Strategic Operations Manager

About Us

Thunderstrike is a drone systems design, engineering, and manufacturing scale-up on a mission to set the pace in the UAV market for both military and commercial applications. We turn bold ideas into field-ready capability – fast. From advanced airframes and avionics to integrated payloads and tooling, our teams build end-to-end solutions that deliver real operational value.

We work with a startup drive and an informal culture, where ownership, curiosity, and craft matter—and where people genuinely love what they do. If you want to help shape a category as it scales, you’ll fit right in at our HQ in Odense, Denmark. Join us and help make Thunderstrike the name to beat in next-gen unmanned systems.

The Opportunity

We’re hiring an Executive Assistant as a strategic business partner to the VP of Operations. The position has a clear path to Chief of Staff as we scale. This is not a traditional calendar/expenses role. You’ll be empowered to act on behalf of the VP, make day-to-day decisions, and lead strategic projects – starting with an ERP implementation. You’ll orchestrate cross-functional execution between Operations and Commercial to turn strategy into results.

What You’ll Do

1) Executive partnership & operating rhythm

• Own the VP’s operating cadence: weekly priorities, leadership meetings, reviews, and follow-through
• Protect focus time via proactive calendar triage and trade-off decisions
• Prepare briefing docs, talking points, decision memos, and meeting outcomes
• Drive action tracking and accountability across teams; close loops quickly

2) Project Management — ERP

• You do not carry overall program ownership, but you act as Thunderstrike’s internal project lead and primary interface between the business and the implementation partner
• Own Thunderstrike’s internal project management of the ERP implementation in close collaboration with the external implementation partner
• Coordinate timelines, milestones, governance forums, and internal resources – with continuous follow-up on progress
• Support planning and stakeholder readiness activities related to UAT and go-live, in coordination with the implementation partner.

3) Cross-functional coordination (Ops ↔ Commercial)

• Coordinate cross-pillar initiatives (forecast→plan→build→deliver→support)
• Standardize meeting rituals, templates, and communication channels to speed decision-making
• Anticipate bottlenecks; escalate or resolve issues with sound judgment

4) Communications & documentation

• Draft crisp updates on plans, risks, and decisions for executives and teams
• Maintain shared artifacts: project trackers, risk registers, RAID logs, SOPs, and dashboards

5) Administrative excellence

• Orchestrate complex travel, events, and stakeholder engagements
• Manage sensitive information with absolute discretion and professionalism,
• Optimize tools and workflows in Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, OneNote, SharePoint)

Decision Rights & Autonomy

• Make scheduling and prioritization decisions on behalf of the VP
• Represent the VP in select meetings; capture decisions and drive next steps
• Coordinate directly with senior stakeholders, vendors, and partners
• Approve standard workflows within agreed guardrails (e.g., agenda setting, comms cadence, document templates)
• Recommend process changes and implement them without waiting on micromanagement

What Success Looks Like (30/60/90)

• 30 days: Clear grasp of business priorities, stakeholders, and rhythms; high-signal calendar and meeting design in place
• 60 days: Clear visibility into ERP scope, stakeholders, and key milestones; structured internal follow-up and reporting in place.
• 90 days: Improved decision speed and cross-functional follow-through; ERP activities progressing in line with agreed plans and governance.

Qualifications

Must-have

• Experience supporting senior executives (VP/C-suite) in high-growth, complex, or industrial/manufacturing environments, possibly from a management consultant position.
• Demonstrated project leadership experience (end-to-end ownership, not just coordination)
• Hands-on experience with ERP or adjacent systems (SAP or similar)
• Mastery of Microsoft 365: Outlook, Teams, OneNote/SharePoint; strong PowerPoint & Excel
• Exceptional judgment, discretion, and stakeholder management; able to make trade-offs independently
• Strong writing: brief, executive-ready, and action-oriented
• Comfortable working in a scale-up setting; on-site presence when needed

Nice to have

• Exposure to supply chain, production, QA, PLM/MES, or finance operations
• Change management certifications or experience (ADKAR or similar)
• Ability to facilitate workshops and design processes

Preferred: Experience in the defense/aerospace sector or other highly regulated environments.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary + bonus; transparent range shared with candidates early in the process
• Predictable schedule and flexibility as compensation to peak periods/travelling
• High trust, low ego culture where operational excellence and safety are non-negotiable

Work Setup

• Primarily on-site for key meetings, build/test activities, vendor visits, and critical program moments
• Travel: ~10–15% for supplier, site, and partner coordination

Apply here: Strategic Operations Manager | Thunderstrike Aviation | LinkedIn