About the role
At Stark, we forge the future of European and national security through cutting-edge, AI-driven technology and unmatched engineering precision. As a premier defence technology company, our mission is clear: to equip NATO Allies and their partners with next-generation autonomous defence platforms and advanced AI-driven software built to perform in the world’s most demanding environments.
We believe that true security stems from relentless innovation. By combining elite engineering talent with agile technology and an AI-native operational culture, Stark turns complex defence challenges into field-tested, multi-domain solutions.
Why Join Us?
The software and systems you work on directly protect personnel and defend European and national sovereignty.
You will work alongside industry-leading minds on autonomous systems, advanced propulsion, and secure cyber platforms.
We foster a fast-paced, collaborative environment where bold ideas are supported by serious R&D backing.
About the Team
The Operations Excellence team sits within the COO organization and serves as a strategic partner to managers, team leads, and colleagues across Stark. By delivering data-driven insights, leading critical projects, and driving continuous process improvement, we help the organization operate more efficiently, scale effectively, and achieve its goals faster.
As an individual contributor, you will take end-to-end ownership of complex initiatives with significant business impact. Working closely with cross-functional stakeholders, you will have the opportunity to influence key decisions, shape core operating processes, and contribute directly to the success of one of Europe’s fastest-growing unicorns.
Your Mission
As OAA Lead, you build the automation and AI capability for operations from the ground up — across production and the back-office. You identify where automation and AI deliver the highest ROI across the entire operation, own the technical delivery end-to-end, and build a team that ships working automations into production, not just prototypes.
Responsibilities
Map and prioritise automation opportunities across production and back-office — ranked by feasibility, ROI, and implementation risk
Own end-to-end delivery of automation projects: scoping, design, build, test, production deployment, and monitoring
Build, mentor, and manage the Automation Engineer and Data/ML Engineer
Define the team's technical architecture and toolchain — RPA, LLM-based tools, ML models, API integrations
Work with operational and back-office stakeholders to translate process pain points into deployable solutions
Own the collaboration boundary with IT and Production Engineering
Track and report on automation impact: manual hours reduced, error rates, throughput, cost savings
Required Skills
BSc/MSc in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or Industrial Engineering
8–12 years in automation, industrial digitalisation, or AI/ML — covering both operational and business process automation
Has personally deployed automations in production environments — not just designed or prototyped them
RPA platforms — UiPath, Power Automate, or equivalent
ML/AI deployment — model productionisation across structured operational and unstructured back-office data
Systems integration — API design and data exchange across ERP, MES, and business applications
People management and technical mentorship
Nice-To-Have
Experience across both OT (operational technology) and IT/business process contexts
Industry 4.0 track record — smart factory, MES integration, or similar
LLM-based tooling — prompt engineering, agent design, document processing workflows
Equal Opportunity:
At Stark Defence, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and high-performing team. We operate in an industry where women, as well as other minority groups, are systematically under-represented. We actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and identities.
If you are excited about this role, we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all the listed qualifications—ability and impact cannot be summarised in a few bullet points. We value unique perspectives, adaptability, and a drive to solve high-stakes challenges.
Security Clearance:
Due to the nature of our work in the defence sector, candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain the appropriate security clearance required for this position. Details will be provided during the recruitment process.
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