Business Operations Associate

IRPI • Wilsonville, OR

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

IRPI is a small engineering company building flight hardware for NASA and commercial space partners. We work on the systems that sustain life and enable discovery beyond Earth — fluids and propellant management, air revitalization, thermal management, PLSS subsystems, waste processing, filtration, bioreactors, and fire safety. We pair high-fidelity analysis with hands-on design, build, and test, and we do it as a small, high-performance team where every hire shapes how the company works.
We're entering our next phase of growth, and the work that happens behind the engineering — contracts, proposals, project finances, vendors, hiring, the dozens of operational threads that keep a technical organization moving — has outgrown what the founders can absorb on top of customer-facing work. That's where this role comes in.
We're looking for a Business Operations Associate to take ownership of the operational machinery of the company. Day-to-day, you'll be the person who keeps things moving: routing contracts and NDAs, scheduling and prepping meetings, coordinating vendors and facilities, running hiring logistics, and supporting project tracking across active programs. As you ramp, you'll take on broader scope: proposal submission coordination, project financial tracking, and ownership of the operational systems that scale with the company. How quickly you absorb the bigger pieces depends on your background — candidates with prior small-company-ops experience will move faster than candidates pivoting from a defined-lane role.
This is a real role with real impact. You won't be filing paperwork in the corner. You'll be working closely with the president and engineering leadership, sitting at the operational center of a small, fast-moving company, and building the systems that let the rest of the team focus on hardware. The breadth is the point — if you want a defined lane with established processes, this isn't the right fit. If you want to learn the operational mechanics of a growing engineering company alongside the founders, read on.

Requirements

• 3–6 years in operations, executive support, or business operations. Small-company experience (sub-100, ideally sub-50) where "ops" meant flexing across multiple functions is a strong plus.
• Bachelor's degree in business, operations, engineering, or a related field — or equivalent professional experience.
• Track record of bringing structure to chaos. You've taken something disorganized and made it routine. Doesn't have to be huge, but you can describe it clearly with what you did and what changed.
• Project discipline. You can manage 10+ active threads at once without dropping balls.
• Strong written communication. You'll handle contracts, executive correspondence, and operational documentation.
• Coachable and low-ego. You take feedback well and you're motivated by the work itself rather than by title or scope.
• Tool fluency. Proficient with Microsoft 365 and quick to adopt new software. You actively use AI/LLM tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, etc.) and can describe specific workflows where they've saved you time.
• Discretion and integrity. You'll handle contracts, IP, salary information, and internal proposals. Discretion is your default.
• U.S. person status (as defined by 22 CFR 120.62) is required, since some of IRPI's work involves technology controlled under ITAR/EAR. Most U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and certain protected classes meet the requirement.

Nice To Haves

• Aerospace, defense, or technical-services exposure. Comfort with NDAs, ITAR-adjacent vocabulary, and the rhythm of a regulated technical organization. Not required, but accelerates ramp-up.
• GovCon familiarity. Any prior exposure to federal contracting (SBIR/STTR, DCAA), government deliverables, or proposal submission mechanics is a meaningful advantage.

Responsibilities

• Meeting and calendar coordination. Scheduling internal and external meetings, prepping materials, capturing action items, and following up so things don't slip.
• Document and contract administration. Routing NDAs and contracts for signature, maintaining organized records of executed agreements, tracking submission confirmations, and keeping documentation discipline tight across the company.
• Vendor and facilities coordination. Managing relationships with building services, IT vendors, and other external partners. Overseeing IT hardware and software inventory and handling facility logistics.
• Hiring and onboarding logistics. Scheduling interviews, coordinating candidate communications in our ATS, and managing onboarding for new hires (hardware provisioning, account setup, first-week prep).
• Proposal submission coordination. Managing the administrative side of proposal preparation — maintaining boilerplate libraries, running submission checklists, assembling proposal packages, and ensuring government forms are complete and compliant. Technical content stays with engineering and the president; you own that the package goes out clean and on time.
• Project financial tracking. Supporting project budget tracking, burn rate monitoring, and Budget vs. Actual reporting in partnership with the president. The depth of ownership here scales with your background and grows over your first year as you learn IRPI's contract structures and accounting workflows.
• Light project tracking support. Helping maintain visibility into deliverable timelines and milestones across active programs in partnership with engineering leadership.
• Process improvement. Spotting where things are inefficient, documenting standard procedures as they emerge, and using modern software and AI tools to automate repetitive work.
• General executive support. Triaging email and meetings on behalf of the president, preparing materials for internal and external meetings, and keeping action items from falling through the cracks.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical and dental insurance for you and your family.
• SIMPLE IRA with employer matching.
• Generous paid time off, sick leave, and holidays.
• Paid parental leave and flexibility for work-life balance.
• Mission impact. You'll be part of a small team building hardware that goes to space.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level