Chief Operating Officer (COO) đź“Ť Duxford, Cambridgeshire | đź•’ Full-Time, On-Site
The Opportunity
We are retained by a pioneering clean-tech scale-up, headquartered in Duxford, to appoint a dynamic and commercially focused Chief Operating Officer. This is a critical hire to support the transition from R&D to global commercial deployment, and to build scalable operational infrastructure around a market-ready deep-tech manufacturing platform.
Reporting directly to the CEO and working closely with the senior leadership team, the COO will own operations strategy, manufacturing scale-up, and delivery excellence as the company enters high-growth mode.
Key Responsibilities Operational Leadership
Develop and implement robust operational frameworks that align with the company’s strategic growth goals
Drive efficiency, accountability, and cross-functional coordination across R&D, engineering, supply chain, and customer delivery functionsManufacturing & Supply Chain
Lead scale-up of manufacturing capabilities (in-house and outsourced), ensuring cost, quality, and time-to-market objectives are met
Oversee supply chain strategy, procurement, and production planning to support increasing order volumesProject Delivery & Execution
Ensure seamless execution of pilot projects, installations, and system rollouts across domestic and international markets
Partner with product and commercial teams to ensure operations are tightly integrated with customer successLeadership & Team Building
Build and develop a high-performing operations and delivery team
Foster a culture of ownership, clarity, and continuous improvement across the businessGovernance & Risk
Introduce systems to manage operational risk, quality control, compliance, and health & safety across manufacturing and deployment activitiesExecutive Collaboration
Contribute to corporate strategy and fundraising conversations as part of the executive leadership team
Represent operations in board meetings, investor discussions, and strategic partnershipsCandidate Profile Essential
Proven experience in a COO or senior operations leadership role, ideally within a hardware, industrial, manufacturing, or clean-tech environment
Track record of scaling operations from pilot stage through to commercial rollout
Strong experience with manufacturing operations, global supply chain, and technical delivery
Commercially minded with the ability to align technical teams with market-facing objectives
Exceptional leadership and people management experience, with a focus on building scalable teams and systems
Comfortable in a fast-paced, resource-constrained, and innovation-led environmentDesirable
Experience supporting international deployment, especially across Europe or Asia
Background in industrial equipment, advanced manufacturing, or sustainability-related technologies
Engineering or technical background preferredIn terms of benefits offered, you can expect flexible work hours, private medical healthcare (with family cover), 5% employee pension contribution, life insurance 4x annual salary, 33 days total holiday (inc bank holidays) and some other lucrative add-ons.
If you are interested, please drop me an email (url removed) or message me on LinkedIn: Alexander Flory