COO

Job Title: COO

Location: Billerica, MA (Onsite)
Employment Type: Full-Time
Salary: $215,000 Base + 25% Annual Incentive Target + Equity Participation
Travel: Periodic travel to UK and China operations as needed

Company Introduction

This role is with a global provider of innovative life science instruments and analytical solutions that enable pharmaceutical and biotech companies to efficiently screen drug compounds and accelerate formulation development. With more than $15M in revenue, operations across the US, UK, and China, and a blue-chip customer base that includes the top 20 pharmaceutical companies, the company is strategically positioned for continued growth.

Backed by a leading private equity sponsor, the company has recently invested in sales, marketing, and new product development, expanding its reach into adjacent markets and strengthening long-term value creation.The US operation is headquartered in Billerica, MA, where approximately 45 employees work onsite across manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, and corporate functions.

Role Overview

The Chief Operating Officer will lead all day-to-day global operations across manufacturing, product engineering, supply chain, fulfillment, and quality. Reporting directly to the CEO, the COO will play a critical role in building scalable operational infrastructure, driving performance through metrics and process discipline, and ensuring world-class execution across the organization. This is an operations-focused leadership role (not full P&L).

This is a highly strategic, hands-on role requiring an experienced operator capable of scaling a complex, global business while maintaining a culture of accountability, efficiency, and continuous improvement. The right candidate has led ERP/MRP migration before, thrives in scrappy, high-growth manufacturing environments, and takes personal ownership of operational transformation and process discipline.

The COO will lead a team of 11 across two direct reports: Director of Operations (overseeing purchasing, production product leads, manufacturing technicians, account management, and shipping/receiving) and the Product Engineering Manager (overseeing electrical and mechanical engineering).

Core Responsibilities

• Lead and manage global operations across manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, fulfillment, and quality functions
• Develop and institutionalize operating processes, KPIs, and dashboards that ensure disciplined execution, transparency, and performance accountability
• Drive margin expansion through continuous improvement, cost optimization, and operational scalability
• Lead the migration from the current Fishbowl/QuickBooks ERP environment to a scalable enterprise platform (NetSuite or equivalent), partnering with IT and operations to design and implement new business processes
• Partner closely with the CEO, CFO, and broader leadership team on strategic planning, value-creation initiatives, and long-term organizational development
• Champion a culture of safety, quality, and operational excellence across all facilities and teams
• Oversee capacity planning, resource allocation, and global supply chain performance to support growth and customer demand in a high-mix precision instrumentation environment with greater than 10,000SKUs 
• Ensure best-in-class service delivery and customer experience for global pharmaceutical, research, and industrial clients
• Recruit, mentor, and develop high-performing teams; build organizational depth and leadership capability across key functions
• Present operational performance to the Board of Directors, build board reporting materials, and partner with the PE sponsor on value-creation initiatives
• Responsible for leading the production floor re-layout and expansion initiative while overseeing overall production floor operations and efficiency

Required Background

• Proven track record of senior operational leadership (COO, VP Operations, or equivalent) at scientific instruments, life science instrumentation, medical device, or precision electromechanical companies
• Demonstrated experience with complex supply chains exceeding 10,000 SKUs and short lead times of approximately 30 days
• Direct experience leading an ERP/MRP migration from a legacy system (such as Fishbowl, QuickBooks-based, or comparable) to a modern enterprise platform such as NetSuite
• Data-driven leader with a continuous improvement and Lean mentality, with proven ability to construct and implement new business processes from the ground up
• Direct experience working with a Board of Directors, including presenting operational performance, building board reporting materials, and partnering on value-creation initiatives
• Hands-on, metrics-driven leader with a strong bias for action and commitment to operational excellence
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop cross-functional, global teams in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment
• Must be willing to work onsite at the company's headquarters in Billerica, MA
• Experience operating within a private equity-backed or growth-stage environment (Preferred)
• Direct experience scaling a sub-$100M manufacturing operation through professionalization and process maturation (Preferred)

Compensation & Perks

• Base Salary: $215,000
• Annual Incentive Bonus: 25% of base salary target (80% tied to company EBITDA and Revenue, 20% MBO aligned to business priorities set annually)
• Equity Participation: Incentive units with 5-year vesting, approximately $50,000 in equity participation
• Onsite schedule at Billerica, MA headquarters
• Medical insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield (HMO Blue New England or Preferred Blue PPO), with the company subsidizing a portion of the annual deductible
• Dental insurance (Dental Blue) and vision insurance (Blue 20/20)
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance (60% of income)
• Employer-paid life and AD&D insurance at 1.5x salary, up to $300,000
• 401(k) retirement plan with 100% employer match on the first 4% of contributions, immediately vested
• Flexible Spending Account for healthcare and dependent care expenses
• Executive-level Paid Time Off: 20 days per year, plus 11 paid company holidays
• Direct access to CEO and PE-backed leadership team
• High-visibility role with real impact on company performance and value creation