As they undergo rapid international growth and industrial scale-up, they are evolving their operations to meet the demands of global defence and commercial programs. Therefore they are looking for a COO. Strategic and hands-on driver of industrial scale-upAs COO, you are the executive owner of end-to-end execution across the Simera Sense Group operations, serving as the CEO's natural second-in-command.You are responsible for translating high-level strategy into predictable, scalable execution while ensuring that industrial and operational systems are fit for sustained growth and rigorous investor scrutiny. You will lead and scale all operational functions - including supply chain optimization and resilience, assembly, integration, testing, and production - while translating company strategy into actionable operational plans, KPIs, and capacity roadmaps.You 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.You understand that a company is driven by its values, and as an executive leader you understand and accept that you have a key role to live out and also constantly help refine our binding values.You are an executive leader with a hands-on approach and the authority to drive decision-making at the center of a fast-growing organization.You possess the strategic insight to navigate complex, regulated environments and the pragmatic discipline necessary to maintain quality during rapid scale-up.You have strong communication skills to align diverse cross-functional teams and represent the company effectively in high-stakes environments.You have 10+ years of senior operational leadership experience within the aerospace, defence, or high-tech manufacturing sectors.You have a proven track record of scaling production, industrial operations, and supply chain systems in international settings.You have deep expertise in program execution, quality management systems, and operational compliance in mission-critical environments.You are willing and able to travel regularly to international sites, including South Africa, France, and the UK. You will join an international team where the culture is driven by innovation, digital integration, and the empowerment of people through intelligent systems.A 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 program matters.Practicality, Operating Models, Scale production, Expertise, Defence, Bookbinding, Innovation, Aerospace, Execution, KPI, Operating systems, Team Culture, Delivery, Strategic Insight, Practicality, Stress tolerance, Business Strategy, Export Controls, Decision Making, Road Map, Management, Career Development, Stakeholders, Supply chain, Headquarters, Quality assurance, Coordination, Ecosystems, Pragmatism, High tech, Industrial, Intelligent Systems, Assembly, Production, Reporting, Group Project, Operations, Testing, Translation, Quality assurance, End to End, Team Leadership