Head of Operations

About Icarus

Icarus is built on the idea that the stratosphere is an overlooked frontier, and that reopening access to it will shape the future of aerospace and airborne capability. The company develops solar-powered aircraft designed to remain aloft at 60,000 feet for weeks, creating persistent, affordable, and scalable presence in this layer of the atmosphere.

Mission: re-establish and sustain leadership in the stratosphere.

Role Overview

Icarus is looking for a Head of Operations to help transform a fast-scaling aerospace startup into a best-in-class hardware organization. This is a pivotal leadership hire and will work directly with the CEO to design and run the company’s operating backbone: people, facilities, manufacturing operations, supply chain, finance operations, legal and administrative coordination, recruiting operations, business cadence, and the internal tools needed to grow from a small builder team into a category-defining aerospace company.

This is a high-pressure operations role where speed, clarity, and decisive execution matter. The expectation is to remove blockers daily, bring structure to ambiguity, and increase the effectiveness of the entire organization. The role spans the factory floor, leadership team, engineering, manufacturing, finance, government programs, and recruiting. It also has a potential path to Chief Operating Officer.

Key Responsibilities

Own broad company operations, including facilities, people ops, recruiting workflows, vendor coordination, procurement, finance and admin processes, legal support, and internal systems.

Establish the company’s operating rhythm, including weekly leadership meetings, team cadences, KPI tracking, company objectives, hiring plans, follow-through on projects, and accountability mechanisms.

Support the scaling of the El Segundo factory into a high-throughput aerospace manufacturing and flight-test operation.

Work closely with engineering and manufacturing leaders to clear roadblocks, improve throughput, sharpen execution, and keep teams focused on the most important work.

Create practical systems for onboarding, purchasing, inventory, facilities, documentation, compliance, security, IT, and internal communication.

Lead special projects for the CEO, especially cross-functional efforts that fall between teams but are essential to company progress.

Help prepare the business for its next stage of growth, including larger facilities, more complex programs, more hiring, more customers, and greater operational intensity.

What We’re Looking For

You should be an exceptional operator who consistently gets results. The ideal candidate is highly organized, intense, low-ego, and strongly resistant to unnecessary bureaucracy.

You should be equally comfortable operating at a strategic level and on the factory floor in the same day.

You need to be capable of building systems without slowing the organization down.

You should be comfortable working directly with the CEO and senior technical leaders.

You must be able to handle uncertainty, make decisions with incomplete information, and create clarity for others.

High ownership is essential: when something breaks, you fix it; when something is unclear, you clarify it; and when work slows, you push it forward.

You should be self-directed, able to identify issues, build a plan, and execute without close supervision.

Background in startups, aerospace, defense, manufacturing, hardware, operations, consulting, finance, or military leadership is useful, though not mandatory. Strong judgment, execution ability, and ownership matter most.

Why Join Icarus

• Meaningful equity opportunity
• Competitive salary and bonus potential
• Health, dental, and vision coverage
• Factory based in El Segundo
• Substantial ownership with real hardware and real flight work
• Small team with major responsibility and rapid growth
• Engineering-led, low-noise culture
• High-quality desk setup
• Daily lunch provided
• Unlimited Celsius

Culture and Operating Style

This is intentionally not a standard operations role. The team is made up of builders rather than corporate managers, and the company prioritizes engineering, manufacturing, flight, and execution over process, politics, or management overhead.

Your role is to reduce friction, not add bureaucracy. You will work closely with the CEO and a compact team of top-tier builders to develop the company infrastructure: factory, team, systems, cadence, culture, and operational foundation that allows the business to move faster than much larger competitors.

Extreme ownership is expected. This is a high-trust, direct, no-nonsense environment where every person contributes meaningfully.

The team wants builders who can learn quickly, solve problems across functions, and keep raising the operating standard every week. The company moves quickly, including early-morning trips to Mojave, and expects a strong focus on quality and speed.

No tourists, no bystanders, only builders.

Hiring Process

• Introductory call
• Working session with the CEO
• In-person meeting with the team
• Reference checks

Compensation and Employment Details

Estimated US salary range: USD 150,000 to 500,000. This estimate reflects base salary only and may change based on experience, education, training, critical skills, and business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are part of the total compensation package.

Equal Opportunity

Icarus is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability status.

Location

Los Angeles, California. The role is onsite at the El Segundo factory.