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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 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.
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.
Concretely, that means you'll own the boring-but-essential infrastructure - vendor contracts, financial operations, German compliance, people ops - and 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.
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.
Concretely, you'll own:
Operational systems and playbooks. 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.
Vendor, contract, and financial operations. Vendor selection, contracts, procurement, budget tracking, Steuerberater liaison. You're the person who catches the line item nobody else catches.
People ops and German compliance. 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.
Site, customer, and compliance operations. Hosting defense and space customers, coordinating shipments, visitor management, compliance reporting (HSE, audit trails, policy documentation). Nothing classified; plenty of disciplined.
CEO and CoS right hand. 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.
Operator's track record. 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.
German admin fluency. 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.
Financial and analytical fluency. 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.
Startup operator instinct. 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.
Owner's mindset. You spot the gap, close it, and tell Andrea or Nic after the fact. You don't need to be told twice.
Discretion. You'll see sensitive material - HR, finance, customers, site security. Confidentiality is must.
Language. Fluent German (mandatory). Strong English (company language).
Location. Munich, on-site at Factory ONE.
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.
People who need a detailed job description to know what to do next. The role will flex with what the company needs that quarter.
Process maintainers. We're building from scratch. We need someone who designs the playbook, not someone who runs an existing one.
"That's how we've always done it" thinkers.
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.
Direct impact. 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.
The Environment. A 5,000 m² state-of-the-art facility — 5-axis CNCs, industrial robots, large-scale 3D printers. Not a cubicle in sight.
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.
Resume. Show us the operational complexity you've handled — the messier, the better.
Cover letter. Why this mission? Why now? And: tell us about a system you built from zero that's still in use after you left.
Occupation: general_and_other_project_and_program_management | Category: project_and_program_management
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SAEKI is a Swiss ETH Zürich spin-off building autonomous microfactories that combine large-scale 3D printing, robotic CNC machining, and automated inspection to produce large-format parts on demand for the aerospace, automotive, and construction industries.
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