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ICEYE is the world leader in sovereign intelligence from space, operating the world's largest and most advanced SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite constellation. ICEYE Portugal is scaling rapidly with a Lisbon Center of Excellence building AI-powered intelligence products, a satellite production facility ramping through 2027, ESA programmes, and a growing base of defence and civil protection customers.
As Head of Strategic Operations, you will build and run the CEO Office for ICEYE Portugal, serving as the execution engine that keeps the organization coherent. You will report directly to the CEO of ICEYE Portugal and own the operating rhythm, strategic projects, and the senior team behind them.
Key responsibilities include:
Operating Rhythm & Governance: Design and run the operating cadence including weekly leadership rhythm, monthly business reviews, quarterly planning and OKRs. Own executive reporting to ICEYE headquarters and prepare board-level and leadership material.
Strategic Projects: Own high-stakes, cross-functional projects end-to-end. Turn open-ended questions from the CEO into structured options, business cases and decisions with clear owners and deadlines. Prepare briefings and position materials for engagements with ministries, armed forces, civil protection, ambassadors and ecosystem partners.
Cross-Functional Execution: Unblock execution across engineering, GTM, the production facility and central functions. Represent the CEO in internal forums when needed.
Team Leadership: Hire, lead and develop the CEO Office team. Set an AI-native standard for how the office works. Handle sensitive company, customer and government information with complete discretion.
Required qualifications: 8+ years in strategy, operations, management consulting or scale-up leadership roles with real ownership of outcomes. Track record of running cross-functional programmes at executive level. Strong analytical and financial fluency. Crisp executive communication in Portuguese and English, written and spoken. Daily experience using AI tools. Comfortable operating in defence and dual-use environments. Ability to operate at both strategic and practical levels. Based in Lisbon area or willing to relocate.
Nice-to-have experience includes space, aerospace, defence or government-facing sectors; familiarity with Portuguese public sector and defence ecosystem; top-tier consulting background plus operating experience; prior chief of staff or CEO office leadership; experience scaling organizations from under 20 to 100+ people.
