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About the Role

The Chief Operating Officer will be the operational engine of Advanced Navigation, responsible for translating strategic vision into scalable, everyday execution. This role leads critical functions including IT, Security, Business Assurance & Quality Management, and Business Operations, driving cross-functional efficiency and operational excellence. A key responsibility is designing and implementing business processes for seamless and compliant operation alongside the US Special Security Agreement (SSA) entity. We seek an agile leader adept at building robust systems without stifling innovation.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and unite the IT, Security, Business Assurance, Quality Management, and Business Operations teams.
Identify bottlenecks and engineer lean, scalable processes to support rapid scaling and significant revenue growth.
Drive a culture of continuous improvement, establishing clear KPIs across all operational business units.
Evaluate and implement enterprise-grade software and infrastructure to automate workflows and improve organizational efficiency.
Establish best practice use of AI across the organization to ensure productivity and meet compliance requirements.
Translate the company's strategic vision into scalable, everyday execution across all operational functions.
Lead organizational change management initiatives, ensuring strategic goals are clearly communicated and adopted across global teams.
Operationalize the OKR framework and optimize global knowledge management to dismantle cross-functional silos and accelerate decision-making speed.
Oversee the physical and cybersecurity posture of the organization, ensuring robust protection of intellectual property and compliance with global standards.
Champion Quality Management Systems (QMS), ensuring ISO compliance and maintaining the highest standards of product and operational reliability.
Direct business assurance initiatives to proactively identify risks and implement robust mitigation strategies across global operations.
Partner with supply chain leadership to mitigate risk in the supply chain and establish operational infrastructure across APAC, US, and EMEA regions.
Serve as the primary operational architect for workflows interacting with the US SSA entity.
Design and enforce clear operational boundaries, data-sharing protocols, and communication channels that comply with FOCI mitigation requirements while maintaining global business alignment.
Partner closely with US-based leadership and Facility Security Officers (FSOs) to ensure frictionless, compliant collaboration between the Australian parent and the US subsidiary.

Requirements

10+ years of senior operational leadership experience (VP or C-level) within a high-growth deep tech, hardware, robotics, or defense manufacturing company.
Proven track record of guiding a business through rapid scaling past 200+ employees and building operational infrastructure across international regions.
Demonstrated success leading organizational change management, including implementing goal-setting frameworks like OKRs across global teams.
Strong understanding of US defense contracting requirements, ITAR, and operating under an SSA or similar FOCI mitigation agreement.
Practical exposure to high-tech manufacturing dynamics, yield optimization, capacity planning, and supply chain risk management.
High EQ leadership with systems-thinking capability to design IT, security, and knowledge management frameworks that connect global time zones.
Based at Sydney HQ with willingness to travel domestically up to once per quarter and internationally 1–2 times annually.

Skills

IT
Security
Business Assurance
Quality Management
Business Operations
AI
Organizational Change Management
OKR Framework
Knowledge Management
Cybersecurity
Quality Management Systems (QMS)
ISO Compliance
Supply Chain Risk Management
FOCI Mitigation

Location

Sydney HQ

Work Type

Full-time

Experience Level

Senior operational leadership (VP or C-level)
10+ years

Education Level

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Technology or Business Administration
MBA or Master’s in Engineering Management is highly desirable