Chief operating officer (COO)

ARGO- People Strategy; Porto; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary

Performance bonus

Direct exposure to investors

Chance to build the operating backbone

High-impact scale-up environment

Job summary

Seamoretech is seeking a senior COO to lead the operational scale-up of its proprietary technology for brine and wastewater treatment. You will work directly with the founders to build the operating system enabling repeatable, margin-conscious delivery across customers, suppliers, and industrial sites.

The role requires hands-on leadership with a track record in physical operations, multidisciplinary teams, and translating commercial commitments into reliable technical, financial, and

Qualifications

• Requires proven experience in launching, commissioning, or significantly improving a physical operation or industrial project.
• Ability to design and implement SOPs, operational routines, and delivery processes with measurable improvements.
• Direct involvement in pricing strategy, scoping, negotiations, delivery terms, and change management.
• Experience managing budgets, CAPEX/OPEX trade-offs, project economics, or P&L-related decisions.
• Proven track record of building and leading multidisciplinary teams in fast-growth environments.
• Established relationships across industrial ecosystems (customers, suppliers, EPCs, utilities).
• Experience supporting fundraising, investor reporting, or board-level updates.

Responsibilities

• Lead the first industrial deployments and commissioning activities, delivering against scope, timing, budget, safety, and customer expectations.
• Establish repeatable operating processes, SOPs, governance, and cadence for scale-up.
• Structure supply chain, procurement, supplier qualification, and management for critical equipment and materials.
• Translate commercial commitments into reliable delivery plans, including scope, responsibilities, interfaces, risks, and change control.
• Create visibility over CAPEX, OPEX, project economics, cash impact, and margins at project and company level.
• Build the operation team, decision routines, and reporting discipline to scale from first units to multiple deployments.
• Support customer, supplier, and partner negotiations to ensure contract commitments are deliverable and financially sound.

Skills

Execution & Commissioning

Industrialisation

Commercial Negotiation

Financial & P&L Acumen

Team Leadership

Industrial Network

Fundraising/IR

Job description

Seamoretechdevelopsanddeploysproprietarytechnologythattransformsindustrialbrinesandwastewaterdesalinationstreamsintorecoveredcriticalmineralsandtreatedwater.Wearemovingfromfirstindustrialcommissioningintorepeatabledeployment,withrealcustomers,proprietarytechnologyandaclearneedtoscaleexecutionwithdiscipline.

Therole

WearelookingforaseniorCOOtoleadtheoperationalscale-upofSeamoretech.Thisisahands onleadershiproleforsomeonewhohasdeliveredcomplexphysicaloperations,managedmultidisciplinaryteamsandtranslatedcommercialcommitmentsintoreliabletechnical,financialandoperationalexecution.

TheCOOwillworkdirectlywiththefoundersandwillbeaccountableforbuildingtheoperatingsystemthatallowsSeamoretechtomovefromfirstdeploymentstorepeatable,margin-consciousdeliveryacrosscustomers,suppliersandindustrialsites.

Role&expectedoutcomes-first12-18months

• Leadthefirstindustrialdeploymentsandcommissioningactivities,ensuringdeliveryagainstscope,timing,budget,safetyandcustomerexpectations.
• Establishrepeatableoperatingprocesses,SOPs,projectgovernanceandexecutioncadenceforindustrialscale-up.
• Structuresupplychain,procurement,supplierqualificationandsuppliermanagementforcriticalequipment,materialsandservices.
• Translatecommercialcommitmentsintoreliabledeliveryplans,includingscope,responsibilities,interfaces,riskallocationandchangecontrol.
• CreateclearvisibilityoverCAPEX,OPEX,projecteconomics,cashimpactandmarginatprojectandcompanylevel.
• Buildtheoperationsteam,decisionroutinesandreportingdisciplinerequiredtoscalefromfirstunitstomultipledeployments.
• Supportcustomer,supplierandpartnernegotiations,ensuringthatcontractualcommitmentsareoperationallydeliverableandfinanciallysound.

Whowearelookingfor

Wearelookingforsomeonewithprovenexperienceinphysicaloperations,industrialdelivery,engineering-ledenvironmentsorinfrastructure-likeprojects.Thestrongestcandidatesmaycomefromscale-ups,industrialcompanies,utilities,engineeringbusinesses,manufacturing,water,environmentaltechnologies,energy,chemicalsoradjacentsectors.

