Business Operations Manager - UK

Salience Labs Ltd; Oxford; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Salience Labs Ltd is seeking a Business Operations Manager to act as the connective tissue for a fast-moving deep-tech company. You will own a portfolio of operational workstreams and collaborate with the leadership team, engineers and external partners in a UK/US startup environment.

You will manage UK Operations, implement inventory/resource planning, support finance and talent processes, and drive facilities, IT, and marketing operations while identifying improvements to keep the business

Qualifications

• 5+ years in operations with ownership of planning and delivery.
• Experience leading a small Operations team.
• Experience working across a UK/US start-up structure.
• Proven ability to deliver to fixed external deadlines (projects, events, shipping).
• Strong written communication and ability to produce external copy/slides.
• Comfort using AI tools to work efficiently across a wide remit.
• Ability to learn unfamiliar subjects quickly and know when to bring in specialists.
• Comfortable managing a varied portfolio of workstreams and prioritising effectively.

Responsibilities

• Managing legal and corporate administration, including contracts, compliance, documentation and reporting.
• Manage the UK Operations team.
• Maintain IP records and coordinate with external advisers.
• Support logistical challenges as they arise.
• Implement and own inventory and resource planning systems.
• Support people and talent processes and collaborate with technical teams.
• Assist finance operations including grant administration and investor inquiries.
• Lead facilities and capital projects, lab and office development, health and safety, office management.
• Support IT security, resilience and supplier requirements.
• Own marketing, PR and events operations, including website, media, agency management and trade shows.
• Provide ad hoc leadership support on presentations, reporting and research.
• Identify opportunities to improve how the business operates.

Skills

Operations management

Team leadership

UK/US startup experience

Deadlines / project delivery

Written communication

AI tools familiarity

Learning new topics

Portfolio management

Job description

About us

Salience Labs is building an industry-defining approach to optical circuit switching for AI infrastructure, engineered for real latency reduction and cost savings. We're moving towards real-world deployment, and joining at this stage means genuine ownership over that next chapter, working alongside a highly technical team on one of the most consequential problems in AI infrastructure today.

The Role

As Business Operations Manager at Salience Labs, you will be the connective tissue that keeps a fast-moving deep-tech company running smoothly. You will own a varied portfolio of operational workstreams that help the business deliver at pace. You will work closely with the leadership team, engineers and external partners in a UK/US start-up environment.

Responsibilities

• Managing legal and corporate administration, including contracts, compliance documentation and company reporting
• Manage the UK Operations team
• Maintaining IP records and coordinating with external advisers
• Supporting with some logistical challenges as they arise
• Implementing and owning our inventory and resource planning systems
• Supporting people and talent processes, and building strong working relationships with our technical teams
• Supporting finance operations, including grant administration, procurement and requests from investors and partners
• Leading facilities and capital projects, including lab and office development, health and safety and office management
• Supporting the IT team with security, resilience and supplier requirements
• Owning marketing, PR and events operations, including website, media, agency management and international trade shows
• Providing ad hoc support to the leadership team on presentations, reporting and research
• Proactively identifying opportunities to improve how the business operates

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years in operations, business operations or an executive generalist role, with ownership of planning, implementation and results
• Experience managing a small Operations team
• Experience working across a UK/US start-up structure
• A track record of delivering to fixed external deadlines, such as building projects, events and equipment shipping
• Strong written communication, with the ability to produce polished external copy and slides
• Comfort using AI tools to work efficiently across a wide remit
• Quick to learn unfamiliar subjects, and clear about when to bring in specialists
• Comfortable managing a varied portfolio of workstreams and prioritising effectively

Even Better If You

• Have experience in hardware, deep-tech, semiconductor or lab-based start-ups
• Have managed trade compliance or international shipping for technical equipment
• Have led facilities or capital projects from start to finish
• Have implemented inventory or resource planning systems
• Have run international events or managed PR and marketing agencies