Head of Field Operations in Slough

About Us
We're automating homebuilding. Construction is one of the least automated industries in the world. We're on a mission to change that and to make high-quality homes easy and affordable to build. Our robotic MicroFactory deploys directly onto a homebuilder's site and produces the wall, floor, and roof panels they need, on demand, as their build progresses. It arrives in a shipping container, sits on a footprint of max 30 by 30 ft, and runs off generators on a gravel or concrete pad, no grid connection, no permanent site works required. We own and run the equipment ourselves, our customers buy the panels it produces, not the machine. Each MicroFactory stays on a customer's site for 3 to 12 months before it's decommissioned and redeployed to the next one. Backed by Planet A, PT1, Shadow Ventures, and ABB Robotics, we're a small team about to take our biggest step yet towards changing how the world builds homes. We're past pure R&D. We've just signed our first customers for our newest MicroFactory in the US, and we're working to get more deployed across North America, Europe, and the UK. What we do in the next handful of deployments sets the pattern for how we operate at scale. This role will be among the first in the world to build the operating model for deploying robotic manufacturing directly onto construction sites.

We're a rapidly growing team of around 35 engineers, roboticists, operators and designers, working from an 11,000 sq ft R&D and demonstration facility in London. We're looking for people who want to work on real-world challenges, move fast, take ownership, and see their work become part of real homes, for real people.

About the Role
We're looking for someone to build and own the operational function that plans, deploys, and runs our MicroFactories, end to end: from the first conversation about where a unit is going, through to it producing at full output, and on to wherever it goes next. You'll work directly with the COO to define the strategy and blueprint behind this, using our first deployments to shape it. This isn't a role that runs a single site. It's the person who designs and owns how AUAR does deployment and operations as a discipline: the logistics of getting a unit onto a customer's site and live, the project management of keeping it producing against schedule, the staffing and supply model behind it, and the redeployment process that moves it on. You'll use our first handful of deployments to build the blueprint (the plan, the playbook, the systems) that we scale as we take on more partners and more sites, at pace.

You'll work in lockstep with our commercial team. A signed contract isn't the finish line, it's the start of a partnership we need to onboard well and grow. You're the operational counterpart to commercial through that whole arc: making sure a new partner's first deployment goes well, that they're getting what they signed up for, and that the relationship is set up to expand rather than stall. Where commercial owns the deal, you own the delivery that makes the partnership real. This role draws on both logistics and project management, and it carries real seniority. You won't be working through a fixed task list, you'll be building and shaping the function as you go. You need to be hands-on enough to get a deployment right yourself, and senior enough to turn what you learn into a system others can run.

Key Responsibilities

• Deployment lifecycle - Own the end-to-end plan for getting a MicroFactory live on a partner's site (site readiness, logistics, staffing, schedule), and for decommissioning and redeploying it into new communities.
• Partner onboarding and growth - Work directly with the commercial team as new partners come on board, making sure the operational delivery matches what was sold, and that a strong first deployment turns into a growing relationship.
• Building and scaling the blueprint - Keep evolving the team, tools, and processes behind our deployment and operations model as we grow from a handful of deployments to many running in parallel.
• Operational ownership - Oversee how each MicroFactory is staffed and run once live, including the operator model, escalation paths for engineering support, and the supply and spares model that keeps it producing.
• Safety, compliance & permitting - Own site safety standards, insurance coordination, and permitting and regulatory requirements for each new location.
• Performance and improvement - Produce data and reports for internal stakeholders on MicroFactory performance, and use them to identify opportunities to reduce cost and lead time, increase efficiency and flexibility, and feed learnings back into product development.
• Partners and tooling - Determine the right local, regional, and global partners to support our operations, and the right tooling to keep communication seamless across sites, partners, and internal teams.

About You

• Track record building functions from scratch: You've built an operational, logistics, or delivery function from close to nothing, designed the process rather than just following one, at a company where the answer wasn't already written down.
• Project management experience: Spanning physical/logistical delivery as well as stakeholder and schedule management.
• Commercial fluency: Experience working closely with a commercial or sales function, particularly around onboarding and account growth. You understand a partnership is judged on what happens before and after signature.
• Comfort with seniority and ambiguity: This role is being created by you, not handed to you. There's no existing playbook, you'll be the one writing it.

Location: Based from an AUAR office at least 2-3 days a week. Right now that's London; we expect to open a US office within the next year, at which point this may shift depending on where you're based.

Travel: Willingness and ability to travel extensively and often, including internationally, to active construction sites and partner locations.

Reporting line: You'll report directly to the COO.

Bonus if you have:

• Experience in construction, industrial automation, or another physical/technical operations environment.
• Exposure to timber-frame/stick-frame or panelized building systems.
• Experience scaling an operational function at a fast-growing company.
• A personal motivation around sustainability or reducing construction's environmental footprint.

What We Offer

• The opportunity to build and own a function from its earliest stage, with real scope to shape how AUAR operates as it grows.
• Direct exposure to the commercial and leadership side of the business.
• High autonomy and ownership over how the role and the function around it develop.
• Meaningful equity that reflects the seniority of this role and the ground floor you're joining on.
• Generous leave with 28 bookable days each year (+ bank holidays + seasonal office closure).
• Well-being support including health & dental insurance.

Our Values

• #ownyourmission - we take responsibility and execute with focus and urgency.
• #forpeopleandplanet - we strive to do the best for people and planet.
• #buildtogether - we succeed through deep collaboration with our team, partners, and customers.
• #gooddesign - we centre good design in everything we do, holistically.
• #beboldberadical - we think creatively; we are ambitious, bold, and radical.

Application Process

• Initial Application
• Hiring Manager Call (45 min, remote) - with Bridget Hipwell, COO
• Case-Based Working Session + Values (90 min, in-person or remote) - with a panel of team members at AUAR. You will be given an AUAR challenge which we ask you to tackle in your own time, and present to us in the meeting. We will also discuss AUAR Values!
• Final Founder Interview (30 min, in-person or remote) - with Mollie Claypool, CEO & Co-founder

We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis until 1st August, but we encourage you to apply early as we may begin interviews before then. We're building a team as diverse as the communities we serve. If you see a part of this role that excites you, even if you don't meet 100% of the criteria, we encourage you to apply. Let's make housing better, together. We are committed to creating an equitable, inclusive and diverse workplace. We intend to run an equal, fair and inclusive hiring process. If you feel there is any area we could improve, please let us know.