Strategy & Operations Associate

Hadrian is building autonomous factories to reindustrialize America. By combining AI, advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we help aerospace and defense companies build rockets, satellites, aircraft, ships, and other mission-critical systems up to 10x faster and at significantly lower cost.

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  Work with Programs and firm leadership to define new programs and their early execution phases

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  Join customer discovery sessions and site visits, and turn what you hear into structured requirements, assumptions, and open questions

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  Surface cost, schedule, and delivery risks early, and drive the mitigation actions you own

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  Own defined pieces of factory and production-line stand-ups, such as long-lead equipment, site readiness, or workforce ramp, through the reviews that clear a line to start producing

• Build the quantitative models behind program decisions: cost and schedule models, investment cases, and ROI analyses

• Pressure-test plans, estimates, and schedules from other teams, and flag issues and recommended fixes

• Contribute to proposals and capture for follow-on business, including RFP responses, Statement of Work inputs, and pricing support

• Track budget, actuals, and cost-to-complete for your workstreams and feed the program forecast

• Drive execution across all supporting functions including engineering, operations, supply chain, and software for the workstreams you own

• Own those workstreams end to end — scope, schedule, risk, and stakeholder alignment

• Build and run the PMO tools that keep programs honest (e.g., Work Breakdown Structures, Integrated Master Schedules, earned value tracking)

• Run the operating rhythm: recurring reviews, milestone and dependency tracking, program dashboards, and selective escalation

• Help carry programs from qualification and first-article approval through full rate production and handoff to steady-state operations

• Be a factory teammate when needed: help install a machine or ship a part

• Build program materials and first drafts of executive presentations, business cases, and customer proposals

• Write status updates, decision memos, and risk reports with crisp recommendations and explicit tradeoffs

• Support customer program reviews and working sessions alongside senior PMs, including occasional visits to customer facilities

• Experience: 2–6 years in management consulting, federal programs, manufacturing, or operations/strategy roles, within aerospace, defense, or industrial environments. Strategy & Operations, BizOps, or program operations roles at high-tempo startups, particularly in defense tech, also fit. You've run a workstream with real deliverables, not just supported one

• Education: Bachelor's in Business, Economics, Operations, Engineering, or a related field

• Travel: Willingness to travel 20–40%

• A&D and manufacturing exposure: Experience in aerospace, defense, or industrial manufacturing (Primes, OEMs, Tier 1/2 suppliers, or large industrial programs) is strongly preferred. At minimum, a real interest in how manufacturing works

• Communication: Strong written and verbal skills. You build clear, well-structured PowerPoint and written updates on your own, and you're comfortable presenting to and following up with senior stakeholders

• Analytical self-serve: Strong Excel and AI tools

• Ownership & Ambiguity: You thrive in fast-paced, evolving environments. When a problem is underspecified, you create structure fast and deliver a usable v1 without waiting for perfect data or complete direction

• Help-anywhere mindset: Low ego, high ownership, and willing to do whatever it takes to meet the mission, including hands-on operational support

• Steady when things shift: When priorities change or you need to make decisions with limited information, you update the plan, tell people what changed and why, and keep moving instead of defending the old answer or being stuck

• Strong judgment: You know when to be scrappy and when to formalize, and you can define a “good enough” v1

• Shop floor curiosity: You enjoy learning from engineers and factory technicians to ground plans in reality; you find manufacturing fascinating and want to sit on the shop floor every day

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Hadrian uses AI-assisted tools in our recruiting and hiring processes to help our team work more efficiently. This may include tools that help organize and analyze recruiting data, as well as an AI-powered notetaker that can record and transcribe interviews and help coordinate feedback. These tools support our team and are not used to make hiring decisions. All candidate evaluations and hiring decisions are performed by humans. If an interview will be recorded, you will be notified in advance and may opt out at any time with no impact on your candidacy. Candidate data processed through these tools is subject to the same protections described in our Privacy Policy.

Hadrian will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of all applicable laws. We do not ask about criminal history on our application, and we do not consider criminal history before making a conditional offer of employment.

Hadrian does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, marital status, mental status, physical disability or any other legally protected status. When necessary, the Company also makes reasonable accommodations for disabled candidates and employees, including for candidates or employees who are disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.