Business Operations Associate (First Business Hire)

PHNX Materials • San Leandro, CA

20d

About The Position

This is the first business hire at PHNX Materials. You will work directly with and report to the CEO, and you will be embedded with the team on day-to-day operations. This role is for someone who wants to be in the details, working alongside engineers, operators, and partners to move PHNX from pilot to commercial scale. You will help turn customer commitments into daily execution, continuously solve problems, and shape how PHNX goes to market. This is not a support role. You will be critical to PHNX’s success.

Requirements

• Former management consultant (preferably MBB) or investment banker with strong analytical and execution skills
• Operator, or early-stage hire who wants to work directly with the team
• Comfortable balancing customer-facing work with hands-on operational execution
• Organized, detail-oriented, and proactive about solving problems
• Able to communicate clearly across technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Excited by fast-paced environments and real-world execution

Responsibilities

• Work with PHNX engineers, operators, and partners on day-to-day execution across pilots and early commercial projects
• Own the translation of customer commitments and contracts into clear operational plans, timelines, and priorities
• Coordinate daily activities across technical, operations, and external teams
• Identify and solve operational issues in real time
• Lead customer communication during execution, setting expectations and managing issues through delivery
• Support site readiness, logistics, scheduling, and deployment planning as PHNX scales from pilot to commercial operations
• Drive continuous improvement of how the company operates by building lightweight processes and tools where needed
• Inform and shape PHNX’s go-to-market approach based on direct learnings from execution and customer interaction

Benefits

• A rare opportunity to design and launch a facility that takes on some of the world’s toughest environmental challenges.
• A fast-paced, mission-driven startup culture where your ideas matter, your work has immediate impact, and your career can grow as quickly as we do.
• The chance to transform heavy industries and be part of a movement rewriting the future of manufacturing and national security.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed