Head of Operations

At Gigaton, we’re on a mission to cut gigatonnes of carbon emissions from the world’s biggest emitting industries (like cement, steel and glass), by building autonomous AI control and optimisation systems that learn and leverage the physics of manufacturing. Our products run heavy industrial plants more efficiently, more stably, and with lower emissions in real time - laying the foundation for the next industrial revolution. We are a team of scientists, engineers, builders, and operators who love hard problems, have high standards, and want to make change happen in the physical world. We care about deep tech, but we care even more about whether it delivers cost and carbon impact in a live plant, with real people, under real constraints. With Gigaton, you’ll solve really tough problems in places few people ever get close to, and build something that actually helps the planet. Are you up for the challenge?

About the role

We’re looking for a Head of Operations to join Gigaton, reporting directly to Noah, our COO.

The Goal: Be Noah’s integral right hand person. Own and deliver the business operations required to grow a fast moving start up, freeing up the COO to focus on key strategic areas, and allowing the entire company to deliver for our customers and get to gigatons with minimal friction. This is an expansive role, that will change a lot over time.

Immediate Outcomes:

• BAU: Operations across the business are handled efficiently every day. New hires are onboarded, leavers are off-boarded, board and management reports are generated, OKR planning and reporting runs smoothly, visa applications are handled, subscriptions, leave and benefits are all managed. When people have a question on any of the above, they know you are the person who has the answer.
• Our tools and processes have an owner who has maximised the value we can derive from them, across HRIS (Rippling), spend management (Cledara and Pleo), Spill (employee support) and other company systems. You own the running and compliance of these systems.
• Significant events in the Operations calendar are delivered. Financial and ESG reporting, Annual policy and guidelines review, Insurance management all happen with minimal fuss.
• Our fractional team members (Finance and HR) are managed to help deliver on the above, and Lisa, our office manager, has a partner and manager to help her make the office a fantastic place to work.
• A culture of automation. A difficult thing that we have to do once, is easier next time. You are making use of the latest tools and AI workflows to improve the efficiency and impact of operations.

Future Outcomes:

• People: L&D is organised and directed. You have marshalled the thought leaders across the company to build and deliver training content to make both new hires and current employees better.
• New managers are supported, through a set of training, 1:1 coaching, peer support networks and materials. The processes they need to run for their reports are clear, and they are regularly held to account on them.
• People in the business have a partner they are confident can support them. They come to you for advice and support. You understand the mood of the company and are helping the Exec team make the company a fantastic place to work.
• Performance management processes grow our team and keep our talent bar high. Growth reviews run efficiently and everyone is assessed against clear standards and competency frameworks. Salary reviews are benchmarked consistent and transparent across the company.

Strategic Partner:

• The next set of hard problems “How do we design an OKR planning process that works for our business?” or “How do we send military grade hardware around the world whilst staying within the law?” have a home, a partner that Noah can rely on to work out the answer to an ambiguous but critical problem.
• Special projects are championed and delivered. Who is going to audit and improve our notion workspaces so that old pages are deleted, and only relevant information remains to help both humans and AI? Who is going to review our financial outgoings along with our CFO to identify areas to save money? Who is going to find our new office space and organise our move? You are.

What a great fit looks like:

• 5+ years experience running operations in early stage start ups.
• Comfort with ambiguity - a lot of what you’ll inherit is half built and needs to be improved on.
• Organisation, rigour and a bias for action - you are excited to get the admin and the process work done well, and not just delegate it further.
• A hard-working, low-ego approach, and enthusiasm for being close to the operational engine room of a growing company.
• Excited by automation - you don’t like running the same process over and over without making it better, and have been using AI to improve your workflows.
• Experience building and running people functions.

You’ll excel if you are:

• You want to dedicate your career to fighting climate change.
• You have a strong bias for ownership - you are happiest when something is yours to run and you are accountable for a successful outcome.
• You have worked with fractional team members previously and understand how to get the best out of them.
• You have experience making change across an organisation, being firm with multiple stakeholders but in a kind way.
• You have a good understanding of UK employment law, visa applications, people operations, growth and development.

You are not expected to check every box, and we’d love to hear from you even if your experience isn’t an exact match. We’re building a team that reflects the world we want to change. Our people come from all walks of life - different countries, cultures and experiences - and we think that’s one of our biggest strengths. We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels safe, respected and celebrated. No matter your background, if you’re excited by what we do, we want to hear from you.

The interview process

Our interview process is designed to understand how you think, what excites and drives you, and how you would work with Noah. The process has four main stages.

• Screening call: You’ll meet a member of our team for an initial conversation to get to know you a bit better, and for you to understand the role.
• Technical Interviews: You’ll work through a set of realistic operational scenarios. What would you do, and how have you approached similar challenges in your work so far? We will do an exercise together that is reflective of the day-to-day work. We will also ask you to prepare and present a task, based on the role.
• Operating Principles: We’ll discuss examples from your past work that relate to how we operate: ownership, ambition, honesty, adaptability, and kindness. We’re proud of our operating principles and they are published on the internet.
• Exec Interview: Finally, you will meet Josh, our CEO, for a conversation. We believe hiring is a two-way process. Just as we’ll reference-check candidates before making a final offer, we encourage you to reference-check us by chatting to team members you haven’t yet met. Ask anything. We’ll answer with Concrete Honesty.

Once interviews are done, we’ll move quickly to a decision, and we’re always happy to give feedback at any stage.

In return for your hard work, we’ll give you Equity in the company: When we win, you win. You’ll get share options, so you’re part of our journey from the inside.

Flexible working: We trust you to know how and when you work best and to work that out with your team. 30 days of holiday (plus bank holidays). Rest is productive. Take the time you need to recharge. A generous pension scheme. We’re planning for the future in more ways than one.

Our Operating Principles:

• Go Gig or Go Home: High Bar, All In. What we do matters to humanity, to our customers and to each other. We hold ourselves to an extraordinarily high bar and bring the urgency this mission requires.
• Concrete Honesty: Be honest. As concrete forms the foundation of our world, genuine honesty and transparency are the bedrock of our culture.
• Autonomous Ownership: High agency, high ownership. We build systems that take control and make things better. We do the same: see it, own it, drive it.
• Cement it with Kindness & Fun: Have fun, be kind. We're here to extend Earth's life, but ours is still limited. We want to enjoy the ride.

To see these in full, go to Gigaton’s Operating Principles Notion page.