NextChapter

Chief Operating Officer (COO) jobs: 483 open roles, pay, industries and skills

483 open Chief Operating Officer jobs (COO), taken from employers’ own career sites and checked to still be open. Also listed as Chief Operations Officer, Head of Operations. Listings that state pay show a median of $187,500 a year.

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The market for Chief Operating Officer work

Every figure is counted from verified open listings. Pay is what the employer advertises for the job.

Verified open Chief Operating Officer jobs
483

Source: NextChapter, checked against employer career sites, last 7 days.

See the detail →
Median pay in listings that state it
$187,500

Source: NextChapter verified openings.

See the detail →
State with the most openings
New York (47)

Source: NextChapter verified openings.

Industry hiring the most
Healthcare & Hospital Systems (38%)

Source: NextChapter verified openings.

Listings that are remote
26%

Source: NextChapter verified openings.

See the detail →
Listings that ask for an AI skill
11%

Source: NextChapter verified openings, read in full.

What a COO does

C-suite role in Operations.

How the company runs day to day: operations, delivery, process and the cross-functional plan that turns strategy into output.

Usually reports to the CEO.

Other ways this role is written

  • COO
  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Chief Operations Officer
  • Head of Operations

Listings under any of these titles are counted on this page. Assistant, associate, manager and staff titles are not.

Open Chief Operating Officer jobs

Verified against the employer’s own career site within the last week.

Showing the newest 15 of about 483 verified open jobs here. Search all jobs

Search all Chief Operating Officer jobs

COO salary

From 89 open listings that state pay. Annual, in US dollars, base pay only.

Lower quarter
$140,000
Median
$187,500
Upper quarter
$280,000

Leadership pay often includes bonus and equity that a listing does not state. Treat these figures as the floor of the conversation, not the whole package.

Best industries for COO jobs

Employers hiring the most, as a share of listings whose employer has a known industry. Median pay shown where at least 8 listings state it.

Where COO jobs are

States with the most open listings; median pay where at least 8 listings state it.

Skills COO jobs ask for

Named in the listings themselves, as a share of 98 Chief Operating Officer listings that name skills. Leadership listings name fewer skills than individual-contributor ones, so this is a signal, not a checklist.

Most named in COO listings

  1. 1. supply chain32%
  2. 2. forecasting29%
  3. 3. budgeting29%
  4. 4. lean27%
  5. 5. regulatory compliance26%
  6. 6. strategic planning24%
  7. 7. logistics20%
  8. 8. procurement20%
  9. 9. six sigma19%
  10. 10. risk management18%

Across all Operations openings

  1. 1. supply chain14%
  2. 2. procurement14%
  3. 3. logistics12%
  4. 4. project management7%
  5. 5. excel6%
  6. 6. erp2%
  7. 7. audit2%
  8. 8. forecasting2%
  9. 9. onboarding2%
  10. 10. risk management2%

AI skills for COO jobs

Specific AI skills named in the full posting text, such as prompt engineering, AI governance or an AI tool. A general mention of AI does not count.

11% of 117 open Chief Operating Officer listings ask for a specific AI skill, against 2% of all Operations openings.

AI skills named most often

  1. 1. AI tools in daily work6%
  2. 2. AI adoption and change management2%
  3. 3. Model training and deep learning2%
  4. 4. LLM application engineering1%
  5. 5. AI workflow automation1%
  6. 6. Gen-AI content tools1%

Do AI skills change chief operating officer pay?

For Operations roles in general, as of November 9, 2026. This is the function’s figure, not one for chief operating officer alone: one title rarely has enough listings on both sides.

Among Operations listings, those that ask for an AI skill advertise +21.5% (about $28.5k) compared with similar listings that do not, matched on level and industry.

Listings that ask for an AI skill
$160,000
median, from 517 paid listings
Listings that never mention AI
$114,000
median, from 2,429 paid listings

Advertised pay only: the midpoint of the range an employer posted, on live U.S. postings read from the full text. “Asks for an AI skill” means the posting names a specific AI skill; “no AI” means it never mentions AI. A difference in what is advertised is not a promise of what you would be paid, and it does not show that learning a skill causes a raise.

See the AI-skill pay table for every function · Check your own pay against these listings

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The Operations ladder

The same function at other levels: where this role comes from and where it leads.

All Operations jobs

Job titles under COO

The exact titles employers use, with their own job and salary pages.

Employers hiring for COO roles

  • Confidential 33
  • JRG Partners 21
  • Blacksmith Agency 8
  • World Business Lenders 7
  • BridgePoint Associates 6
  • Universal Health Services 5
  • Kimmel & Associates 5
  • Beth Israel Lahey Health 4
  • Ascension 4
  • LifePoint Health 4
  • VisionSpark 4
  • JPMorgan Chase 3

Recruiters who place COO roles

Search firms with live public searches in Operations, counted from their own job postings, not self-described. Each has at least two at this level.

All Operations search firms

COO turnover

Departures and appointments reported in SEC filings and news in the last 120 days. Each links to its source.

  • Childrens Place

    The Children's Place appointed Kristin Clifford as Chief Operating Officer, Global Sourcing & Product Operations. New leaders often bring in or reshape the senior team under them.

