Head of Operations [100%], Zürich /Hybrid
Optiml
As Head of Operations, you will lead the systems, culture, and processes that keep Optiml running smoothly and scaling efficiently. You’ll ensure that every part of our fast-growing organization operates in sync toward shared goals.
Your mission is to build and scale Optiml’s operational backbone: establish the processes, information flows, and performance systems that enable clarity, accountability, and speed. You’ll drive company-wide alignment through OKRs and budget cycles, strengthen collaboration across departments, and ensure that culture, people, and finance all work in concert to power our next phase of growth.
This role combines strategic oversight with hands-on execution. You will partner closely with the CEO, Co-Founders, and department heads to translate vision into operating rhythm, lead key company initiatives, and reinforce a culture of ownership and performance.
We are seeking a senior operator with proven experience owning company-wide operations - not an office manager or admin role. If you thrive at the intersection of strategy, systems, and people (and love building the structure that empowers others to do their best work) this is your opportunity to shape Optiml’s next growth chapter.
About Optiml
Optiml is revolutionizing real estate with our Real Estate Decision Intelligence (REDI) software—a new category of AI-powered technology that helps decarbonize buildings while optimizing asset performance.
Since our launch in April 2024, we have been scaling across Europe and the US, receiving significant industry recognition and winning three major PropTech awards, including:
🏆 2024 ULI Europe PropTech of the Year
🏆 2024 ZIA PropTech of the Year
We are backed by $6M in pre-seed funding from top-tier US and EU funds, including Innovation Endeavors (the fund of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt), Planet A, BitStone, and Kompas.
Now, we are expanding our operational capability to deliver on our vision, strategy, and scaling potential.
Tasks
Key Objectives
- Build and scale a lean, high-performance company operations function covering HR, finance, culture, and organizational processes.
- Drive company-wide alignment through OKRs, budget cycles, and transparent reporting structures.
- Establish scalable systems for performance management, compensation, and internal governance.
- Strengthen cross-departmental collaboration and ensure smooth information and decision flows across the organization.
- Partner with Co-Founder and Leadership team to support fundraising, investor management, and board preparations
Responsibilities
1 - Company & Business Operations
- Drive company-wide operational strategy - from annual planning to daily execution - assuring cross-functional alignment between departments and teams.
- Lead annual and quarterly OKR cycles, company reviews, and reporting to ensure focus and accountability.
- Continuously improve key processes across HR, finance, culture, and compliance.
- Build and maintain effective information flows that enable transparency and strong (data-driven) decision-making.
- Generally support urgent operational requirements in the company from Commercial, Delivery, Product, etc.
2 - Strategic & Executive Enablement
- Partner with Co-Founders and Leadership team to translate company vision into operational plans and measurable goals.
- Support fundraising activities, investor updates, and board meeting preparation.
- Lead or support cross-functional strategic initiatives that fall outside existing departments.
- Act as a thought partner to the CEO and Co-Founders, ensuring focus on top priorities and disciplined execution.
3 - Organizational Development & People / HR
- Serve as the connective tissue between departments — a liaison ensuring collaboration, alignment, and coordination without bureaucracy.
- Support in overseeing recruiting & hiring operations, onboarding, and talent processes; ensure scalable HR systems and policies are in place (with external support if needed).
- Develop and implement operational policies and procedures, manage budgets and resources, and ensure efficient day-to-day operations.
- Implement compensation frameworks, role leveling, and performance review processes.
- Support the evolution of Optiml’s organizational structure and cross-functional processes as the company scales (hybrid-friendly operating model)
- Anticipate operational bottlenecks and collaborate with departments to outline scalable solutions.
- Lead change initiatives that improve collaboration and efficiency.
4 - Financial & Legal Operations
- Support in overseeing budgeting, forecasting, and cost tracking, ensuring financial visibility and discipline (with external support if needed).
- Coordinate cash flow and budget management.
- Manage relationships with external providers in accounting, payroll, and legal.
- Ensure compliance across jurisdictions (contracts, HR, data, and finance).
- Support in implementing dashboards and tooling for financial and performance reporting, in collaboration with all departments.
Requirements
- 5–10 years of experience in Tech startup operations and scaling startups from Seed to Series A/B (ideally B2B SaaS) - you’ve done it before, with a track record of building operational systems that scale.
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a rigorous analytical discipline (e.g., Industrial Engineering, Information Systems, Operations Research, Management Science, Economics, or Finance).
- Proven ability to design and lead cross-functional operations in fast-growing, international environments.
- You lead through structure, clarity, and collaboration — creating systems that empower teams rather than constrain them.
- Strong strategic and analytical thinking — able to turn complex challenges into actionable, data-driven plans & processes.
- A “builder mindset”: hands-on, pragmatic, and focused on data-driven outcomes over theory.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; adept with tools (Google & Microsoft Office suite, Notion, Slack, Xero, Hubspot, etc.), and structured information flows.
- Experience in high tech sectors and fast-paced environments.
- Fluent in English; German proficiency nice to have.
- Swiss or EU citizenship (required at current company size.
Benefits
🌍 Impact: Play a critical role in scaling a company transforming how real estate decarbonizes.
⚙️ Ownership: Build and own the operational backbone of a fast-growing startup.
🚀 Growth: Work closely with an exceptional founder team and gain exposure to all company functions.
🏆 Culture: Join a mission-driven, high-performance, and collaborative team.
💡 Benefits: Competitive salary, equity options, learning budget (CHF 1k), and additional insurance support.