Business Operations Specialist

Job Description

BUSINESS OPERATIONS MANAGER

Space Technology Company | Denver, Colorado or Washington, DC

Location: Denver, Colorado or Washington, DC metro area

Reports to: US leadership

Salary: $114,000 to $140,000

Clearance: US citizenship required; ability to obtain and maintain a US government security clearance

Benefits: 401(k) with match, health, vision and dental (80% employer-covered for individuals), life and disability cover

Timing: As soon as practicable

THE COMPANY

Our client is building space-based power infrastructure, using laser power transmission and precision pointing systems to keep spacecraft and lunar surface operations running where and when they need energy. Following a major government contract award, the US business is scaling fast. Its lead defense program has been elevated to a national priority rating, with flight demonstrations in Earth orbit and on the lunar surface planned within the next two years.

The US business operates as a standalone entity in a FOCI-mitigated environment, and is building its corporate, commercial and security foundations right now. This role sits at the center of that.

THE ROLE

A broad, hands-on role working directly with US leadership. You'll own the operational, commercial and administrative work that keeps a small, fast-moving company running, so the engineers can focus on flying hardware. It spans three areas:

- Business operations: corporate administration, finance coordination, budgets and cash flow, contracting, procurement, HR and legal coordination, and leadership reporting

- Business development support: CRM, market and competitor research, quotes and proposals, customer and investor materials

- Security and compliance support: helping security leadership set up and run the US security program as a collateral duty, including facility clearance documentation and FOCI mitigation tracking

You identify what needs doing, use sound judgment and move it forward without waiting for detailed instructions.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Business Operations

- Turn leadership direction into concrete actions, track commitments and drive tasks to completion

- Provide hands-on support across accounting, finance, contracting, compliance, HR, legal and procurement, working with internal and external specialists

- Maintain budget and cash-flow trackers and prepare reports and briefing materials for leadership, investors and stakeholders

- Organize meetings and external engagements, capture decisions and follow through on actions

- Build practical processes, records and tracking tools that help a small team run efficiently

Business Development

- Keep the CRM accurate and current across customers, opportunities, pipeline and next steps

- Research customers, programs, partners, planned missions, competitors and emerging markets

- Help develop quotes, proposals, purchase agreements and supporting documentation

- Produce customer and investor presentations, BD collateral and marketing materials

- Support pricing analysis, lead generation and customer discovery

Security and Compliance

- Support security leadership with facility clearance documentation, records, deadlines and follow-up

- Coordinate personnel security, classified visits, training records and inspection preparation

- Track actions supporting compliance and FOCI mitigation requirements

- Handle sensitive information with discretion and escalate security concerns promptly

This role does not carry formal FSO, SMO or ITPSO appointments.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

- A track record in business operations, program coordination, corporate administration, business development, military operations or a related field

- A bachelor's degree in business or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience

- A strong bias for action, with examples of spotting a need, solving the problem and delivering

- Comfort moving between strategic support and detailed admin, including work well outside a set job description

- Excellent organization, attention to detail and dependable follow-through

- Sound judgment: you act within your authority, know when to bring in specialists and escalate early

- Clear, polished writing and presentations

- Strong Microsoft 365 skills, especially Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook and Teams

- Impeccable integrity and discretion

- US citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance

- Ability to start promptly

IDEALLY, YOU'LL ALSO HAVE

- Experience operating under FOCI mitigation, particularly a Special Security Agreement (SSA)

- Experience carrying security or compliance work as a collateral duty alongside a primary role

- Hands-on experience supporting facility or personnel security administration, including DCSA processes

- An active US government security clearance

NICE TO HAVE

- Experience in an early-stage company, aerospace or defense business, or government contracting environment

- Military officers moving into industry, particularly from operations, logistics or staff roles

- CRM administration, proposal coordination, financial tracking, or customer and investor materials

- Familiarity with commercial, civil or national security space markets

WHAT THIS ROLE ISN'T

This isn't a role with a fixed lane. It's a build phase: priorities shift, and work outside your usual responsibilities may become your main focus for weeks at a time. There's no large support function behind you, and much of the work is detailed and unglamorous. It suits someone who wants to be genuinely useful across the whole business and takes ownership of whatever moves the mission forward.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Leadership trusts you to take an assignment, clarify the objective, organize the work and deliver. Records are accurate, commitments are tracked and issues surface early. When priorities change, you take ownership of the new need and keep the team moving.

HOW TO APPLY

Send your résumé to Sam Wiltshire, Practice Lead at EVONA, at View email address on ziprecruiter.com, with a short example of a time you stepped outside your normal responsibilities to solve an urgent problem, and your earliest available start date.