Operations Support Specialist (TX) Lead

Summary

This is a technical business operations leadership role dedicated to the internal resource management of the Hardware Platform Solutions (HPS) engineering group. As the Operations Lead, you are responsible for the strategic oversight and day-to-day management of a team of internal buyers and administrative staff executing budget tracking and asset management. You ensure that high-stakes hardware development remains fiscally transparent by providing the engineering team with a 360-degree view of all internal costs—from equipment investments to project-specific spending and general overhead.

Detailed Description

Team Management & Procurement Oversight

• Personnel Leadership: Manage a team of internal buyers and admins; define clear roles and responsibilities to ensure the "Purchase-to-Pay" workflow meets critical engineering milestones.

• Process Governance: Establish and enforce standardized procurement protocols for the team to ensure data integrity and audit readiness across all HPS financial transactions.

• Workflow Optimization: Act as the escalation point for complex procurement hurdles, streamlining communication between buyers, vendors, and the engineering lab.

Internal CAPEX & Equipment Tracking

• Lab Asset Management: Oversee the end-to-end tracking of hardware-specific capital investments, including lab instrumentation, specialized machinery, and testing infrastructure.

• Technical Asset Coordination: Partner with engineering leads and your buying team to ensure all equipment procurement follows internal workflows and stays within the department’s allocated investment envelope.

Project Spend & R&D Monitoring

• Variable Burn Rates: Execute real-time monitoring of internal operational spending, focusing on prototype materials, vendor-on-premise costs, and specialized engineering software licenses.

• Variance Reporting & Accountability: Lead monthly budget reviews with admins and buyers to identify and correct variances between planned spend and actuals, flagging risks to engineering leadership.

Departmental Overhead & Operational Support

• Fixed Cost Maintenance: Track and manage the HPS group’s internal overhead, including facilities-related hardware costs, recurring software subscriptions, and general lab supplies.

• Budgetary Stewardship: Mentor the administrative team on financial software and budget tracking tools to improve the accuracy of reporting and the speed of procurement cycles.

Engineering Visibility & Dashboards

• Data Maintenance: Own and update the HPS Operations Dashboard (Power BI, Tableau, or Excel), translating raw spending data from your team into simple, scannable insights for the technical team.

• System Liaison: Act as the internal point of contact for navigating procurement and business management systems to ensure the lab has the resources it needs to operate efficiently.

Key Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field is preferred.

• Experience: 7+ years of experience in project operations or departmental budget management, with at least 2 years in a supervisory or team-lead capacity within a hardware, manufacturing, or R&D environment.

• Budgetary Literacy: Deep understanding of tracking CAPEX (fixed technical assets) and OPEX (variable project spend and general overhead).

• Leadership & Execution: Proven ability to manage a small team while handling complex data sets and procurement workflows in a fast-paced engineering setting.

• Communication: Ability to "speak the language" of engineers while providing clear, authoritative direction to administrative and buying staff.

Notes

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees are held accountable for all duties of the job. Job duties and the % of time identified for any function are subject to change at any time.