Operation Manager

About Us

Ropedia is a Singapore-based, early-stage AI startup focused on building data infrastructure and hardware-software capabilities for next-generation intelligent systems. Our core team brings together expertise from Tsinghua, Meta, Google, and UC Berkeley, and we have been recognized by top-tier VC funds and angel investors from leading technology companies. Our team is currently distributed across Singapore, China, Malaysia, and the United States, with approximately 60 full-time employees and interns, and we continue to grow rapidly. We are building a new intelligent technology platform for practical application scenarios.

Role Summary

As an Operations Manager at Ropedia, you will be a core builder of the company's operations framework. With a team of ~60 people distributed across four countries and growing fast, the company is at a critical inflection point—transitioning from "people-driven" to "process-driven, systematic, and scalable operations." You will be responsible for establishing cross-regional collaboration mechanisms, building standardized operational processes and SOP systems, driving the normalization of key business scenarios (data collection, hardware delivery, project execution, vendor management, procurement and payment, personnel coordination, etc.), and enabling efficient decision-making and execution tracking for the management team. This role demands exceptional structuring skills, cross-cultural communication capabilities, and hands-on experience building operations systems from 0 to 1.

Key Responsibilities

• Cross-Regional Collaboration Mechanism: Define roles, responsibilities, communication cadence, project rhythm, reporting lines, and escalation paths across teams in Singapore, China, Malaysia, and the US, eliminating information gaps, redundant communication, and execution delays.
• Operational Process & SOP System: Establish standardized SOPs, project dashboards, execution trackers, RACI matrices, and regular retrospective mechanisms across key scenarios including data collection, hardware delivery, project execution, vendor management, procurement/payment, personnel coordination, internal approvals, and management reporting.
• Execution Tracking & Risk Management: Build monitoring dashboards for project progress, cost, delivery quality, and personnel efficiency; continuously track open items, risks, and cross-team dependencies to ensure timely identification and closure of issues.
• Cross-Functional Support: Collaborate efficiently with engineering, hardware, data, product, finance, HR, and external vendors to ensure smooth execution of daily operations including procurement, vendor coordination, contract processing, payment applications, administrative support, and resource allocation.
• Operations Tools & Systems: Build and maintain internal management systems, approval workflows, project trackers, and operations dashboards to drive visualization of operations data and digitization of decision-making.
• Management Reporting & Decision Support: Own weekly/monthly reporting mechanisms, management meeting organization and minutes, and synthesis of key operations data to provide clear, actionable decision-making support for the CEO and management team.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's degree or above in Management Science, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, or related fields.
• Experience: 5-8 years of experience in operations management, project management, PMO, or business operations, with preference for startup or high-growth tech company experience.
• Operations System Building: Deep understanding of SOP development, process optimization, approval workflow design, project dashboards, weekly/monthly reporting, and meeting mechanisms. Proven track record of building operations systems or management frameworks from 0 to 1.
• Cross-Regional Collaboration: Experience coordinating cross-functional, cross-regional, and cross-time-zone teams to achieve shared goals.
• Tools: Proficiency in Lark/Feishu, Microsoft Office, or similar collaboration and project management tools. Experience building Lark/Feishu approval workflows, Base, or internal operations systems is a plus.
• Data Sensitivity: Ability to identify issues and propose improvements through analysis of operational data, project progress, cost, delivery quality, and personnel efficiency.
• Documentation & Execution: Strong documentation skills to produce clear SOPs, process guides, and management policies; proven ability to persistently track open items to closure.
• Language: Fluent English; Chinese/Mandarin proficiency is highly preferred to support China team collaboration.
• Core Qualities: Strong Owner mindset, structured thinking, maturity and composure under pressure, cross-team communication skills, and attention to detail—thriving in a fast-paced 0-to-1 startup environment.

Nice to Have

• Experience managing cross-regional teams across Singapore, China, Malaysia, or the US.
• Experience in AI, robotics, embodied intelligence, autonomous driving, smart hardware, data collection/annotation/platforms, or deep tech companies.
• Experience building Lark/Feishu approval workflows, Base, project management systems, or internal operations platforms.
• Experience in vendor management, procurement processes, payment workflows, administrative operations, HR operations, or finance operations coordination.
• Experience serving as an operations hub, PMO, or Business Operations lead in a founder's office or executive team context.
• Familiarity with procurement, vendor coordination, contract processing, payment applications, administrative support, and resource allocation.