2025 median annual pay
$108,780
Median for the whole occupation, across all experience levels. It is not specific to a level or to Brazil.
Career in 2026 and 2027
Operations Manager
Operations managers make the work of a company run reliably, at a sensible cost, as it grows. The craft moves from mapping and fixing individual processes to designing operating models, vendors, resilience and large transformations.
Content reviewed on October 21, 2026
- Levels
- 4
- Skills mapped at Mid-level
- 8
What each level must prove
Mid-level
Redesigns processes and measures them, owning service levels, metrics and capacity for an operational area.
You lead process changes with the people affected, set service targets and KPIs, forecast demand and decide what to automate. Compared with junior, you own the result of the change, not only the analysis behind it.
Average score required: 69%
Process Redesign
Why: Lets you move a team from the current process to a new one with stakeholder agreement and a rollout plan, so the redesign survives the first busy week.
SLA Design & Management
Why: Lets you agree a measurable response target with an internal customer and define when a miss escalates, instead of arguing about what fast meant.
Root Cause Analysis
Why: Lets you lead an analysis across teams after a repeated failure and get the fix owned, rather than stopping at the nearest explanation.
Six Sigma Fundamentals
Why: Lets you use DMAIC and control charts to show whether a defect rate fell because of your change or just normal variation.
KPI Design & Measurement
Why: Lets you choose a leading indicator that warns of a backlog early, alongside the lagging one leadership reads, and set targets people cannot easily game.
Capacity Planning & Forecasting
Why: Lets you forecast next quarter's demand and decide whether to hire, cross-train or shift work before service levels slip.
Process Automation Strategy
Why: Lets you judge which manual task is worth automating with RPA or a workflow tool and where a person must stay in the loop to catch exceptions.
Standardization & Governance
Why: Lets you bring two sites doing the same work differently onto one standard while keeping local compliance needs, without freezing improvement.
Study for Operations Manager: trails and practice exams
Each level of this career maps to a study trail. Read the full topic map for free, then measure your level.
Market snapshot (United States)
Projected job growth, 2025–2035
+5%
Faster than average
Closest US occupation: Top Executives. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, updated August 27, 2026
Two ways to move up one level
12 weeks · intensive
For whoever has a deadline
About 8 hours a week, in 1 cycle focused on the gaps that weigh most.
40 weeks · regular
Alongside work
About 4 hours a week, in 3 cycles. Each cycle carries what was left from the previous one.
Frequently asked questions
What is Operations Manager?
Operations managers make the work of a company run reliably, at a sensible cost, as it grows. The craft moves from mapping and fixing individual processes to designing operating models, vendors, resilience and large transformations.
What must each level of Operations Manager prove?
Operations Manager is mapped in 4 levels: Junior, Mid-level, Senior, and Expert. Open each level above to see the skills it must prove.
How long does the Operations Manager plan take?
The plan has 2 paces: 12 weeks per level at about 8 hours a week (intensive) and 40 weeks per level at about 4 hours a week (regular).
How the plan works
AI tutor
A study session on each new topic, at your level.
AI school
Hands-on lessons on using AI in your career's daily work.
Assessments
Each requirement is proven by measurement, not by a checkbox.
Stage review
At the end of each cycle you see what moved and what carries over.
Find out which level you are at
A short diagnostic measures the skills you already have. The journey starts from there.