Country Operations Manager — Ukraine
Company: Series-A defense-technology startup
Product: Defense-Tech Hardware
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine — full time, in-country
Compensation: $150-$200K USD + Equity
About the Role
The Product Operations Manager – Ukraine is the primary in-country lead for this series-A company's product in Ukraine. This is a broad, hybrid role spanning customer success, account management, supply chain support, product, program, and go-to-market. The product is built and unit relationships already exist — the mission is to get it into real operators' hands and keep it operational. The work facilitates live operations with real-world impact.
The role is supported by an established in-country team in Ukraine that provides logistics, customs, and other in-country support, so this is a leadership-and-orchestration seat, not a solo grind.
Location & Travel
Based in Kyiv, Ukraine, full time and in-country.
Roughly one week out of every two months in the USA visiting company offices.
Additional travel as needed (e.g., training exercises) and within Ukraine for unit visits, launches, and operations.
Normal PTO permitted
Responsibilities
Serve as the face of the product in Ukraine — representing the company to military units, government counterparts, and partner organizations.
Own end-to-end product delivery and fielding within Ukraine: unit onboarding through sustained operations and feedback collection.
Build and maintain relationships with Ukrainian military units and government stakeholders to drive adoption, gather feedback, and identify new opportunities.
Lead customer success — conduct training, resolve operational issues, and ensure units are mission-ready.
Own account management for fielded units and stakeholders.
Coordinate supply chain support, logistics, and deployment timelines in-country, leveraging the local team and collaborating closely with the U.S.-based team.
Develop and execute a localized go-to-market and expansion plan — identifying new units and use cases.
Translate field insights into actionable product feedback for engineering and product.
Manage program milestones, reporting, and documentation to keep the U.S. team aligned on in-country progress and blockers.
Requirements
Must-Haves
Based in or willing to relocate to Kyiv, Ukraine; deep familiarity with the Ukrainian operational and defense environment strongly preferred.
Experience in a product, program, operations, or customer-facing role — ideally at the intersection of technology and defense or government.
Proven ability to build trust and navigate relationships with military or government counterparts.
Strong organizational and project-management skills; able to manage competing priorities in a dynamic environment.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field.
U.S. citizen preferred; open to Ukrainian nationals.
Sharp, self-sufficient, and takes disciplined initiative to accomplish the mission without handholding.
Self-starter who thrives in ambiguity and operates with significant autonomy.
Comfortable in a startup environment where the role evolves as the product matures.
Cultural fluency and tact across military, government, and commercial stakeholders.
Willingness to travel within Ukraine as required.
Nice-to-Haves
Active military service or direct experience supporting Ukrainian defense operations.
Startup or early-stage company experience.
Ukrainian and/or Russian language ability — a massive plus.
Compensation & Benefits
Competitive compensation package.
High-impact missions in a dynamic operational environment.
Direct access to U.S.-based leadership and engineering team.
Professional development opportunities.