Business Operations Associate

SAEKI - Manufacturing at software speed

Europe's defense industrial base cannot respond at the speed modern conflict requires. 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.
You'll be the person who keeps SAEKI running while it scales. When the company doubles in size, enters a new market, or closes a financing round — you are in the middle of all of it, making sure nothing falls through the cracks.

The Role

As Business Operations Associate, you work directly with the Chief of Staff and CEO on everything it takes to run and scale a fast-growing deep tech company. Your day might start with onboarding a new hire, continue with preparing materials for a board meeting, and end with coordinating a shipment to Factory ONE in Munich. There is no "typical day" — and that's the point.

You are the operational backbone. HR, accounting, logistics, office management, compliance, vendor coordination — you own the day-to-day so the rest of the team can focus on building. But this isn't just an admin role. You'll also contribute to strategic workstreams — financing rounds, expansion planning, partnerships — executing on direction from leadership and growing into more ownership over time.

You are resourceful, fast, and unfazed by ambiguity. When something needs to happen and nobody owns it yet, you raise your hand.

Based at our HQ in Zurich.

What We're Looking For

• Minimum 2–3 years of experience in a fast-paced environment — startup, management consulting, venture capital, investment banking, or similar. You've operated in a setting where you wore multiple hats and nothing was beneath you.
• Operational Grit: You get things done. You don't wait for process — you build it. You can context-switch between booking a flight, reconciling an invoice, and drafting a board slide without losing focus or quality.
• Strategic Horsepower: You can structure a problem, build a spreadsheet to analyze it, and present a recommendation. You're not just executing tasks — you understand why they matter and how they connect to the bigger picture.
• Ownership Mentality: You don't need to be told what to do twice. When you spot a gap, you fill it. When something breaks, you fix it first and report it second.
• People Skills: You'll interact with everyone — new hires, investors, accountants, lawyers, factory staff, suppliers. You are professional, warm, and effective across all of them.
• Language: Fluent in German and English.

What we're not looking for

• People who need a job description to know what to do. This role changes every month as the company grows. If you need a fixed scope and clear boundaries, this isn't the right fit.
• Pure analysts who don't like getting their hands dirty. You will be filing paperwork, coordinating movers, setting up accounts, and chasing invoices — alongside more strategic work. Both matter equally.
• People who optimize for their own learning over company output. Yes, you'll learn an enormous amount. But the priority is shipping — not personal development plans.
• Candidates who need heavy management. You report to the Chief of Staff and CEO, both of whom move fast and expect you to keep up with minimal hand-holding.

What we offer

• Mission: Rebuild the industrial sovereignty of the West. Your work directly enables the production of mission-critical hardware for defense and space.
• Total Ownership: High-stakes autonomy in your domain. You own both the problems and the solutions — and have the authority to execute.
• Accelerated Growth: You'll work directly with the CEO and Chief of Staff across every function — finance, HR, legal, strategy, logistics. In two years you'll have seen more of how a company works than most people see in ten. Where you go from here — Head of Operations, Chief of Staff, launch a new business unit — depends on you.
• The Team: "Special Forces" model. Everyone senior, everyone ships. No politics, no bureaucracy. Direct feedback, high standards.
• Compensation: Competitive salary + meaningful equity.
• Location: Zurich HQ, on-site

Apply

• Resume: Focus on what you've built, shipped, or fixed — not just where you've worked.
• Cover letter: Why this mission? Why now? Tell us about a time you owned something messy and made it work.