About TotaLite
TotaLite builds high-precision optical sensors that monitor critical infrastructure and buildings worldwide. We detect structural displacement with millimeter precision at distances up to 100 meters.

We are scaling from ~50 devices per year today to 2000+ devices annually within three years. That requires a step-change in operational structure, quality discipline, and supply chain control.

We are a technical product company with a small team of 14 FTE growing towards profitability. The hardware operations include incoming inspection, testing, calibrating, configuring firmware, packaging, shipping and customer support troubleshooting. It is manufacturing like. The supply chain is delivering the PCBAs, other sub-assemblies and the final product. We are moving from an engineering phase into a reliable hardware delivery organization. That transition is why this role exists.

About the Role
As Operations Lead, you are responsible for building and professionalizing our hardware operations and supply chain — without turning us into a bureaucracy. This is not a corporate operations role. This is a hands-on manufacturing leadership role requiring scaling-up builder mentality.

You will:
• Own our internal operations, run our “factory” operations
• Own end-to-end our hardware supply chain of 6 key suppliers of final products and sub-assemblies of electronics, firmware, mechanical parts
• Improve quality assurance and incoming inspection
• Implement structured version, inventory and configuration management
• Introduce clear planning for demand, supply and production batches
• Improve predictability in delivery
• Strengthen documentation and operational discipline first in the hardware operations and the supply chain, then across our company

You lead a small team (Hardware Engineer + Support Engineer + students) and work closely with Customer Support, the Product team and the Commercial team.

You are comfortable switching between:
• Hands-on executing and leading our internal operations
• Negotiating with suppliers
• Designing a lean process
• Improving a documentation structure
• Solving customer support and production issues

You don’t sit above operations. You improve them from within.

What you will actually spend time on
• Leading, executing and improving operational processes, such as testing, calibration, version management and technical, customer oriented and process documentation
• Turning recurring chaos into repeatable processes with structure and discipline
• Supplier management, including performance monitoring and cost control
• Planning production batches and managing lead times
• Structuring firmware and hardware version tracking
• Defining quality control standards
• Coaching and structuring the operations team

What you bring along
• 5+ years of experience in hardware operations, production management, or supply chain in a manufacturing environment
• Proven experience managing supply chains involving electronics, embedded software, mechanical components
• Experience implementing structured inventory, version and quality management
• Experience with low- to mid-volume precision hardware at a scale-up or SME
• Strong project management discipline
• Clear, proactive communication
• Comfort operating in ambiguity

You likely worked in:
• Electronics manufacturing or electromechanical assembly
• Instrumentation or measurement systems
• IoT or electronics B2B products
You are not a corporate operations director.
You are a hands-on builder who likes turning messy growth into structured scale.

Who this role is not for
This is not for leaders of IT-operations, or marketing operations. If you are looking for a pure strategic role without production-floor involvement, this isn't it. We need someone who understands manufacturing from the inside — and who finds it satisfying to turn a challenging growth into something that runs well.

Why you’ll like working here:
• You'll work in a fast-growing dynamic startup with customers across the globe
• We enable people to work in ways that suit their working style, which is why we offer flexible hours and hybrid-working from our Rotterdam office
• Opportunities for professional growth and development
• A supportive and collaborative team culture
• The salary ranges from € 5.800 to € 8.000,- per month based on your relevant
experience, with opportunities for growth
• great pension and insurance arrangements
• Office in the center of Rotterdam, close to public transport

After you have applied
We aim to move quickly and transparently:
• Initial screening
• Conversation about your operations leadership experience
• Conversation about your product experience
• Final round with a practical assignment and interview with our cultural ambassador
• Offer and welcome to TotaLite!