    Nov 9, 2026

    Read the SEC filing

  • Datavault AI

    Datavault AI promoted its Chief Financial Officer to Chief Executive Officer and President, appointed its Chief Accounting Officer as the new Chief Financial Officer, and hired a new Chief Operating Officer from the company's recent NYIAX acquisition. New chief executives often rebuild the leadership team in their first year.

    Nov 9, 2026

    Read the SEC filing

  • Mattel

    Mattel appointed Steve Totzke as President and Chief Operating Officer, and Roberto Stanichi departed as President and Chief Marketing and Brand Officer. New leaders often bring in or reshape the senior team under them.

    Nov 5, 2026

    Read the SEC filing

  • Commerce.com

    Commerce.com's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Daniel Lentz is stepping down effective November 13, 2026, and Tyler Duncan has been appointed as Interim CFO while the company searches for a permanent successor.

    Nov 5, 2026

    Read the SEC filing

  • KiNRG

    KiNRG appointed John Vasilj as Chief Operating Officer. New leaders often bring in or reshape the senior team under them.

    Nov 5, 2026

    Read the SEC filing

  • Inogen

    Inogen appointed its Chief Operating Officer as the new President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing the outgoing CEO, and will not fill the vacant COO position. A search for a replacement usually follows.

    Nov 5, 2026

    Read the SEC filing

  • Valion Bio

    Valion Bio's President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer Lisa Wolf is resigning, effective December 11, 2026, with no permanent successors yet named. A search for a replacement usually follows.

    Nov 5, 2026

    Read the SEC filing

  • Blaize Holdings

    Blaize Holdings appointed Martin Costas as Chief Operations Officer and Chief Financial Officer, effective November 2, 2026. New leaders often bring in or reshape the senior team under them.

    Nov 5, 2026

    Read the SEC filing

Conferences for COO leaders

Events tagged for Operations, with dates, cost and how to speak.

  • NAW Executive Summit

    Jan 19 to Jan 21, 2027 · Washington, DC

    Paid ticket. Prices not captured.

  • CERAWeek

    Mar 8 to Mar 12, 2027 · Houston, TX

    Ticket $2,250 to $11,000. Executive Conference pass (includes Innovation Agora): $8,500 through Nov 20, 2026; $10,000 Nov 21 to…

  • SIA Executive Forum North America

    Mar 8 to Mar 11, 2027 · Miami Beach, FL

    Paid ticket. Fee schedule is on SIA's event page; amount not read.

    Open call for speakers

  • IATA World Cargo Symposium

    Mar 9 to Mar 11, 2027 · Calgary, CA

    Paid ticket. Fee not shown in the listing found.

  • NLC City Summit

    Nov 19 to Nov 21, 2026 · Nashville, TN

    Ticket $775 to $1,610. 2026 rates for Nashville, Nov 19-21: NLC member $775-$1,255, non-member $990-$1,610 depending on date…

  • RIMS ERM Conference

    Nov 19 to Nov 20, 2026 · Columbus, OH

    Ticket $550 to $1,450. Member $910-$1,150, non-member $1,210-$1,450 (advance/regular/on-site); educational member $550-$650.

Showing 6 of 47 conferences, 47 with dates announced.

All conferences

Training for COO leaders

AI and Operations courses from named providers, with cost shown.

All 6 Operations courses

Podcasts and media COO leaders follow

Hand-picked, each checked to be live. Links go to the publisher.

  • Supply Chain Now

    Podcast · Scott W. Luton and Karin Bursa

    Episodes on supply chain, logistics and freight with industry guests.

  • Lean Blog Interviews

    Podcast · Mark Graban

    Interviews on lean management, continuous improvement and operations leadership.

  • Supply Chain Dive

    Publication · Informa TechTarget

    News on supply chain, trade policy and logistics.

  • Lean Enterprise Institute

    Publication · Lean Enterprise Institute

    Articles in The Lean Post, books and events on lean thinking in operations.

  • MIT Sloan Management Review

    Publication · MIT Sloan Management Review

    Research-based articles on management, strategy, technology and organizations.

COO questions

What does a COO do?
How the company runs day to day: operations, delivery, process and the cross-functional plan that turns strategy into output. Usually reports to the CEO.
What does COO stand for?
COO stands for Chief Operating Officer. The same job is also written Chief Operations Officer, Head of Operations.
How many COO jobs are open?
483 verified open Chief Operating Officer jobs, each checked against the employer’s own career site within the last week.
How much does a COO make?
Among 89 open Chief Operating Officer listings that state pay, the median is $187,500 a year, and half of listings fall between $140,000 and $280,000. This is pay the employer advertises for the job, not total compensation such as bonus or equity.
Where are COO jobs?
New York (47), California (44), Texas (36), Pennsylvania (33) have the most open Chief Operating Officer listings. About 26% of listings that state a work arrangement are remote.
Which state pays a COO the most?
Of the states with enough listings that state pay, California has the highest median at $235,000.
Which industries hire for COO roles?
Healthcare & Hospital Systems (38%), Financial Services & Banking (10%), Government & Public Sector (8%), Non-profit & Social Impact (8%), as a share of listings whose employer has a known industry.
What skills do COO jobs ask for?
The skills named most often in open Chief Operating Officer listings are supply chain, forecasting, budgeting, lean, regulatory compliance.
Do COO jobs ask for AI skills?
11% of 117 open Chief Operating Officer listings read in full name a specific AI skill. The most common is AI tools in daily work.

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