Job Role : Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Company: Stealth Startup ( Build the Operating Engine for the Next Generation of AI Data Centres )

Location: Hyderabad, India

Reporting To: Founder

Experience: 10+ years

About the Company

We are a stealth technology and manufacturing startup building advanced infrastructure for the next generation of AI data centres.

As AI infrastructure scales rapidly, thermal management and high-density computing are creating new engineering and manufacturing challenges. Our company is developing technology-led solutions for this emerging market, combining advanced engineering, liquid cooling, precision manufacturing and mission-critical infrastructure.

We are now looking for a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to build and scale our operations from the ground up.

About the Role

This is not a traditional manufacturing COO role.

The COO will own the complete operational lifecycle:

Engineering → Product Industrialisation → Procurement → Manufacturing → Quality → Testing → Project Execution → Installation → Commissioning → Customer Delivery

You will work directly with the Founder to build the organisation, operating systems, manufacturing capabilities and teams required to scale the business into a global technology company.

This is a highly hands-on leadership role for someone who enjoys building rather than maintaining.

Key Responsibilities

Manufacturing & Operations

- Own day-to-day manufacturing and operational execution.
- Build a scalable, high-performance manufacturing organisation.
- Establish production planning, capacity planning and operational KPIs.
- Drive improvements in productivity, throughput, quality and cost.
- Build systems capable of scaling from prototype production to volume manufacturing.

Engineering & Product Industrialisation
- Work closely with engineering and product teams on product development.
- Drive Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA).
- Lead the transition from prototype to production.
- Improve manufacturability, reliability, serviceability and cost.
- Establish robust engineering change and production-release processes.

Quality & Testing
- Build a world-class QA/QC organisation and quality culture.
- Establish inspection, testing, documentation and traceability systems.
- Implement root-cause analysis, CAPA and continuous improvement processes.
- Prepare the organisation for demanding customer audits and qualification processes.
- Ensure compliance with relevant industry and international standards.

Supply Chain & Vendor Development
- Build a resilient supply chain for critical materials and components.




- Develop strategic supplier relationships.
- Establish supplier qualification and performance-management systems.
- Improve vendor quality, cost and delivery performance.
- Develop alternate sourcing strategies for critical components.

Project Execution & Installation
- Own project execution from manufacturing through customer commissioning.
- Lead installation and commissioning activities at customer sites.
- Coordinate with customers, EPC contractors, system integrators and internal teams.
- Ensure projects are delivered safely, on time and to specification.
- Establish strong project governance and execution dashboards.

Customer Delivery
- Act as the senior operational interface for strategic customers.
- Ensure consistent delivery, quality and operational performance.
- Lead resolution of complex technical and operational issues.
- Translate customer feedback into product and process improvements.

Organisation Building
- Build engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply-chain and project-execution teams.
- Recruit and develop high-calibre operational leaders.
- Establish transparent accountability and performance-management systems.
- Build a culture of ownership, engineering excellence and execution.

Operational Excellence
- Implement Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma and continuous improvement practices.
- Build scalable SOPs, operating systems and management dashboards.
- Drive automation and digitalisation across manufacturing operations.
- Establish data-driven operational decision making.

What We're Looking For

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering or a related discipline.
- 10+ years of experience in manufacturing, engineering or operations, with significant leadership responsibility.
- Proven experience scaling complex manufacturing operations.
- Strong understanding of liquid cooling, thermal management, HVAC, refrigeration, precision engineering, mechanical systems or related technologies.
- Experience leading engineering, manufacturing, quality and project teams.
- Strong hands-on understanding of welding, fabrication, machining, piping, assembly and testing.




- Experience taking products from prototype → industrialisation → production → customer deployment.
- Strong understanding of quality systems, process control and customer qualification.
- Familiarity with standards such as ISO 9001, ASME, AWS or equivalent.
- Experience working with demanding OEM, data-centre, technology or mission-critical infrastructure customers is highly valuable.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing economics, including cost, quality, capacity and delivery.
- Exceptional problem-solving and execution capabilities.
- Comfortable working in a fast-moving entrepreneurial environment.

Who You'll Be

We are looking for a builder, not a caretaker.

You may have built manufacturing or operations capabilities in areas such as:

- Data-centre infrastructure
- Liquid cooling / thermal management
- HVAC & refrigeration
- Precision engineering
- Industrial equipment
- Power & electrical infrastructure
- Advanced fabrication
- Industrial automation
- Mission-critical infrastructure

Experience in organisations such as Vertiv, Schneider Electric, Delta Electronics, STULZ, Alfa Laval, Kelvion, Danfoss, Trane, Johnson Controls, Carrier, Blue Star, Kirloskar Chillers or comparable engineering and manufacturing companies would be relevant.

More important than the company you come from is what you have built and scaled.

You should be comfortable moving between the factory floor, engineering discussions, supplier negotiations, customer meetings and Founder-level strategic decisions.

What Success Looks Like :

You will be successful when you have:

- Built a scalable manufacturing organisation.
- Established world-class production and quality systems.
- Created a robust supplier and supply-chain ecosystem.
- Industrialised products from prototype to repeatable production.
- Built installation and commissioning capabilities.
- Established operational readiness for global customers.
- Built a high-performing operations leadership team.
- Created the systems required to scale rapidly without compromising quality.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to join a stealth startup at the intersection of AI infrastructure, thermal engineering and advanced manufacturing.

You will not be stepping into an established operating model.

You will build it.

If you have scaled complex engineering and manufacturing operations and are excited by the opportunity to build a global technology manufacturing business from the ground up, we would like to hear from you.

Location: Hyderabad

Experience: 10+ years

Function: Operations / Manufacturing / Engineering

Level: CXO / Executive Leadership

📌 Chief Operating Officer (Hyderabad)
🏢 Stealth Indian Startup
📍 Hyderabad