Chief Operating Officer

Advanced Navigation is the world’s most determined innovator in AI robotics and navigation technologies across land, air, sea and space applications. Founded on a culture of research and discovery, Advanced Navigation's mission is to be the catalyst of the autonomy revolution. Fields of expertise include artificial intelligence, underwater sonar, GNSS, radio frequency systems, inertial sensors, robotics, quantum sensors and photonics.

Today, Advanced Navigation is a supplier to some of the world's largest companies, including Airbus, Boeing, Google, Tesla, NASA, Apple, and General Motors. Discover it for yourself: https://youtu.be/F7uAqs1gtuk

Overview Of Role

The Chief Operating Officer will be the operational engine of Advanced Navigation, responsible for translating our strategic vision into scalable, everyday execution. Leading a critical portfolio of internal functions - IT, Security, Business Assurance & Quality Management, and Business Operations - you will drive cross-functional efficiency and operational excellence.

A vital component of this role will be designing and implementing the business processes required to operate seamlessly and compliantly alongside our US Special Security Agreement (SSA) entity. We need a seasoned, agile leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment and knows how to build robust systems without stifling the innovation that drives us forward.

Roles & Responsibilities

Operational Leadership & Scaling

• Lead, mentor and unite the IT, Security, Business Assurance, Quality Management and Business Operations teams.
• Identify bottlenecks and engineer lean, scalable processes to support our rapid scaling and significant revenue growth.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, establishing clear KPIs across all operational business units.
• Evaluate and implement enterprise-grade software and infrastructure to automate workflows and improve organisational efficiency.
• Establish best practice use of AI across the organisation to ensure productivity and meet compliance requirements.

Change Management and Strategy Articulation

• Translate the company's strategic vision into scalable, everyday execution across all operational functions.
• Lead organizational change management initiatives, ensuring that strategic goals are clearly communicated and adopted across global teams.
• Operationalise the OKR framework and optimise global knowledge management to dismantle cross-functional silos and accelerate speed of decision making.

Security, Quality, & Business Assurance

• Oversee the physical and cybersecurity posture of the organisation, ensuring robust protection of intellectual property and compliance with global standards.
• Champion Quality Management Systems (QMS), ensuring ISO compliance and maintaining the highest standards of product and operational reliability.
• Direct business assurance initiatives to proactively identify risks and implement robust mitigation strategies across our global operations.
• Partner with supply chain leadership to mitigate risk in supply chain and establish operational infrastructure across APAC, US and EMEA regions.

US SSA Integration & Compliance

• Serve as the primary operational architect for workflows interacting with our US SSA entity.
• Design and enforce clear operational boundaries, data-sharing protocols, and communication channels that comply with FOCI (Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence) mitigation requirements while maintaining global business alignment.
• Partner closely with US-based leadership and Facility Security Officers (FSOs) to ensure frictionless, compliant collaboration between the Australian parent and the US subsidiary.

Qualifications, Experience & Skills

Experience & Qualifications:

• 10+ years of senior operational leadership experience (VP or C-level) within a high-growth deep tech, hardware, robotics, or defense manufacturing company.
• Proven track record of guiding a business through rapid scaling past 200+ employees and building operational infrastructure across international regions.
• Demonstrated success leading organizational change management, including implementing goal-setting frameworks like OKRs across global teams.
• Strong understanding of US defense contracting requirements, ITAR, and operating under an SSA or similar FOCI mitigation agreement.
• Practical exposure to high-tech manufacturing dynamics, yield optimization, capacity planning, and supply chain risk management.
• High EQ leadership with the systems-thinking capability to design IT, security, and knowledge management frameworks that connect global time zones.
• Based at Sydney HQ with willingness to travel domestically up to once per quarter and internationally 1–2 times annually.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Technology or Business Administration.
• MBA or Master’s in Engineering Management is highly desirable.