Office Administrative Assistant

Applied Aeronautics; Lake Bluff (IL); Hybrid; USD 38,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Aeronautics is seeking an organized, energetic Office & Operations Assistant to join our small, busy team. You will help run day-to-day operations, support customer orders, inventory, and administrative tasks for the CEO and COO.

In a small team, you’ll wear multiple hats, take initiative, and adapt to changing priorities. You’ll be involved in shipments, data entry, scheduling, and coordinating meetings as needed.

Qualifications

• Previous administrative, office management, operations, customer service, logistics, or order fulfillment experience is helpful.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day order fulfillment, including preparing, packing, documenting, and coordinating customer shipments
• Communicate with customers regarding orders, shipping, product questions, and general inquiries
• Maintain and organize inventory and assist with receiving incoming products and components
• Enter and maintain accurate information in company systems, spreadsheets, and records
• Assist with purchase orders, invoices, shipping documentation, and other routine administrative paperwork
• Support basic office organization and day-to-day operational needs
• Assist the CEO and COO with scheduling, research, correspondence, document preparation, travel logistics, and other administrative tasks
• Help coordinate meetings, visitors, customer activities, and internal projects
• Maintain organized digital and physical files
• Follow up on open tasks and help ensure projects and administrative items don't fall through the cracks
• Pitch in wherever needed as priorities change

Job description

Applied Aeronautics is looking for an organized, energetic, and highly dependable Office & Operations Assistant to join our small, busy team.

This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys variety, takes initiative, and is comfortable jumping between priorities throughout the day. You’ll help keep the day-to-day operations of the company running smoothly, supporting everything from customer orders and inventory to administrative tasks and direct support for our CEO and COO.

Because we are a small team, everyone wears multiple hats. We’re looking for someone who sees what needs to be done, takes ownership, and is equally comfortable helping a customer, preparing an order for shipment, updating a spreadsheet, organizing inventory, or handling an administrative task for the leadership team.

What You’ll Do

Responsibilities will include:

• Manage day-to-day order fulfillment, including preparing, packing, documenting, and coordinating customer shipments
• Communicate with customers regarding orders, shipping, product questions, and general inquiries
• Maintain and organize inventory and assist with receiving incoming products and components
• Enter and maintain accurate information in company systems, spreadsheets, and records
• Assist with purchase orders, invoices, shipping documentation, and other routine administrative paperwork
• Support basic office organization and day-to-day operational needs
• Assist the CEO and COO with scheduling, research, correspondence, document preparation, travel logistics, and other administrative tasks
• Help coordinate meetings, visitors, customer activities, and internal projects
• Maintain organized digital and physical files
• Follow up on open tasks and help ensure projects and administrative items don't fall through the cracks
• Pitch in wherever needed as priorities change

Who We’re Looking For

The right person for this role is:

• Extremely organized and detail-oriented
• Reliable and able to follow through without constant supervision
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can change
• Friendly and professional when interacting with customers and vendors
• A strong written and verbal communicator
• Comfortable with computers, spreadsheets, email, and learning new software
• Able to manage multiple tasks while maintaining accuracy
• Resourceful and willing to figure things out
• Comfortable working independently as well as closely with a small team
• Someone who genuinely enjoys being helpful and making things run more smoothly

Previous administrative, office management, operations, customer service, logistics, or order fulfillment experience is helpful, but we care just as much about attitude, judgment, organization, and willingness to learn.

About Applied Aeronautics

Applied Aeronautics is a growing aerospace company specializing in unmanned aircraft systems. Our aircraft are used by commercial, government, research, and defense customers around the world.

We are a small team doing ambitious work, which means this isn't a highly siloed corporate position. You'll have exposure to many parts of the business and work directly with company leadership. It's a great fit for someone who likes being involved, wants responsibility, and enjoys the pace and variety of a growing company.

What We Offer

• A collaborative, informal small-team environment
• Direct exposure to company leadership and multiple areas of the business
• Interesting work in a growing aerospace and technology company
• An opportunity to take ownership of the role and grow your responsibilities over time

We're looking for someone who will become an important part of our day-to-day team—not simply someone who completes a list of administrative tasks.