Executive Operations Partner — Office of the CEO

SAEKI - Manufacturing at software speed

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.

We've opened Factory ONE in Munich, and we're shipping hardware to defense and space customers. Andrea (CEO) and Nic (Chief of Staff) split their time between our Zurich HQ and Munich - when they're at Factory ONE, every hour matters, and the site has to keep running between their visits. We're hiring the person who makes that work.

The Role

You'll work for Nic (Chief of Staff) and Andrea (CEO) as the executive operations lead at Factory ONE. You're the operational right hand of management on-site - making sure their time at the factory goes to the highest-leverage thing, taking execution off their plate, and keeping the site running smoothly between their visits. This is the senior EA / executive operations role for someone who wants the trajectory toward Head of People, Head of Operations, or a Factory ONE leadership track - not someone who wants to manage a calendar in peace.

You'll own the operating cadence of management when they're at Factory ONE: scheduling, customer hosting in Munich, follow-through on commitments made on-site. You'll also own the day-to-day of running a factory full of people - onboarding, German admin, vendor relationships, the site itself - because supporting management at Factory ONE and running the workplace function are the same job at this stage.

On any given week you might be prepping a defense customer visit to Factory ONE, walking a new hire through their Anmeldung, coordinating with the Steuerberater, chasing down a vendor escalation Nic flagged, or making sure the team offsite actually happens.

Concretely, you'll own:

• Management's operating cadence at Factory ONE. Scheduling, meeting prep, travel logistics between Zurich and Munich, decision follow-through on commitments made on-site. You don't just schedule — you make sure every meeting is set up to land, every commitment is tracked, and nothing falls through.
• High-stakes hosting in Munich. Defense and space customers at the factory. Government delegations. Visitor logistics handled to a standard that matches the seriousness of who we're hosting.
• Project drive-throughs. Andrea and Nic will hand you projects at Factory ONE that don't fit anyone else's lane — a hire that needs to close, an offsite that needs to happen, a vendor that's not delivering, a customer issue that needs personal attention. You take it, drive it, close it.
• Factory ONE workplace and site operations. Factory ONE is your house. You make sure it's a place people want to work and things arrive on time — supplies, shipping, travel, catering, events, the operational fabric of the building.
• German admin and people ops for Factory ONE. HR and payroll coordination (onboarding, contracts, Lohnabrechnung liaison, Krankenkasse, Elternzeit, work permits), plus dealings with Gewerbeamt, Finanzamt, Berufsgenossenschaft. You know the Behördengänge cold, or you learn them fast.

What We're Looking For

• Track record of running a serious principal's office. You've been the right hand to a CEO, founder, or senior executive at a company that ships hard things. You know what it feels like when your principal's hour is misallocated, and you know how to fix it.
• Owner's mindset. You don't wait to be told. You see the gap, close it, and report after the fact.
• German admin fluency. You've navigated the German bureaucratic landscape — HR, payroll, Behördengänge, vendor contracts. You know which forms matter and which ones don't. Non-negotiable.
• Multi-stream organizational firepower. You run five workstreams in parallel without dropping any of them. When Andrea or Nic asks where something is, you know — or you have the answer in five minutes.
• Communication chops. Clear, concise, professional. You can write a calm email to the Finanzamt and a polished one to a defense customer in the same hour.
• Startup operator instinct. Comfortable with ambiguity, missing handbooks, and the reality that this role will flex with what the company needs that quarter.
• Discretion. Confidentiality is a reflex, not a policy.
• Language. Fluent German (mandatory). Strong English (company language; Andrea and Nic primarily operate in English).
• Location. Munich, on-site at Factory ONE.

What we're not looking for

• People looking for a calendar-only EA seat. This is a force-multiplier role, not a scheduling role.
• People who need scripts and templates for everything. You'll often be inventing the playbook as you go.
• Anyone uncomfortable with German bureaucracy. You'll be on the phone with the Behörden regularly.
• People who need a detailed job description to know what to do next. The role flexes with what management and Factory ONE need.

What we offer

• Mission. 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.
• Proximity to the work. You're not in a corporate office. You're in a 5,000 m² factory with 5-axis CNCs, industrial robots, and large-scale 3D printers, working next to management and the people building the machines.
• Growth path. This role is a launchpad into leadership track.
• The Team. "Special Forces" model. Everyone senior, everyone ships. No politics, no bureaucracy. Direct feedback, high standards.
• Compensation. competitive base depending on experience, plus meaningful equity
• Location. Factory ONE in Munich.

Apply

• Resume. Show us the principal you supported and the complexity of their office.
• Cover letter. Why this mission? Why now? And: tell us about a moment you protected your principal's time in a way they didn't even know happened.