Chief Operating Officer, Lykos

THE COMPANY Lykos is the latest venture born out of Interplay’s Studio, which builds companies from scratch. Lykos is a U.S.-based advanced materials and manufacturing company building defense-grade additives, components and production systems for extreme thermal, mechanical, and electromagnetic environments. We are building an industrial manufacturing platform designed to meet the standards of defense primes, government customers, and long-term strategic partners. We focus on ultra-high-performance ceramics (UHPCs) critical to aerospace, propulsion, and autonomous systems applications where traditional materials fail. Through novel process integration and laser-based manufacturing, Lykos is delivering scalable, U.S.-controlled production for mission-critical defense and national security programs. THE ROLE As Chief Operating Officer (COO), you will lead the company’s transition from lab validated materials to real, defensible manufacturing capability. You will own manufacturing strategy, process architecture, operational readiness, and scale planning to ensure that Lykos can credibly produce defense-grade components at increasing volume, quality, and reliability. We are looking for a proven industrial operator who has built and commissioned production, owned yield, quality, and delivery, survived the scale-up of novel technology under real-world constraints, and managed CAPEX and vendors end-to-end. This role requires direct accountability from process to production to delivery, with a demonstrated ability to turn advanced technology into reliable, defense-grade manufacturing systems. This is a rare opportunity to architect an advanced manufacturing operation from first principles, at the intersection of materials science, laser-based production, and defense industrial requirements. WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Design and own Lykos’ end-to-end manufacturing strategy, from raw material inputs to finished ceramic components and modular processing cells for distributed manufacturing.
• Define and build the initial MVP manufacturing cell, including equipment selection, layout, tooling, and CAPEX planning.
• Integrate laser-enabled manufacturing processes with ceramic material workflows to ensure repeatability, yield, and quality.
• Establish production process controls, quality systems, and documentation aligned with aerospace and defense standards.
• Identify scale-up risks, cost inflection points, and throughput constraints early and engineer them out across multiple material SKUs and partner environments.
• Serve as the primary operational interface with defense primes, manufacturing partners, and government stakeholders.
• Develop the operational playbook for scaling from pilot production to higher-volume manufacturing of materials and modular processing cells.
• Partner with the CEO and CSO to translate technical strategy into executable operational milestones.
• Recruit and manage cross-functional teams (engineering, operations, procurement, research)
• Champion a culture of precision, accountability, and disciplined execution appropriate for defense manufacturing.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• 10+ years of experience in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defense, or precision industrial operations.
• Proven experience building or launching new production lines, manufacturing cells, or pilot facilities in one or more of the following sectors:
• Advanced Manufacturing (Carbon, Velo3D, Relativity, Divergent, etc.)
• Aerospace / Defense (Anduril, Raytheon, SpaceX, Northrop, etc.)
• High Performance Materials (CoorsTek, Kyocera, Applied Materials, ASML, etc.)
• Strong understanding of process engineering, yield management, and quality systems.
• Experience operating multi-million dollar projects within regulated environments (AS9100, ITAR, DFARS, or equivalent).
• Demonstrated ability to operate in early-stage, fast-moving environments.
• Comfort working hands-on across engineering, operations, and external partners.

PREFERRED SKILLS

• Advanced Degree in Material Science / Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering.
• Background in laser-based manufacturing, ceramics, composites, or advanced materials.
• Experience supporting defense primes or government production programs.
• Prior leadership role in scaling manufacturing from prototype to production.
• Familiarity with supplier qualification and defense procurement expectations.

Apply tot his job Apply To this Job