Experienceinastartuporscale-upisvaluable.Weareequallyinterestedincandidateswhohavebuiltanewoperation,project,productlineorbusinessunitfromscratchinsidealargercorporateorindustrialenvironment,wherebudgetdiscipline,executionreliabilityandstakeholdermanagementwerecritical.

• Operationalexecution&commissioning:Haslaunched,commissionedorscaledaphysicaloperation,plant,unit,industrialsystemorcomplexfielddeployment.
• Industrialisation&repeatability:Canturnone-offdeliveryintorepeatableprocesses,SOPs,projectgovernanceandmeasurableoperationalimprovement.
• Financialownership:Hasmanagedbudgets,CAPEX/OPEXtrade-offs,projecteconomics,uniteconomicsorP&L-relevantdecisions.
• Commercialexecution&contractnegotiation:Hasparticipatedinnegotiationswithcustomers,suppliersorindustrialpartners,includingpricing,scope,deliveryterms,responsibilities,risksandchangemanagement.
• Teamleadership:Hasbuilt,ledorscaledmultidisciplinaryteamsacrossoperations,engineering,procurement,projectmanagementorcustomerdelivery.
• Water,wastewater,brinetreatment,desalination,environmentaltechnology,utilities,mining,chemicals,manufacturingorindustrialengineeringexposure.
• Experiencewithcustomer-facingdelivery,commissioning,serviceoperationsorcomplexB2Bindustrialprojects.
• Experiencewithprocurement,suppliernegotiationsandexternalcontractormanagement.
• Experiencesupportingfundraising,investorreportingorboard-leveloperationalupdates.
• Portugueseand/orSpanishmarketknowledge;broaderEuropeanindustrialexperienceisalsovalued.

Whatwewillaskyoutodemonstrate

• Execution&Commissioning:Demonstratedexperienceinlaunching,commissioning,orsignificantlyimprovingaphysicaloperation,industrialproject,facility,orsitedeployment.(Core)
• Industrialisation:AbilitytodesignandimplementStandardOperatingProcedures(SOPs),operationalroutines,deliveryprocesses,andmeasurableoperationalimprovements.(Core)
• CommercialExecution/ContractNegotiation:Directinvolvementinpricingstrategy,scopedefinition,customerandsuppliernegotiations,deliveryterms,responsibilities,riskmanagement,andcontractchangemanagement.(Core)
• Management:ExperiencemanagingCAPEX,OPEX,projecteconomics,budgets,margins,uniteconomics,andprofit&lossrelateddecision-making,ideallywithinhardwareorindustrialenvironments.(Core)
• Startup,Scale-uporNew-BuildEnvironment:Experienceworkinginhigh-growthbusinessesorbuildingnewoperations,businessunits,projects,orindustrialfacilitiesfromthegroundup.(Core)
• TeamLeadership:Proventrackrecordofbuilding,leading,anddevelopingoperational,engineering,project,ordeliveryteams,ideallywithinafast-growingenvironment.(Core/Valued)
• IndustrialNetwork:Establishedrelationshipsacrossindustrialecosystems,includingcustomers,suppliers,EPCcontractors,utilities,andenvironmental,water,orengineeringstakeholders.(Valued)
• Fundraising/InvestorRelations:Abilitytocommunicateoperationalprogress,keymilestones,andriskstoinvestorsandotherinvestmentstakeholdersinaclearandstructuredmanner.(Valued)

Locationandworkingmodel

TheroleisbasedinPortoandrequiresregularin-personpresencewiththefounders,team,suppliers,customersandindustrialsites(atleast3timeson-site).

WeareopentocandidateswhocancommittofrequenttraveltoPortoandtotheoperationalrhythmrequiredbytherole.

Thelocationmodelwillbediscussedtransparentlyduringtheprocess,butthisisnotaremote-firstposition.

Whatweoffer

• Competitivebasesalaryalignedwiththeseniorityandoperationalscopeoftherole.
• Performancebonuslinkedtoclearlydefinedoperational,financialanddeliverymilestones.
• Directexposureinvestors,customersandstrategicpartners.
• Theopportunitytobuildtheoperatingbackboneofadeeptechindustrialcompanyatacriticalinflectionpoint.
• Weturnwhatindustrydiscardsintowhatthefutureneeds.Joinustobuildtheoperationsthatmakeitscalable.