About the Role
Apex is seeking a dynamic and tenacious
Special Projects Director, reporting to the CEO. This role is ideal for someone who wants to operate at the center of a high-growth aerospace company and is motivated by solving complex, real-world execution challenges. The selected candidate will adeptly balance strategy, partnership and execution while taking ownership over meaningful projects to accelerate Apex's growth. S/he will ensure the company meets and exceeds its ambitious growth and success targets, scaling to operate with speed, alignment, and accountability.
This role is among the highest impact at the company. You'll be a force multiplier-understanding the overall business scope, and diving into to own a small number of high impact projects. The selected candidate will be an execution-focused operator, who thinks big picture and builds project plans and delivers against them by relentlessly solving even the smallest of problems.
Roles & Responsibilities:- Translate strategy into action: partner with leadership team so that strategic priorities become clear, trackable action plans with defined owners and milestones.
- Drive alignment and execution: across the executive team and broader leadership team. Identify redundancies and points of friction and work to reduce them. Build structure where none exists.
- Lead 2-3 high-impact, cross-functional initiatives: Take ownership of ambiguous, high-priority problems (e.g., global expansion, M&A, unique partnerships, improving delivery timelines, enabling new customer programs) and drive them to resolution. Operate as the single point of accountability, while collaborating with a team of driven and talented leaders. At maturity, transition ownership to the appropriate long-term owner to be self-sufficient as you embark on the next set of initiatives.
- Drive internal communication and alignment: Partner with Marketing and HR to ensure company communications cadence and messaging reinforce priorities, clarify direction, and strengthen alignment during rapid growth.
- Improve how Apex operates: Identify breakdowns in execution (unclear ownership, process gaps, cross-functional friction) and implement practical solutions that increase speed and reliability
2026 Sample Projects- Unique partnerships: collaborate with the CEO to run unique partnership opportunities that can result in exponentially increasing the scale of and ambition of Apex's reach.
- M&A: As Apex vertically integrates components, expands product lines, and grows market share, determine the process and run M&A end-to-end, from identifying prospects, determining value, negotiating terms, and integrating the team post-transaction.
Requirements- 6-10+ years in strategy, operations, program management, or similar roles
- Experience in hardware, aerospace, manufacturing, or other execution-heavy environments is strongly preferred
- Proven track record of driving cross-functional work to completion
- Strong operator mindset-you take ownership and follow through
- Comfortable working at both the 10,000-foot level and in the details
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Experience working with executives and/or preparing board materials is a plus
Competencies- End-to-end ownership: Takes full accountability for outcomes, not just progress. Drives work from problem definition through execution and completion.
- Structured problem-solving: Takes ambiguous, high-stakes problems and applies traditional and novel techniques to break them into clear, actionable plans.
- Execution under constraints (pressure?): Operates at speed with limited resources, overcomes obstacles, and makes hard trade-off's.
- Bias for action: Bravely makes decisions, learns from mistakes, and makes sure work gets finished.
- Influence without authority: Adeptly works across teams and functions - including those who may have more tenure and/or expertise - to drive progress. Builds trust and alignment quickly.
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What We Offer For Full-time Employees:- Shared upside: Receive equity in Apex, letting you benefit from the work you create
- Best-in-class healthcare: 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision for you and your dependents, plus $100k life insurance at no cost
- Comprehensive PTO package to reset and recharge - starting at 15 days vacation, growing to 20+ days annually, plus 10 paid holidays
- Competitive 401(k) plan with generous matching - 100% match on first 3%, 50% on next 2%
- 8 weeks paid parental leave plus childcare reimbursement up to $350/day for work-related travel
- Daily catered lunch and unlimited snacks to keep you fueled throughout the day
- Vibrant community: Monthly office socials, pickleball tournaments, run club, and gatherings for you and your family
- Your dream desk setup and all the tools you need to be your most productive self
- World-class Playa Vista office with the benefit of in-person collaboration with amazing coworkers and flexibility to integrate work and life
- Real impact opportunity: Work alongside experts from aerospace, new space, and other cutting-edge industries to make a lasting difference
Ready to join a team where your contributions matter and your future is bright? Let's build something extraordinary together.
