Head of Operations

Icarus•El Segundo, CA

8h•$150,000 - $500,000•Onsite

About The Position

Icarus is hiring a Head of Operations to help turn a fast-moving aerospace startup into a world-class hardware company. This is one of the most important hires at Icarus. You will work directly with the CEO to build the operating system of the company: people, facilities, manufacturing operations, supply chain, finance operations, legal/admin, recruiting operations, business rhythm, and the internal systems required to scale from a small team of builders into a category-defining aerospace company. This is a wartime operations role. You will be expected to unblock the company every day, create order out of chaos, and make the entire team faster. You will operate across the factory floor, leadership team, engineering, manufacturing, finance, government programs, and recruiting. This role has the potential to grow into Chief Operating Officer.

Requirements

You are an elite operator. You get things done.
You are organized, intense, low-ego, and allergic to bureaucracy.
You can operate at 60,000 feet and on the factory floor in the same day.
You can build systems without slowing the company down.
You are comfortable working directly with the CEO and senior technical leaders.
You can manage chaos, make decisions with incomplete information, and create clarity for the team.
You have extremely high ownership. When something is broken, you fix it. When something is unclear, you clarify it. When something is moving too slowly, you accelerate it.
You do not need hand-holding. You find the problem, create the plan, and drive it to completion.
You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, solve problems across functions, and push the company to operate at a higher level every week.
We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed.
No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in startups, aerospace, defense, manufacturing, hardware, operations, consulting, finance, or military leadership is helpful, but not required. Raw horsepower, judgment, ownership, and execution matter most.

Responsibilities

Own company operations across facilities, people operations, recruiting operations, vendor management, procurement, finance/admin workflows, legal coordination, and internal systems.
Build the operating cadence of the company: weekly leadership meetings, department rhythms, KPI tracking, company goals, hiring plans, project follow-through, and accountability loops.
Help scale our El Segundo factory into a high-output aerospace manufacturing and flight-test operation.
Partner with engineering and manufacturing leads to remove blockers, improve throughput, tighten execution, and keep the team focused on the highest-priority work.
Build lightweight systems for onboarding, purchasing, inventory, facilities, documentation, compliance, security, IT, and internal communication.
Drive special projects for the CEO, especially cross-functional projects that do not fit neatly into one department but are critical to the company.
Help prepare the company for the next stage of growth, including larger facilities, more complex programs, more hires, more customers, and higher operational intensity.