Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder (Stealth Agritech Venture)

Founders Factory Ltd•Milan, TN

65d

About The Position

Nursy is the first AI-powered assistant designed for nurseries and specialty crop growers. Developed from a collaboration between engineers, agronomists, and plant scientists, Nursy integrates hardware and software to increase productivity, cut resources waste, and strengthen climate resilience - addressing the rising costs, water scarcity, and plant health challenges facing growers. We're already live with three paid pilots across leading nurseries, achieving 20% savings in water, energy, and pest reduction. The founding team includes: Angelo di Mauro - Founder with an engineering background and deep experience in digital transformations and enterprise sales. Luca Incrocci - Co-founder and Professor of Horticulture at the University of Pisa. Lorenzo Cotrozzi - Co-founder and Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Pisa. We're now looking for a COO & Co-Founder to join the founding team and lead product strategy, development, and operations. The role involves managing the team, translating scientific models into actionable insights, building scalable systems, and shaping the product vision that brings this technology to market. You'll act as the product and operational engine of the company - turning concept into scale. This role spans strategy, product development, and execution across both the digital and physical layers of our system (IoT devices, drone imagery, and AI-powered dashboards). You'll work closely with the CEO, agronomists, and technology partners to define and deliver a product that drives measurable environmental and commercial impact.

Requirements

Experience in a deep tech or agritech startup, ideally spanning product and operations.
Strong product intuition and ability to translate between technical and commercial domains.
Hands-on, execution-oriented mindset, comfortable operating from concept through to scale.
Passionate about building climate-positive technology with measurable impact.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with remote sensing, IoT, AI/ML, and sustainability-oriented systems is a plus.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Company Direction
Partner with the CEO to define the company vision, strategy, and execution roadmap.
Identify and address operational bottlenecks as the company scales.
Build internal processes to align science, tech, and operations - ensuring cross-functional collaboration
Own the Product Vision & Roadmap
Define, validate, and iterate the long-term product roadmap, informed by: <li>Customer feedback (e.g. nursery and farm managers) Pilot results and agronomic insights (e.g. crop stress detection data) Technical feasibility (IoT, ML, cloud infrastructure) Environmental and commercial outcomes (e.g. water savings, yield gains, chemical reduction)
Balance experimentation with delivery, moving fast while maintaining scientific credibility.
Bridge Science & Product Development
Translate complex agronomic models (e.g. VIS-NIR multispectral imaging, decision-support algorithms) into intuitive, actionable features.
Ensure academic rigor and empirical validation remain embedded in product design.
Act as the interface between research partners and engineering teams.
Lead Product Operations
Design and manage the operational workflows for end-to-end system reliability, including: <li>Drone and imaging operations (flight planning, calibration, data capture) Sensor setup, maintenance, and data integrity (moisture, temperature, spore detection) Customer onboarding and support processes (dashboards, SLAs, feedback loops)
Develop KPIs and QA systems for performance, reliability, and user satisfaction.
Build and Lead the Product Team
Drive early hiring across product and engineering: <li>AI/ML Engineers for model optimisation (e.g. stress and disease detection) Data Analysts for insights and visualisation Full-Stack Developers for DSS, API integrations, and UI/UX
Build a culture of accountability, curiosity, and high output.
Foster collaboration with Fastweb and external hardware partners (e.g. Netsens).

Benefits

Co-founder equity (10-20% depending on experience) and competitive package.
Backing from Founders Factory and Fastweb, with access to technical, commercial, and venture support.
The opportunity to shape the future of sustainable agriculture through deep tech innovation.

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