Important pre-read:

This will take ~15 minutes to read and ~15 minutes to apply. You increase your chances of selection by 10x if you read this to the end, slowly. Trust us on this.

What is Armory?

What we are building requires hard work, tenacity, ownership, creativity and way more man-hours than an everyday job.

If you are a savant at what you do, love autonomy, have high agency and genuinely want to impact the future of this country, we want you to work with us starting yesterday!

Modern conflicts waged remotely demand a radical rethinking of strategy as adversaries deploy inexpensive drones and technology to inflict maximum damage with minimal risk.

If you prefer routine over the dynamic unpredictability of innovation, Armory isn’t for you. Our fast-paced environment requires genuine curiosity, resilience, a passion for continuous learning, and comfort with rapid change.

Armory is a new-age defence tech startup building next-generation products to strengthen Indian forces in the modern battlefields.

About the founder

Amardeep Singh is an IIT Bombay alumnus & an aerospace engineer by education. He was a founding member of ideaForge - currently India’s biggest drone company & the first drone company to get listed on the Indian stock exchange.

His 16-year entrepreneurial journey is marked by a series of ambitious ventures spanning across diverse tech domains like Drones, Consumer Hardware, B2B SaaS & AI.

Problems we solve

Our country’s defence systems, conceived in a bygone era, have been outpaced by the rapid advancements in technology, revealing critical gaps that we, at Armory, are poised to bridge.

At Armory, we identify and solve the most critical, complex & specific challenges in modern warfare. By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and diving deep into specific problems, we create innovative defence technologies and products that protect our nation and allies.

Why you should NOT join us:

If high stakes, tight deadlines, and significant challenges don’t excite you, then our mission to revolutionise defence technology might not align with your career goals. We seek individuals who are ready to push boundaries and are motivated by the urgency of now.

Why you SHOULD join us:

We offer the opportunity to work on groundbreaking projects that strengthen national defence, supported by a team of A players.

Join Armory if you’re drawn to solving hard problems and want to create a meaningful & profound impact to the national security.

At Armory, you will do the best work of your life. Period.

Requirements

About this role As VP of Operations at Armory, you are the operational backbone of the company. You will own how Armory builds, delivers, and scales that turn the founder’s vision into a company that ships real defence products, at quality, on time, and at volume. This is a COO-level mandate: production, supply chain, quality, compliance, delivery, and the systems and teams that hold it all together. You will build the operational engine that lets Armory grow from a startup into a defining defense-tech company.

Production & Manufacturing: Own end-to-end manufacturing operations. Throughput, capacity, yield, on-time delivery and scale our production facility as we grow.

Supply Chain & Procurement: Build a resilient supply chain and vendor ecosystem, own strategic sourcing and inventory, and make sure we never stall a build for want of materials.

Quality & Compliance: Stand up and own quality systems and standards (ISO 9001 / AS9100 and defense quality requirements), and ensure every product meets the reliability the field demands.

Program & Delivery Management: Own delivery against orders, contracts, timelines and manage programs end to end and keep commitments to customers and partners.





Regulatory, Licensing & Government Interface: Navigate defense licensing, certifications, and regulatory requirements, and manage relationships with government bodies, defense agencies, and auditors.

Finance & Business Operations: Own operational budgets, drive unit economics and cost control, and partner with the founder on the numbers that run the business.

People & Organization: Build, structure, and lead operational teams; design the org as it scales; and set the standard for execution and accountability.

Systems, Process & Infrastructure: Put the ERP, SOPs, metrics, and operational infrastructure in place so the company runs on systems including facilities, EHS, and safety.

Strategy & Execution: Work directly with the founder to translate strategy into operational reality, and make the hard trade-offs that keep Armory moving fast.

Must haves

- 12+ years of experience in operations, manufacturing, or supply chain, with significant time in senior leadership.
- Proven track record of building and scaling operations ideally in hardware, manufacturing, or a product company.
- Deep experience across manufacturing, supply chain, and quality, with the ability to own all of it at once.
- Experience owning budgets, cost, and operational P&L.;
- A track record of building and leading large cross-functional teams.
- Strong systems-and-process thinking paired with a genuine bias for action where you build structure without slowing things down.
- Comfort operating in ambiguity and high-pressure, fast-moving environments.

