Director, technical operations vs operations director

The differences between directors, technical operations and operations directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a director, technical operations and an operations director. Additionally, a director, technical operations has an average salary of $141,158, which is higher than the $104,050 average annual salary of an operations director.

The top three skills for a director, technical operations include project management, cloud and network infrastructure. The most important skills for an operations director are customer service, continuous improvement, and oversight.

Director, technical operations vs operations director overview

	Director, Technical Operations	Operations Director
Yearly salary	$141,158	$104,050
Hourly rate	$67.86	$50.02
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	166,100	114,993
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

What does a director, technical operations do?

A director of technical operations is in charge of spearheading the efforts in optimizing business operations. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to determine the best operational practices, setting goals and objectives, allocating budgets, coordinating different departments, and evaluating the performance of technicians and engineers. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to serve as a driving force that leads and encourages the workforce to meet goals and new heights, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

What does an operations director do?

Operations directors oversee all company operations. They have the power to set the direction, change the course of the organization, and reform strategies to ensure efficiency in how the company operates. Operations directors manage business operations effectively by constantly analyzing company data and by anticipating any challenge that may come their way. As such, they make sound business decisions and recommendations that will help strengthen the organization. Operations directors oversee finances, quality control, and even human resources. They ensure that all aspects of the business are considered in making business operations decisions.

Director, technical operations vs operations director salary

Directors, technical operations and operations directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director, Technical Operations	Operations Director
Average salary	$141,158	$104,050
Salary range	Between $98,000 And $201,000	Between $65,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Brookfield Properties	Airbnb
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between director, technical operations and operations director education

There are a few differences between a director, technical operations and an operations director in terms of educational background:

	Director, Technical Operations	Operations Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Director, technical operations vs operations director demographics

Here are the differences between directors, technical operations' and operations directors' demographics:

	Director, Technical Operations	Operations Director
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 87.0% Female, 13.0%	Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between director, technical operations and operations director duties and responsibilities

Director, technical operations example responsibilities.

Manage global MPLS network provider and new installations.
Manage cloud-base, IAAS, or outsource relationships relate to business systems
Implement and manage SAN storage system and other large storage volumes creation and maintenance.
Manage construction managers, RF managers, and operations to coordinate successful project completions.
Lead the development, manufacturing and delivery of Linux backup appliance storage server solution for small business customers.
Define, document, and enforce guidelines regarding SOX compliance, pertinent to operational functions for all manage areas.

Operations director example responsibilities.

Manage KPI reports from all warranty companies to ensure increasing sales and productivity.
Spearhead governance, security and compliance initiatives to achieve SOX and PCI compliance.
Manage a PMO style team to implement any changes across the global contact centers.
Develop all marketing strategies and materials as well as personally managing key OEM and national accounts.
Manage multiple vendor relationships for RFP development and review, contract negotiation, contract terms management, and accounts payable review.
Provide leadership to manufacturing organization by aligning overall KPIs to achieve near term and long term business objectives.

Director, technical operations vs operations director skills

Common director, technical operations skills

Project Management, 10%
Cloud, 6%
Network Infrastructure, 5%
Architecture, 5%
Windows, 4%
SAN, 4%

Common operations director skills

Customer Service, 12%
Continuous Improvement, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Patients, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Human Resources, 4%

Director, Technical Operations vs. similar jobs

Director, Technical Operations related careers

Director, Technical Operations related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Director, Technical Operations
Director, Technical Operations vs Operations Director

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs