Vice President of Operations

Quindar builds software to manage satellites like servers. We are seeking a Vice President of Operations to build the operating system, organizational infrastructure, and business processes that turn company strategy into execution as we scale across commercial and government markets. This leader owns business operations, strategy and performance, facilities, and General & Administrative functions. Beyond running the operating cadence, the role connects corporate strategy, resource allocation, and cross-functional execution so that Quindar consistently makes the right investments and turns them into business outcomes. The role holds the authority to resolve cross-functional prioritization conflicts at the leadership level, with clear and intentional escalation to the CEO, while functional leaders retain accountability for their results and authority over their teams. Facilities, Business Operations, and the G&A team report to this role, with their leaders responsible for day-to-day execution. This is a hands-on executive role for someone who can build a function, develop its leaders, and drive execution across the company. Company Execution and Performance Management

• Translate company strategy into company OKRs and functional commitments with accountable owners, deadlines, dependencies, and approved resources.
• Agree with each functional leader on a small set of meaningful KPIs with clear definitions, source data, targets, and reporting frequency, and maintain a consolidated performance dashboard across Sales, Product, Engineering, Programs, Finance, People and Brand, and Operations.
• Design and run the company operating model: quarterly planning, leadership reviews, decision tracking, and follow-up, with a visible record of commitments delivered, missed, corrected, and rescoped.
• Design and implement a company-wide model for cross-functional prioritization and decision-making at the leadership level, including decision rights and escalation paths, aligned with and actively reinforced by the CEO.
• Use the operating data to drive decisions and corrective actions, resolve cross-functional dependencies, and escalate decisions that put company goals at risk.
• Partner with functional leaders and the VP of Finance to align workforce capacity, hiring plans, facilities, and budgets with company priorities. Corporate Strategy and Go-to-Market
• Help shape corporate strategy with the CEO and leadership team, including evaluating markets and opportunities, defining investment requirements, and translating strategic choices into resourced plans.
• Lead the cross-functional planning and execution of GTM priorities in partnership with the CEO, who leads Sales & Marketing: align Product, Engineering, Programs, and Operations behind revenue priorities and ensure the organization is resourced to deliver them.
• Lead the evaluation and incubation of new business opportunities, including, but not limited to,Operations as a Service (OaaS). For OaaS, lead the initial cross-functional effort to take the offering from concept toward launch, including the business model, service definition and commercial terms, investment requirements, and operational readiness.
• Ensure new services, markets, and programs are integrated into company planning, performance management, and compliance from the outset. AI-Enabled Business Operations
• Lead the AI Business Operations team to build and deploy workflows that reduce manual coordination and increase output across Quindar, with measurable reductions in hands-on processing time and sustained adoption.
• Identify and baseline the highest-value workflows across functions, prioritizing those that remove coordination overhead between Product, Engineering, Programs, Sales, and Marketing (for example, specifications to engineering tickets, user documentation, marketing materials, and proposal development).
• Build internal knowledge infrastructure, such as a company data warehouse of product knowledge, engineering designs, documentation, and marketing and proposal content, that any role can query or use to create collateral through an agentic interface.
• Implement appropriate access controls, source traceability, and compliance requirements, including CUI handling, before any workflow handling sensitive or consequential outputs enters production use. Facilities and Classified Readiness
• Own facilities planning, buildouts, workplace operations, vendor management, and procurement across all unclassified and classified spaces.
• Maintain an integrated master schedule covering construction, procurement, vendors, budget, and readiness for each space, with a defined risk and impact scale, reviewed regularly with the CEO.
• Deliver the facilities infrastructure needed for classified readiness, completing facilities work ahead of accreditation target dates and obtaining Security’s written acceptance against an agreed readiness checklist.
• Partner with Security, IT, Contracts, and program leadership so that facilities, policies, training, and records support classified program and audit requirements. Security retains accreditation responsibility. General and Administrative Operations
• Lead legal operations, and corporate administrative services through internal teams and outside partners.
• Manage outside counsel and coordinate corporate legal matters, employment matters, contract review, and company policies.
• Own cap table and stock option administration in partnership with Finance and legal counsel, and maintain corporate records and board and stockholder approval workflows with the CEO and counsel.
• Own the administrative infrastructure required to pursue and support government business, including SAM.gov http://SAM.gov registration, applicable NSTXL and consortium memberships, JCP certification/DD Form 2345, and a centralized calendar of registrations, renewals, and reporting obligations.
• Oversee export compliance program administration, including applicable ITAR/EAR processes, working with qualified counsel and designated compliance personnel.
• Coordinate corporate insurance, business continuity planning, corporate overhead efficiency, and company-wide operational risk management. Fundraising and Finance Partnership
• Lead operational, legal, people, and corporate diligence readiness for fundraising alongside the VP of Finance, including an organized data room and timely, accurate responses to investor requests.
• Support board materials and investor reporting with company operating metrics, organizational plans, and progress against strategic priorities.
• Partner with Finance on operating plans, overhead budgets, and the investments needed to support the next stage of growth and new business lines. Qualifications
• Experience leading operations at a growing technology company, with exposure to government contracting or another regulated market.
• Demonstrated success building teams, systems, and operating processes through a significant stage of organizational growth.
• Experience contributing to corporate strategy and leading cross-functional GTM or new-business initiatives from concept to launch, with a bias toward revenue and business outcomes.
• Experience across facilities, legal operations, compliance, or business operations.
• A hands-on track record of using AI, technology, and automation to improve operational efficiency.
• Familiarity with venture-backed company governance, equity administration, and fundraising diligence.
• Ability to turn ambiguous priorities into clear plans, coordinate executive peers, and hold teams accountable for commitments.
• Strong judgment about when to act directly, delegate, escalate, or engage specialist expertise. What Success Looks Like
• Company strategy is reflected in OKRs, KPIs, and commitments with clear owners, and leaders run the business from a trusted, shared dashboard.
• Cross-functional prioritization decisions are made quickly and consistently at the leadership level, with less day-to-day intervention from the CEO.
• GTM priorities and new services such as OaaS move from strategy to resourced, cross-functionally executed plans with measurable revenue impact.
• AI-enabled workflows are in production across functions, materially reducing manual coordination while meeting access-control and compliance requirements.
• Facilities for classified operations are delivered on schedule and accepted by Security.
• Organizational structures, career frameworks, equity programs, and scaling processes are ready ahead of growth to 150+ employees.
• Required registrations, compliance obligations, and corporate and equity records remain current and diligence-ready. Security Clearance Eligibility Requirement Due to U.S. Government contractual requirements, this position requires eligibility for a U.S. Government security clearance. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance; therefore, candidates for this position must be U.S. citizens. An active clearance is not required at the time of hire but is preferred and may be required in the future based on program needs. ITAR REQUIREMENTS - To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/ddtc_public/ddtc_public?id=ddtc_kb_article_page&sys_id=24d528fddbfc930044f9ff621f961987. WHY YOU'LL LOVE WORKING AT QUINDAR - We work in a cutting edge industry and you will get the opportunity to be part of a small team with a large direct impact on the success of our customers’ space missions! - We take work life balance very seriously. We require employees to take 15 days off but provide unlimited PTO and follow most US federal government holidays. - Mental health is just as important as physical so we provide quarterly health & wellness benefits. - Comprehensive health insurance for you and your family with 100% coverage for employees. - We encourage employees to save for retirement and provide 4% 401(k) matching. - Each quarter we have a 4-day company offsite. Previous locations include San Francisco, Nashville, Denver, Santa Fe, New Orleans, San Diego, Bozeman, and New York City. - Our culture and company is evolving. You will be key in creating the next major or minor version!