Director - Mission Operations

The role

You will own the operational thread connecting autonomous systems to military end-users. You will design and run exercises to prove systems in realistic conditions and convert operational credibility into awarded programmes.

What you will do

• Act as primary interface to military end-users
• Build trusted relationships with operational units
• Translate user needs into requirements
• Design and develop the exercise programme
• Run exercises to prove autonomous systems and Spatial AI
• Capture performance and operational value from exercises
• Assess fit and integration of software-defined defence systems
• Feed operational insight into the product roadmap
• Identify and develop programmes from operational engagement
• Work with the commercial team to convert programmes into awarded work

Required qualifications

• Significant experience in military operations or capability development
• Strong technical understanding of software-defined defence systems, autonomy or adjacent domains
• Ability to communicate and negotiate with senior military and industry stakeholders
• Willingness to travel frequently across Europe and other strategic markets
• Native-level German
• Full professional fluency in English, written and spoken

Nice to have

• Experience planning or running military exercises, trials or experimentation campaigns involving unmanned or autonomous systems
• Familiarity with defence procurement and how operational trials turn into funded programmes
• An established network across European armed forces, procurement agencies or defence innovation units
• Experience in NATO or other multinational exercise environments

Benefits

• Participate in SE3's growth through our employee participation programme
• High-quality and modern toolset
• Flat hierarchy
• Best-in-class AI tools and agents
• 31 Paid Days Off
• Free membership to gyms, yoga, and wellness through EGYM Wellpass
• 2 company retreats per year
• Professional mentor

Before you apply

• Candidates must be eligible to obtain and hold the security clearance required for this role

About the company

SE3 Labs builds spatial intelligence and autonomy software for unmanned systems. They combine 3D computer vision, state estimation and AI to help autonomous platforms operate when sensors become unreliable.