Operations Lead

We’re hiring an Operations Lead to work directly with Abolyn’s founder, [Spencer Burleigh](Upgrade to see actual info), and the Abolyn team to help build the best machine shop interface in the world. You’ll be responsible for helping lead the operations of our sourcing platform — working directly with customers and vendors, helping develop our product roadmap, and ensuring that everything we build serves real manufacturing needs.

This role is ideal for someone with **a mechanical engineering, industrial design, or machine shop background** also interested in business, product, and early-stage startups. Maybe you’ve worked in a shop, built custom parts for a side project, or helped bring a physical product to life — and now you’re ready to help build the platform you wish you’d had.

You’ll be involved in everything from managing quotes and vendor relationships to conducting customer interviews, advising on product direction, and helping us grow.

**You’d Be a Great Fit If You…**

• Have direct experience with machining, fabrication, or manufacturing workflows—either professionally or through hands-on experience.
• Are energized by helping customers solve problems and making their lives easier.
• Are deeply interested in how things get made—and want to make that process better.
• Can communicate clearly and confidently with engineers, machinists, and hard-tech startup founders.
• Have a strong sense of ownership and aren’t afraid to take initiative and figure things out.
• Want to play a key role in shaping the operations and product of a fast-moving early-stage startup.

**What You’ll Do**

• Manage Abolyn’s daily quote and production workflows: coordinating with machine shops, responding to customer needs, and tracking projects end-to-end.
• Be a key voice of the customer — conduct interviews, synthesize insights, and help shape our product roadmap based on real-world pain points.
• Research the manufacturing ecosystem: identify which events we should attend, who we should partner with, and how we can best serve our customers.
• Own operational systems—help automate repetitive tasks, write SOPs, and design processes that scale.
• Help hire contractors or vendors to support overflow work (e.g. quoting, CAD cleaning, QA).
• Contribute ideas to the product development process—what should we build, why, and how should it work?
• Support outreach and partnerships with machine shops, hardware startups, and ecosystem players.

**What You’ll Need**

• Experience working in or with machine shops, or at least having made custom parts (sheet metal, CNC, 3D printing, etc.)
• Strong technical literacy — ideally a degree in mechanical engineering, industrial design, operations research, significant experience working at an actual machine shop, or similar.
• Excellent English communication skills (written and verbal)
• Clear organizational and project management skills—you can juggle multiple moving parts without dropping the ball
• Self-starter mentality — you take initiative and are comfortable working independently
• Ability to work 4+ hours / day overlapping with US Pacific Time (09:00 - 21:00)

**Nice to Have**

• Experience at a hardware startup, prototyping lab, or in contract manufacturing.
• Experience working at an actual machine shop using a lathe, laser cutter, waterjet, or similar manufacturing tools.
• Exposure to industrial quoting processes (RFQs, BOMs, tolerances, DFM)
• Familiarity with AI tools, scripting, or automation platforms (e.g. Zapier, Python)
• Comfortable using tools like Notion, Google Sheets, Slack, and modern web platforms
• Interest in building software and shaping products—not just using them
• Familiarity with the US manufacturing and prototyping ecosystem

**Work Environment**

• Fully remote position.
• Flexible schedule, with at least 4 hours daily overlap with US Pacific Time business hours Spencer works (09:00 - 21:00).
• Some preference for a time zone that works well with the US (e.g. Latin America), but global candidates will be considered (we already have teams in India and the Philippines).
• Opportunities for growth, ownership, and learning across multiple businesses
• Occasional travel for teaUpgrade to see actual infoetups may be offered but is not required
• Opportunities for growth into a product, partnerships, or ops leadership role as we scale

How to Apply

If this role sounds exciting to you, we’d love to hear from you! Please apply by sending the following to Upgrade to see actual info

1. Your resume or LinkedIn profile

2. A short note (no more than 6 sentences) sharing:

- Why you’re interested in this specific role
- One or two experiences that show you’d be great at it

3. (Optional but appreciated) Links to anything else that helps us get to know you—personal website, portfolio, writing sample, GitHub, etc.

We value clear communication, self-direction, and thoughtful problem-solving and we’re excited to work with someone who brings those traits to the table.