Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Position

Strategic and hands-on driver of industrial scale-up

As 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. In other words:

• 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 PMO 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’ll serve as a permanent member of the Defence Programme Office (DPO) to enforce export control. Represent the company’s operational strengths to partners, investors, and institutional stakeholders.
• And finally you lead the transition to a digitally integrated operating model using AI-supported tools and live reporting to establish an Industry 5.0 organization.

Profile

• 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 have a technical or engineering background, ideally complemented by an MBA or equivalent qualification.
• 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. This role is bases in Leuven (Belgium).

Offer

• Simera Sense offers an entrepreneurial and high-authority role at the core of a global space-tech pioneer.
• You will join an international team where the culture is driven by innovation, digital integration, and the empowerment of people through intelligent systems.
• A key position providing the autonomy to (re)shape the operating model of a Group that is positioning its European headquarters as the high-value core of its global footprint.
• 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.
• Professional growth within an organization rapidly expanding from approximately 126 to 280 employees over the next three years.

Application information

To ensure a fair and streamlined selection process, candidates are required to apply solely via Hudson. Surf to jobs.hudsonsolutions.com and apply online.

All pre-application questions should also be addressed to Hudson. Please refrain from contacting Simera Sense directly regarding this role and contact Ing. Cathy Champagne, Senior Business Consultant at Hudson.

Your response will be dealt with promptly and confidentially.

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