Operating Associate – Continuous Improvement

Job Description

Operating Associate | Orion Group

The Tone:
This is a full-time operator development program, based in Boulder, CO, with extensive travel across the U.S., territories, and Canada. Orion Group is a network of operating companies dedicated to redefining careers in the service trades, aiming to become the industry’s gold standard. This two-year apprenticeship is designed to cultivate high-potential early-career talent into future leaders who will drive operational improvement and eventually lead one of Orion’s operating companies.

The TL;DR
• Role: Operator Development Program
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Hybrid, Boulder, CO
• Pay: $60000–$80000 yearly
• Mission: Solve operational problems using Continuous Improvement methods to prepare for future leadership roles within Orion operating companies.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Travel: Travel extensively to operating companies across the U.S., territories, and Canada to observe operations and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.
• Learn Businesses: Immerse in various parts of service-trades businesses, including dispatch, operations, sales, and finance, to understand how they succeed and encounter challenges.
• Apprentice in Continuous Improvement: Learn and apply the A3 problem-solving method from senior senseis, contributing to real CI engagements and progressively developing coaching capabilities.
• Build Business Literacy: Develop the ability to read P&Ls, understand operational KPIs, and discern how leadership decisions impact business results.
• Develop through Structured Gates: Pass through six structured capability assessments across two years, evaluating readiness for the next stage of development and increased responsibility.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s Degree by your start date; Entry-Level career experience.
• Experience: Willingness to travel 50-70% across the U.S., territories, and Canada, and to relocate within 2-3 years for placement at an operating company; U.S. work authorization.
• Skills: Strong ambition to lead a business with a proactive approach to learning; high coachability and humility; comfort working in ambiguous operational environments; genuine curiosity about how businesses function.
• Bonus: Exposure to operations, manufacturing, or service-trades environments; leadership experience in any setting; demonstrated track record of personal initiative.