Business Operations - Factory ONE

<p>Europe's defense industrial base can't respond at the speed modern conflict demands. Legacy suppliers operate on month-long timelines. Tribal knowledge is retiring. Supply chains are fragile. SAEKI is building the operating system for autonomous factories - the infrastructure that lets Europe manufacture mission-critical components at software speed.</p><p>We've just opened Factory ONE in Munich: a 8,000 m² production facility with 5-axis CNCs, industrial robots, and large-scale 3D printers, shipping hardware to defense and space customers. The factory works. Now we need to build the operating layer around it - the systems, processes, and discipline that let us scale from Factory ONE to Factory N without losing the speed that got us here.</p>

<p>You'll be the first dedicated business operations hire, working directly with Andrea (CEO) and Nic (Chief of Staff) to turn ramp-up improvisation into systems that scale. This is a generalist BizOps role with real ownership: you own the operational backbone of a company shipping mission-critical hardware.</p><p>Concretely, that means you'll own the boring-but-essential infrastructure - vendor contracts, financial operations, German compliance, people ops - <em>and</em> drive the projects that determine whether we ramp cleanly or stall. When something needs a process, you build it. When something needs a decision, you frame it for Andrea or Nic and push it through.</p><p>This is not a role with a clean job description. The first six months are about figuring out what SAEKI needs operationally and building it.</p><p>Concretely, you'll own:</p><ul><li><strong>Operational systems and playbooks.</strong> We're at ramp-up. There's no handbook — you'll write one. The processes you put in place are what we'll scale on as we move toward Factory TWO.</li><li><strong>Vendor, contract, and financial operations.</strong> Vendor selection, contracts, procurement, budget tracking, Steuerberater liaison. You're the person who catches the line item nobody else catches.</li><li><strong>People ops and German compliance.</strong> HR and payroll coordination (contracts, Lohnabrechnung liaison, Krankenkasse, Elternzeit, work permits), plus the full Behördengang stack (Gewerbeamt, Finanzamt, Berufsgenossenschaft). Table stakes — not the point of the role, but you need to run it.</li><li><strong>Site, customer, and compliance operations.</strong> Hosting defense and space customers, coordinating shipments, visitor management, compliance reporting (HSE, audit trails, policy documentation). Nothing classified; plenty of disciplined.</li><li><strong>CEO and CoS right hand.</strong> Acting as the operational extension of Andrea and Nic. Taking work off their plate, surfacing decisions cleanly, and driving projects to completion across whatever the company needs that week.</li></ul><br>

<ul><li><strong>Operator's track record.</strong> You've run business operations or a strong generalist function at a fast-moving company - startup BizOps, founding ops at Series A/B, consulting + operator combo, or you've been the chief-of-staff-style force multiplier somewhere serious. We're open on seniority: two years of intense ramp-up experience beats ten years of process maintenance.</li><li><strong>German admin fluency.</strong> You've navigated the German bureaucratic landscape before - HR, payroll, Behördengänge, vendor contracts. You know which forms matter and which ones don't. This is non-negotiable - you'll be the person dealing with German authorities daily.</li><li><strong>Financial and analytical fluency.</strong> Comfortable in spreadsheets, comfortable reading contracts, comfortable pushing back on a vendor quote. You don't need to be a CFO, but you need to be the person who catches the line item nobody else caught.</li><li><strong>Startup operator instinct.</strong> Comfortable with ambiguity, missing handbooks, and the reality that you'll define the role as you do it. "Not my job" isn't in your vocabulary during ramp-up.</li><li><strong>Owner's mindset.</strong> You spot the gap, close it, and tell Andrea or Nic after the fact. You don't need to be told twice.</li><li><strong>Discretion.</strong> You'll see sensitive material - HR, finance, customers, site security. Confidentiality is must.</li><li><strong>Language.</strong> Fluent German (mandatory). Strong English (company language).</li><li><strong>Location.</strong> Munich, on-site at Factory ONE.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Pure analysts who want a clean strategy seat. We build, we ship, we deal with the German admin grind. If you can't get your hands dirty alongside the analytical work, this isn't the role.</li><li>People who need a detailed job description to know what to do next. The role will flex with what the company needs that quarter.</li><li>Process maintainers. We're building from scratch. We need someone who designs the playbook, not someone who runs an existing one.</li><li>"That's how we've always done it" thinkers.</li></ul>

<ul><li><strong>Mission.</strong> Rebuild the industrial sovereignty of the West. The work you do keeps the rest of the company shipping mission-critical hardware for defense and space.</li><li><strong>Direct impact.</strong> You work shoulder-to-shoulder with the CEO and Chief of Staff. What you build, fix, or flag reaches the top of the company same-day.</li><li><strong>The Environment.</strong> A 5,000 m² state-of-the-art facility — 5-axis CNCs, industrial robots, large-scale 3D printers. Not a cubicle in sight.</li><li><strong>The Team.</strong> "Special Forces" model. Everyone senior, everyone ships. No politics, no bureaucracy. Direct feedback, high standards.</li><li><strong>Compensation.</strong> competitive base depending on experience, plus meaningful equity.</li><li><strong>Location.</strong> Factory ONE in Munich.</li></ul>

<ul><li><strong>Resume.</strong> Show us the operational complexity you've handled — the messier, the better.</li><li><strong>Cover letter.</strong> Why this mission? Why now? And: tell us about a system you built from zero that's still in use after you left.</li></ul>