership. - Represent Rocket Partners professionally in client-facing and business development contexts. - Interface with CTOs, CMOs, and CEOs of client and prospect organizations on behalf of Rocket. - Support APAC business development initiatives by leveraging the Manila office presence for regional engagement and RFP participation. ### Required Experience and Qualifications - 8 or more years of progressive leadership experience, with at least 3 years in a general management, country management, or office leadership role. - Prior experience in at least one of the following: offshore technology delivery center management, BPO operations leadership, technology consulting, or enterprise SaaS operations. - Demonstrated track record of building and scaling teams in a high-growth technology environment. - Meaningful professional exposure to western executive stakeholders — US, UK, or Australian — including direct interfacing at the C-suite level. - Proven ability to recruit for culture and behavioral fit, not just technical credentials. - Working knowledge of Philippine labor law, HR compliance, and local business regulations. - Strong command of business financials at the office or cost-center level. - Availability to work second shift hours: 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM Philippine time. This schedule aligns with US business hours and is a firm requirement of the role. Work-from-home flexibility of 1 to 2 days per week is available at the Director’s discretion.