Head of Operations- 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.
What you'll do- 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.
What we're looking for- 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.
- 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.
Why Icarus- A lot of equity
- Top market salary and bonuses
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Factory in El Segundo
- Real ownership, real hardware, real flight
- Small team, massive responsibility (but growing very fast)
- High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture
- Dream desk setup
- Daily lunch
- Unlimited celsius
This is not a normal ops job- We are pioneers, not corporate managers.
- Icarus deliberately optimizes for high signal to noise. Engineering, manufacturing, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead.
- Your job is not to add bureaucracy. Your job is to make the company move faster.
- You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will help build the company behind the aircraft: the factory, the team, the systems, the rhythm, the culture, and the operational backbone that lets us move faster than companies 10x our size.
- We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight.
- We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No sitting in meetings all day. Just real execution, real hardware, real flight, and real company-building.
- 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.
Hiring process- Intro call
- Working session with CEO
- Meet the team in-person
- Reference checks
US salary range$150,000 - $500,000 USD
The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Icarus' total compensation package.