Bonus points for

- Experience in defense, aerospace, or other regulated, high-reliability hardware industries.
- Familiarity with defense licensing, DGQA/certification processes, government/military liaison, and export controls.
- 0-to-1 or early-stage experience standing up operations and manufacturing from scratch.
- Experience scaling a production facility through rapid growth.
- An engineering or technical background that lets you go deep with the product and manufacturing teams.
- A career that makes us go, "This is exactly the operator we need to scale Armory."

What will make you successful in this role?

- Deep operational expertise across manufacturing, supply chain, and quality.
- A builder’s mindset: you create the engine, you don’t just manage it.
- Ability to solve complex operational problems with first-principles thinking.
- Taking full ownership of delivery, quality, and scale.
- A hands-on approach where you’re on the floor and in the details.
- Calm, decisive leadership under pressure.
- Getting s**t done.

How will we set you up for success in this role?

- A live mandate: You will own real operations from day one. No dummy or test projects.
- State-of-the-art tools and technologies: You will have access to the systems, tools, and
- resources required to run a modern defense operation.
- Access to resources: You name it, we will do everything to get it for you.
- Supportive team: You will be surrounded by the best minds ready to help you.

Our Hiring Process We target to close the hiring process within 14 days of your application.

Round 1: Screening Application

Duration: At your own pace but if it takes you less than 15 minutes to apply, you are unlikely to move to the next round.

How to ace: Do not copy-paste your answers from a website or ChatGPT.



Be specific in your answers. It’s about you.

Codeword: Use CADENCE in the application form where it asks you for Codeword. This way we know you have read the JD :)

Round 2: Introduction round

Duration: 1 hour

How to ace: Be yourself. We want to know YOU, not some ideal unrealistic person. Demonstrate your expertise in the area we are evaluating. Ask valuable questions.

Round 3: Culture Fitment

Duration: 1 hour

How to ace: Help us understand your goals & aspirations. Share some of the stories that have made you what you are. Ask good questions.

Next Step

Congratulations! You are now a part of Armory. You will build something that let’s you sleep at night with a feeling you did something meaningful. Buckle up for a ride into the future.

Work Location

Armory highly values having employees working in-office. We are establishing a collaborative work setting and company culture and that simply does not happen from home. We are based out of Gurgaon and require employees to be in office.

Benefits

What we expect from you

- Genuine curiosity

- Founder’s mindset

- First principles thinking
- Execution, not just ideas

- Bias for action

- High energy

- High agency

- Highest level of integrity

- Getting your hands dirty

- Audacious state of mind

What to expect from us

- Team of A players
- Work directly with the founder

- Ridiculous levels of responsibility
- Fast & decisive approach

- Work on hard problems

What your first 3 months at Armory will look like:

30 Days

- Complete onboarding, understand the mission, and meet the team.
- Map the full operation — production, supply chain, quality, and delivery — and identify the biggest risks and bottlenecks.
- Review ongoing programs, commitments, and timelines.
- Take ownership of day-to-day operational decisions.
- Build an initial operational plan with the founder.

60 Days

- Stand up or strengthen core systems — quality, inventory, planning, and metrics.
- Fix the most pressing bottlenecks in production and supply chain.
- Establish delivery discipline against orders and timelines.
- Begin structuring and strengthening operational teams.
- Put the key compliance and regulatory processes on track.

90 Days

- Take full ownership of operations, delivery, quality, and scale.
- Run the company on repeatable systems and a clear operational cadence.
- Establish the metrics, processes, and org structure to support rapid growth.
- Drive measurable improvements in throughput, cost, and reliability.
- Partner with the founder to align operations with Armory’s broader strategy.

Tips

Irrespective of you applying at Armory or not, some of the following tips will definitely help you in your job search.

How to get hired

Targeted Applications: Ensure your application is tailored specifically for the job you’re applying for by understanding its requirements and showcasing relevant experiences and skills. Apply for THIS job, not some job.

Quality Over Quantity: Instead of applying to 100 jobs casually, it’s far better to apply to 4 seriously.

Stand out: Most people don’t put any efforts in applying to jobs, their applications look exactly the same. It’s easy to stand out from them just by putting a little effort and showcasing your relevant experience and interest for the said job.

How to NOT get hired

If your cover letter starts with “Honestly, I possess all the skills and experience that you’re looking for”, then you are not going to make it.

In fact, we wrote a long thread on all the ways you will NOT get hired. https://x.com/singhamardeep/status/1459114743398998018?s=46 We highly recommend you to read it.

We wish you the best in your job search!

📌 VP - Operations (Gurugram)
🏢 Armory Shield Private
📍 Gurugram