Role Overview
Airbound (Opendrone Private Limited) is hiring a Strategy & Operations Associate to work directly with the Chief of Staff and the Head of Operations on-site at its headquarters in Hoskote, Bangalore, Karnataka. In this high-impact strategic role, you will build complex operational and financial models, establish unit economics and pricing frameworks, and translate organizational expansion goals into executable operations roadmaps across deep-tech aerospace, hardware, and autonomous drone delivery operations.
Core Responsibilities
- Financial Modeling & Pricing Strategy: Build and maintain sophisticated Excel models forecasting operational costs (airframe life, maintenance cycles, component degradation, manpower) across diverse growth scenarios to guide resource allocation and service pricing.
- Operations Roadmap: Collaborate with R&D, Manufacturing, and Software engineering leads to turn growth targets into detailed operational roadmaps with defined constraints and performance milestones.
- Operational Analytics: Analyze telemetry logs, turnaround intervals, and delivery cost datasets to identify bottlenecks and optimize route efficiencies.
- Strategic Special Projects: Lead cross-functional initiatives such as establishing new launch hubs, geographic expansion feasibility studies, and strategic partnership evaluations.
- Executive & Investor Deliverables: Synthesize operational metrics into presentations and data memos for the leadership team and fundraising materials.
- Governance & SOPs: Review standard operating procedures and aviation safety protocols to maintain regulatory compliance and network safety during rapid scaling.
Qualifications & Requirements
- Educational Background: Bachelor's degree from a top-tier engineering institution with an exemplary academic record (MBA not required).
- Professional Experience: 1 to 2 years of experience at a top management consulting firm, investment bank (front office, Industrials, or M&A preferred), or in strategy/operations within a deep-tech startup.
- Analytical Expertise: Proven financial modeling capabilities and advanced Excel modeling skills.
- Problem-Solving & Ownership: Structured, first-principles problem-solver comfortable navigating ambiguity and translating complex data into actionable plans.
- Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills across technicians, pilots, C-suite executives, and enterprise clients.
- Preferred Qualifications: Working familiarity with data analysis tools such as SQL, Python, or Tableau.
- Work Schedule: Full-time on-site role in Hoskote, Bangalore, working alternate Saturdays (benefits include comprehensive health insurance, daily travel stipend, and relocation assistance).
About Airbound
Airbound is an aerospace technology company on a mission to make physical goods move as freely, quickly, and affordably as digital information. By designing the world's most aerodynamically efficient delivery aircraft from the ground up, Airbound is fundamentally transforming logistics economics to make billions of daily autonomous deliveries a reality.