Director, Mission Operations

Aurelius Systems•San Francisco, CA

21h•Hybrid

About The Position

Aurelius Systems is a VC-backed defense tech startup building autonomous, edge-deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones. We are a small team of engineers, former US military operators, and subject matter experts scaling America's directed energy dominance. The first cost-effective, reliable, and robust laser weapon system. We operate with a small team, unreasonable output, and no hiding behind the unachievable. In addition to our San Francisco lab, we’ve opened a Detroit manufacturing hub and we field test weekly on our own 400-acre private range. We need an operationally credible military training and field support leader who can build plans of instruction, train end users, support demos and deployments, capture operator feedback, and translate real-world operational needs into action for engineering, product, and growth. This is a foundational MOPs role. You will be the company's primary bridge between the warfighter and the build team. The fielding of Archimedes will rise or fall on how well this loop runs.

Requirements

Special operations or equivalent operational background, with train-the-trainer experience strongly preferred
Experience preparing military or foreign users to operate systems independently in high-stakes environments
Demonstrated ability to build trust quickly with operators and translate field realities into practical internal action
Comfort operating across training, deployment support, customer interface, and internal technical collaboration
Track record working alongside engineers and product teams on novel technology
You've stood in front of operators using something brand new and gotten them proficient.
You've taken what they said, what they did, and what broke, and turned it into changes engineers could act on.
Extreme bias for action. You'd rather be at the test or with the operator than in a planning meeting
You translate ambiguity into a plan and a plan into reps
Comfortable with the tempo of real-world operations, including OCONUS travel on short notice
Clear communicator across operators, engineers, and senior leadership
Self directed. You identify what needs to happen next and do it without being told
This role requires access to export-controlled information or items that require "U.S. Person" status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a "U.S. Person": (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

Nice To Haves

Counter-UAS or directed energy familiarity
Experience inside a defense startup or non-traditional vendor
Active TS/SCI clearance
Experience authoring system requirements, TTPs, capability documents, or after-action frameworks

Responsibilities

Build and own training plans, plans of instruction, and user enablement for military operators
Lead field training and support during demonstrations, pilots, and deployed use
Ensure operators can use the system confidently and correctly in real-world conditions
Act as the primary bridge between end users and internal teams, translating operator experience into engineering and product feedback
Reduce cognitive load and improve usability by informing setup, displacement, interface, and training design
Support growth and business development by bringing operational credibility, user insight, and relevant field relationships into customer engagements
Participate in test events, lab reviews, and field exercises to represent the operator perspective throughout product iteration