Chief Executive Officer (COO)
Strategic and hands‑on driver of industrial scale‑up.
Simera Sense is a leading global provider of high-performance space cameras and mission-critical imaging solutions. As the company undergoes rapid international growth and industrial scale‑up, it is evolving its operations to meet the demands of global defence and commercial programmes. Therefore, Simera Sense is looking for a COO.
Responsibilities
Lead and scale all operational functions—including supply chain optimisation and resilience, assembly, integration, testing, and production—while translating company strategy into actionable operational plans, KPIs, and capacity roadmaps.
Drive production throughput, yield and quality across global sites by leading local Managing Directors and establishing a central Group Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure delivery predictability and cross-site coordination.
Ensure high performance and resilience across the global supplier ecosystem while maintaining rigorous quality assurance, compliance, and industrial discipline.
Serve as a permanent member of the Defence Programme Office (DPO) to enforce export control and represent the company’s operational strengths to partners, investors and institutional stakeholders.
Lead the transition to a digitally integrated operating model using AI-supported tools and live reporting to establish an Industry 5.0 organisation.
Qualifications
Understand that a company is driven by its values and, as an executive leader, live out and help refine those values.
Have a technical or engineering background, ideally complemented by an MBA or equivalent qualification.
Be an executive leader with a hands‑on approach and the authority to drive decision‑making at the centre of a fast-growing organisation.
Possess strategic insight to navigate complex, regulated environments and pragmatic discipline to maintain quality during rapid scale‑up.
Have strong communication skills to align diverse cross‑functional teams and represent the company effectively in high‑stakes environments.
Have 10 years of senior operational leadership experience within the aerospace, defence or high‑tech manufacturing sectors.
Have a proven track record of scaling production, industrial operations and supply chain systems in international settings.
Have deep expertise in programme execution, quality management systems and operational compliance in mission‑critical environments.
Be willing and able to travel regularly to international sites, including South Africa, France and the UK. This role is based in Leuven (Belgium).
Benefits
Entrepreneurial and high-authority role at the core of a global space‑tech pioneer.
Join an international team where the culture is driven by innovation, digital integration and empowerment through intelligent systems.
Key position providing autonomy to (re)shape the operating model of a Group positioning its European headquarters as the high-value core of its global footprint.
Core seat on the executive leadership team with delegated decision‑making authority and the opportunity to act as the CEO’s proxy in critical operational, industrial and programme matters.
Professional growth within an organisation rapidly expanding from approximately 126 to 280 employees over the next three years.
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