Range Operations Manager

What you'll do

Who you are

• Experienced in operational delivery at live test ranges, trials sites, flight-test environments, defence test facilities, or similarly demanding field operations.
• You may have gained this experience in the military, defence or aerospace industries, a test and evaluation organisation, or another high-consequence operational environment.
• Comfortable operating in structured, safety-critical environments where planning, clear communication, configuration control, and disciplined execution are essential.
• Experienced in coordinating personnel, equipment, logistics, and technical activity during time-critical deployments.
• Familiar with range procedures, test readiness activities, operational briefings, site safety, controlled work areas, and post-trial recovery.
• Able to work effectively with engineers and technicians while maintaining a practical focus on operational delivery.
• Highly organised, calm under pressure, and able to adapt quickly when test plans, weather, hardware status, or site conditions change.
• A practical problem-solver who takes ownership, spots risks early, and drives actions through to completion.
• Strong communicator, able to coordinate across internal teams, external range operators, suppliers, and specialist contractors.
• Willing and able to travel regularly and work flexibly around deployment and live-trial schedules.
• Security and Eligibility Requirement
• Due to the nature of the work with the UK MOD, applicants must be a British Citizen (or Dual UK national with British citizenship) and eligible for UK Security Clearance (SC) and, where required, Developed Vetting (DV)

Security and Eligibility Requirement

What we offer

• A mission driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security.
• Daily collaboration with top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow.
• High ownership and autonomy; no time tracking, no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes.
• A fast paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and flight drives real decisions.
• A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly.
• Competitive compensation and real share options aligned to responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.

Additional information

Responsibilities

• Plan, coordinate, and deliver the operational activity required to support live trials and test campaigns.
• Lead day-to-day range operations during deployments, ensuring teams, equipment, vehicles, ground-support equipment, tooling, documentation, and consumables are ready when required.
• Establish and maintain a clear battle rhythm across assembly, integration, transport, range set-up, test execution, recovery, and post-trial activities.
• Act as the operational link between Engineering, Production Operations, Test, Safety, logistics providers, and range personnel.
• Coordinate the movement, preparation, configuration, and deployment of test hardware in line with approved plans and range procedures.
• Support range readiness reviews, test rehearsals, briefings, checklists, and operational go/no-go decision-making.
• Maintain accurate records of hardware configuration, equipment status, test assets, tooling, consumables, and deployment activities.
• Ensure range and field activities are conducted in a controlled, disciplined, and safe manner, escalating operational risks and issues early.
• Coordinate site set-up and pack-down, including work areas, temporary infrastructure, equipment staging, ground-support equipment, and hardware recovery.
• Support the investigation and resolution of operational issues during live trials, working closely with engineering and production teams to keep activity moving safely and efficiently.
• Capture lessons learned from each campaign and improve processes, checklists, logistics plans, and operational readiness for future trials