Chief Operating Officer, Marine Technology Society

Position Overview

Salary: $165,000 to $185,000 USD annually, commensurate with experience

Experience Required: Over 10 years

Description

The Marine Technology Society (MTS) is hiring a Chief Operating Officer to serve as the senior operational leader and strategic execution partner to the CEO, in a fully remote, U.S.-based role with a salary range of $165,000 to $185,000.

Founded in 1963, MTS brings together leaders across academia, government, and industry to exchange ideas, accelerate innovation, and build the workforce required for the global blue economy. Members include engineers, scientists, technologists, policymakers, and educators working across the full spectrum of ocean and subsea technologies, from offshore energy and dynamic positioning to ocean robotics and buoys. Today, MTS operates as both a professional society and a platform for mission-driven initiatives, with a portfolio that includes the MATE ROV Competition, the Ocean Enterprise Initiative, and Ocean Exchange.

The COO is accountable for the performance, integration, and health of the organizational core, ensuring that the Society’s people, systems, programs, and finances are aligned and executing effectively. The role sets direction and gets into the work, connecting and coordinating across a senior leadership team while staying close to all day-to-day execution, and enables the CEO and senior leadership team to focus on flagship verticals and external partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day operations across membership services, programs, the MTS Journal, sections and committees, events, grants and contracts, HR, and financial compliance, translating strategy into a clear operational roadmap.
• Oversee MTS’s operating budget in close coordination with staff and the outsourced accounting function, maintaining financial discipline, transparency, and forecasting across all COO portfolio areas.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable regulations, including federal grant requirements such as 2 CFR Part 200 where applicable, and prepare financial reporting for the CEO and Board.
• Co-own MTS’s revenue growth strategy with the CEO, identifying, originating, and pursuing new funding opportunities across donations, grants, sponsorships, partnerships, and earned revenue.
• Lead, develop, and inspire a team of six or more staff and contractors, shaping conditions for high performance, professional growth, and accountability.
• Ensure membership services and legacy programs, including sections, committees, professional development, and the MTS Journal, evolve and continue to deliver meaningful value.
• Build cross-functional connective tissue between flagship verticals and operations, promoting shared ownership of outcomes across the senior team.
• Support the CEO in Board engagement through preparation of materials, coordination of governance processes, and follow-through on Board-directed priorities.
• Develop and strengthen the volunteer leadership pipeline at all levels of the Society, identifying, engaging, and empowering emerging leaders.
• Represent MTS at domestic and international conferences, partner convenings, and business development engagements.

Requirements

• Ten or more years of progressive leadership experience in a mission-driven, innovation, nonprofit, or membership-based organization, with a track record reflecting real organizational complexity.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling narratives for diverse audiences, from grant applications and board reports to external thought leadership and public remarks.
• Demonstrated comfort representing an organization across the full spectrum of stakeholder engagement, from one-on-one conversations with donors, business leaders, and elected and appointed officials to podium appearances before large professional and policy audiences.
• Ability to operate fluidly at both strategic and hands-on levels, shifting from organizational vision to spreadsheet detail without losing effectiveness.
• Demonstrated success building and leading multi-functional teams across operations, programs, and stakeholders, with a leadership style that develops people and distributes ownership.
• Strong financial acumen across the full operational cycle, including budget development and management, accounting oversight, financial reporting, and grants and contracts compliance, including familiarity with federal requirements such as 2 CFR Part 200.
• Proven ability to translate strategy into execution in lean, distributed organizations where resources are finite and priorities compete.
• Authorization to work in the United States; preference for candidates residing in the contiguous United States, with applications welcomed from across all U.S. time zones.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep familiarity with the dynamics of volunteer-driven, mission-centered institutions, whether as a staff leader in a professional society, trade association, or membership organization, or as a senior volunteer leader who has governed, chaired, or led at the committee or board level.
• Prior experience as a senior organizational leader, whether in a COO, Deputy Director, or comparable executive role in the nonprofit or association sectors, or at the Senior Executive Service level in a federal agency with relevant portfolio overlap.
• Demonstrated appetite for business development and external engagement, including experience originating and closing funding relationships, partnerships, or earned revenue opportunities.
• Experience supporting or leading organizations through meaningful growth or transition, including building new capacity while sustaining existing commitments.
• Familiarity with federal funding environments, grant compliance frameworks, and the operational demands of managing government-funded programs alongside earned and philanthropic revenue.
• Background or genuine curiosity in ocean, marine technology, blue economy, or adjacent sectors, with enough fluency to speak credibly with the MTS community.

Additional Notes

• Fully remote, U.S.-based role with flexible hours; travel estimated at 15 to 25 percent annually.
• 403(b) retirement match up to 5 percent, vested immediately.
• 100 percent employer-paid medical, dental, and vision for the employee; 80 percent employer-paid for dependents.
• Two weeks paid annual leave, two weeks paid sick leave, and 11 paid holidays.
• $100 per month work-from-home stipend.
• MTS is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

How to Apply

For confidential inquiries or to apply, send a current resume and a two-page cover letter to chris.ostrander@mtsociety.org. Application review will begin May 28, 2026 and continue until the position is filled.