Head of Operations

Icarus was founded on the belief that the Stratosphere is the Forgotten Frontier and that reclaiming it will define the next era of aerospace and what is possible from the sky. We build solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 ft for weeks at a time, delivering persistent, affordable, and scalable presence from this layer of the atmosphere. Mission Re-establish and maintain dominance in the Stratosphere. Head of Operations Icarus is hiring a Head of Operations to help turn a fast-moving aerospace startup into a world-class hardware company. This is one of the most important hires at Icarus. You will work directly with the CEO to build the operating system of the company: people, facilities, manufacturing operations, supply chain, finance operations, legal/admin, recruiting operations, business rhythm, and the internal systems required to scale from a small team of builders into a category-defining aerospace company. This is a wartime operations role. You will be expected to unblock the company every day, create order out of chaos, and make the entire team faster. You will operate across the factory floor, leadership team, engineering, manufacturing, finance, government programs, and recruiting. This role has the potential to grow into Chief Operating Officer. What you’ll do Own company operations across facilities, people operations, recruiting operations, vendor management, procurement, finance/admin workflows, legal coordination, and internal systems. Build the operating cadence of the company: weekly leadership meetings, department rhythms, KPI tracking, company goals, hiring plans, project follow-through, and accountability loops. Help scale our El Segundo factory into a high-output aerospace manufacturing and flight-test operation. Partner with engineering and manufacturing leads to remove blockers, improve throughput, tighten execution, and keep the team focused on the highest-priority work. Build lightweight systems for onboarding, purchasing, inventory, facilities, documentation, compliance, security, IT, and internal communication. Drive special projects for the CEO, especially cross-functional projects that do not fit neatly into one department but are critical to the company. Help prepare the company for the next stage of growth, including larger facilities, more complex programs, more hires, more customers, and higher operational intensity. What we’re looking for You are an elite operator. You get things done. You are organized, intense, low-ego, and allergic to bureaucracy. You can operate at 60,000 feet and on the factory floor in the same day. You can build systems without slowing the company down. You are comfortable working directly with the CEO and senior technical leaders. You can manage chaos, make decisions with incomplete information, and create clarity for the team. You have extremely high ownership. When something is broken, you fix it. When something is unclear, you clarify it. When something is moving too slowly, you accelerate it. You do not need hand-holding. You find the problem, create the plan, and drive it to completion. Prior experience in startups, aerospace, defense, manufacturing, hardware, operations, consulting, finance, or military leadership is helpful, but not required. Raw horsepower, judgment, ownership, and execution matter most. Why Icarus A lot of equity Top market salary and bonuses Health, dental, and vision insurance Factory in El Segundo Real ownership, real hardware, real flight Small team, massive responsibility (but growing very fast) High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture Dream desk setup Daily lunch Unlimited celsius This is not a normal ops job We are pioneers, not corporate managers. Icarus deliberately optimizes for high signal to noise. Engineering, manufacturing, flight, and execution matter more than process, politics, or management overhead. Your job is not to add bureaucracy. Your job is to make the company move faster. You will work side by side with the CEO and a small team of world-class builders. You will help build the company behind the aircraft: the factory, the team, the systems, the rhythm, the culture, and the operational backbone that lets us move faster than companies 10x our size. We expect full extreme ownership. This is a high-trust, no-BS team, and everyone pulls their weight. We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No fake projects. No sitting in meetings all day. Just real execution, real hardware, real flight, and real company-building. You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, solve problems across functions, and push the company to operate at a higher level every week. We move fast. We go to Mojave at 4 am. We expect results and an obsession with quality and speed. No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders. Hiring process Intro call Working session with CEO Meet the team in-person Reference checks US salary range $150,000 - $500,000 USD The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Icarus' total compensation package. We’re an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applicants without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. #J-18808-Ljbffr