Business Operations Associate

Lux Aeterna; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Paid time off and holidays

401(k) retirement plan

Job summary

Lux Aeterna, in Denver, seeks a versatile operations professional to run day-to-day business operations. You will build dashboards, manage systems across engineering, procurement, finance, and facilities, and track vendors and spend to keep hardware moving.

This early-career role offers breadth, ownership, and a path to leadership as the startup scales; we value rigor, curiosity, and an ability to learn quickly in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a rigorous technical field.
• 1-5 years of experience in business operations or related roles.
• Excellent writing and ability to produce clear documents.
• Strong organizational instincts and follow-through.
• Ability to learn new concepts quickly and work independently.
• Proficient with spreadsheets and modern productivity tools.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and changing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain reporting and dashboards for company leadership.
• Manage and improve the company's systems across engineering, procurement, finance, and other tools.
• Track vendors, contracts, and spend.
• Own purchasing pipeline end-to-end: quotes, POs, order tracking, delivery.
• Keep hardware purchasing aligned with schedules to support engineering.
• Stay ahead of renewals and reorders.
• Document the process with a procurement playbook by month six.
• Own office operations, supplies, and inventory.
• Coordinate facility build-out projects, vendor contracts, and budget visibility.
• Support month-end close and liaison with outsourced bookkeeping.

Skills

Excellent writing

Strong organizational skills

Self-learning ability

Spreadsheet proficiency

Ambiguity tolerance

Python

SQL

ERP/PLM experience

Project management tools

Startup experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Tools

ERP systems

PLM systems

Project management software

Job description

The Mission

Space is the bleeding edge for humanity's next industrial revolution. While reusable rockets have opened the door, true economic transformation requires infrastructure that makes orbit as accessible and reliable as air travel. At Lux Aeterna, we're building that future by developing the first reusable satellite platform with controlled return capability - transforming space from a one-way street into a two-way highway for innovation and commerce.

The Opportunity

Building a spacecraft company takes more than engineering. Someone has to stand up the systems the company runs on, keep vendors, spend, facilities moving, and make sure a fast-moving team stays coordinated. Your job is to run the company's business operations day to day: the operating cadence, the reporting leadership runs on, the systems the company works in, the vendors and spend that keep hardware moving, and the facility and finance operations behind all of it. You'll learn how a space company gets built from the inside. This role fits someone early in their career who wants breadth, real ownership, and a seat at every operational decision at a startup putting hardware in orbit. You don't need to have done any of this before. You need to be smart, rigorous, and hungry to learn. We'll teach you the rest.

The Role

Run Business Operations Execution

• Build and maintain reporting and dashboards for company leadership
• Manage and improve the company's systems as we scale: engineering, procurement, finance, and other software tools
• Track vendors, contracts, and spend

Lead Procurement

• Own the purchasing pipeline end-to-end: quotes, POs, order tracking, and delivery follow-through
• Keep buying on pace with hardware schedules so engineers can stay focused on engineering
• Stay ahead of renewals and reorders
• Document the process as you go, with a complete procurement playbook ready to hand off by month six

Run Facility & Office Operations

• Own office operations day to day: supplies, service work, receiving and inventory
• Support the facility build-out project: vendor coordination, quote and contract tracking, schedule and budget visibility
• Coordinate the operational side of moves, build-outs, and new-space standup as the company grows

Support Finance Operations

• Route invoices, track approvals, and keep accounts payable flowing on time
• Own expense and corporate card hygiene: receipts, coding, policy follow-ups
• Serve as day-to-day liaison to our outsourced bookkeeping team; support month-end close and chase down what's missing
• Feed clean spend data into the vendor tracker and leadership reporting

Learn the Function, Then Take Pieces of It

This role is designed to grow. As you demonstrate ownership, you'll take on whole workstreams, with a path to a Lead role as the company scales.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or another rigorous technical/quantitative field
• 1-5 years of experience. Internships, co-ops, research, project teams, and early full-time roles all count
• Excellent writing; you can turn dense, unfamiliar material into clear, accurate documents
• Strong organizational instincts and follow-through; you close loops without being reminded
• Demonstrated ability to teach yourself hard, unfamiliar material quickly
• Fluency with spreadsheets and modern productivity tooling; comfort learning new systems fast
• Comfortable with ambiguity, shifting priorities, and figuring out how to do something that we don't have a process for, asking questions when needed

Desired Experience

• Aerospace, hardware, or deep-tech exposure: an internship, student rocketry/CubeSat/FSAE team, research lab, or first job
• Any exposure to finance, compliance, quality, or facilities processes
• Scripting or data skills (Python, SQL) for automating reporting and tracking
• Experience with ERP, PLM, or project management systems
• Early-stage startup experience or other evidence you thrive without structure

Location & Work

We are based in Denver, CO and believe in the power of in-person collaboration. We are onsite 5 days/week by default, but flexible when life requires it. This position does not offer relocation assistance.

This role requires access to information and hardware controlled under U.S. export control laws (ITAR/EAR). Applicants must be a U.S. person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual) or otherwise eligible to access export-controlled information.

Compensation & Benefits

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $80k-$120k per year. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, skills, and job-related responsibilities.

This position is also eligible for equity compensation, as applicable.

• medical, dental, and vision insurance; paid time off and company holidays; and a 401(k) retirement plan

Application Deadline: September 16, 2026

Certain roles may involve access to export-controlled technical data. To comply with U.S. export-control laws, access may be limited to individuals who qualify as a “U.S. person” under 22 C.F.R. §120.62 or who otherwise may lawfully receive such access.