Technical Operations Manager

TLDR

• Own project management function from for a global autonomous systems startup
• Coordinate multi-customer engineering deployments across Australia and the US
• Own Australian office operations including testing logistics, procurement, and team coordination
• Join an exciting startup backed by globally recognised investors at the bleeding edge of physical AI

About Breaker

The way humans interact with robots is broken. Today's robotic systems require specialized training and constant manual control - a joystick operator for every drone, a trained pilot for every mission. We've built software which enables you to simply tell a robot what you need done, and it figures out how to do it.

Breaker sits at the bleeding edge of physical AI - deploying models directly onto robotic platforms to enable natural, intent-driven control. Our software lets operators command drones, ground vehicles, and other autonomous systems through voice, transforming complex robotic operations into simple conversations. Instead of piloting a drone through a search pattern, you say "survey this area and flag anything unusual" - and the robot does the rest.

This is harder than it sounds. We're solving problems most AI companies never touch: real-time inference on edge hardware with strict latency constraints, intent interpretation that maps to safe physical actions, and autonomous execution in unpredictable environments. These aren't incremental improvements - they're fundamental challenges at the intersection of AI, robotics, and embedded systems.

We're backed by some of the best investors globally and are growing our team across Sydney, Australia and Austin, Texas. We're a small team of experienced engineers, moving fast on technology that will define how humans and machines work together for decades to come.

Join us if you want to help create the robots we were promised

About the Role

You'll be in charge of building a disciplined project management capability for the entire engineering organization as we expand customer deployments and forward-deploy engineers across the US. You'll create a system that coordinates complex technical projects across multiple teams and time zones: clear timelines, managed dependencies, engineering teams that know what they're building and when it needs to ship.

This is also a role with significant operational responsibility. You'll manage the day-to-day operations of our Sydney office - coordinating testing operations, handling procurement, organizing travel, and ensuring the engineering team has everything they need to focus on building.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement project management processes for engineering teams across multiple simultaneous customer deployments
• Coordinate timelines, dependencies, and deliverables for forward-deployed engineers working across different customer sites
• Maintain and evolve JIRA boards, Epics, and project tracking infrastructure to support scaling operations
• Work closely with engineering leadership to translate technical work into clear project plans with realistic timelines
• Manage hardware logistics and procurement timing to ensure demos and deployments aren't blocked by missing equipment
• Create visibility into project status across the organization and flag risks before they become problems
• Coordinate testing operations including site logistics, equipment movement, and test scheduling
• Manage team travel including flights, accommodation, and coordination for Australian team movements
• Handle operational procurement with quick turnaround times for office supplies, equipment, and testing materials
• Organize customer demo logistics and ensure field testing runs smoothly
• Manage onboarding logistics for new team members including access passes and equipment setup

Required Skills and Experience

• 3-5 years of experience managing technical projects in fast-paced environments (consulting, systems engineering, technical program management, or similar)
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate multi-team engineering projects with hard deadlines and complex dependencies
• Proficiency with project management tools - ideally JIRA, but transferable skills from other platforms accepted
• Strong technical communication skills - you don't need to write code, but you need to speak credibly with engineers
• Proven ability to influence without authority and build strong working relationships across technical teams
• High-impact, low-ego startup mentality - comfortable doing whatever needs doing, from high-level planning to operational execution

Highly Valued Experience

• Project management experience from consulting firms (Big 4, boutique strategy/tech consultancies)
• Systems engineering background with experience coordinating across multiple engineering teams
• Prior startup or scale-up experience, particularly in hardware or robotics companies
• Supply chain, procurement, or logistics experience with import/export and vendor management
• Experience working with distributed teams
• Familiarity with grant compliance and documentation requirements
• Background in defence, aerospace, or government project work

You'll be an owner, not a renter. We're at the stage where foundational decisions are still being made and entire systems need to be built from scratch. Your work won't be maintaining someone else's legacy - you'll be creating what comes next. The problems you solve and the systems you build will define how Breaker scales.

You'll work with people who've done this before. Our team has shipped production robotics systems, scaled infrastructure, and solved the kind of hard integration problems that only come up when software meets the physical world. You won't be the only person in the room who's debugged a sensor fusion pipeline or optimized inference on a Jetson.

You'll solve problems that don't exist anywhere else. Most companies are building incremental improvements on established technology. We're defining new categories - which means the work is harder, more ambiguous, and infinitely more interesting.

You'll work hard, together. We're in the office every day, grinding on hard problems alongside great people. We've built a workspace where the best work happens - access to hardware, quick decisions, real collaboration. We're flexible when life requires it, but we're looking for people who want to show up, get stuck in, and build something significant with a team they respect.

We're going global. Backed by globally recognised investors, we're growing teams across Sydney, Australia and Austin, Texas. If you want exposure to international expansion and the opportunity to help build across regions, that path exists here.

You'll own what you build. Generous equity packages mean when Breaker wins, you win.

Location. Cicada Innovations, Eveleigh, Sydney, Australia (National Innovation Centre)

If you're excited about the opportunity to work at the bleeding edge of physical AI, we'd love to hear from you.