Vice President of Operations

About Us
Axelera AI is not your regular deep-tech startup. We are creating the next-generation AI platform to support anyone who wants to help advancing humanity and improve the world around us.

In just four years, we have raised a total of $370 million and have built a world-class team of 220+ employees (including 49+ PhDs with more than 40,000 citations), both remotely from 18 different countries and with offices in Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, headquartered at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

We have also launched our Metis™ AI Platform, which achieves a 3‑5x increase in efficiency and performance, and have visibility into a strong business pipeline exceeding $100 million.

Our unwavering commitment to innovation has firmly established us as a global industry pioneer.

Are you up for the challenge?

Position Overview
The Vice President of Operations will build and scale the end‑to‑end operations function for a fast‑growing fabless semiconductor company which provides to market AI chip, AI acceleration card and AI systems. This executive will take ownership of manufacturing, supply chain, quality, and delivery — transforming early prototypes and customer pilots into reliable, high‑volume production.

This is a hands‑on leadership role requiring deep technical expertise, strong execution instincts, experience in starting and scaling large operations worldwide and the ability to operate effectively in an environment with limited resources, evolving processes, and aggressive timelines.

Key responsibilities
Build & Scale Operations

Establish and scale fabless operations from early silicon through chip volume production, computing cards and systems

Design and implement operational processes, systems, and KPIs suitable for rapid growth

Lead NPI, qualification, ramp, and sustaining production across multiple products, customers and geographies

Balance speed, cost, and quality in a resource‑constrained environment

Supply Chain & Manufacturing

Own all external manufacturing: foundries, OSATs, test partners, board design houses, system design houses, contract manufacturers, logistics providers and system integrators

Drive production planning, demand forecasting, and capacity management

Identify and mitigate supply chain risks early (capacity, yield, lead times, geopolitical exposure)

Develop alternate sourcing and contingency plans as the company scales

Define and implement a global operation and supply chain strategy which takes in considerations supply chains and geopolitical requirements

Foundry & Partner Leadership

Build strategic, senior‑level relationships with foundries, OSAT, system integrators, ODM/OEM, contract manufacturer partners

Negotiate contracts, pricing, capacity commitments, and escalation paths

Advocate for the company internally with partners despite early‑stage volume constraints

Quality & Yield Excellence

Establish quality, reliability, and failure analysis frameworks appropriate for startup scale

Lead yield learning, root cause analysis, and corrective actions from first silicon onward

Ensure customer quality requirements and certifications are met as the business grows

Cross‑Functional Execution

Work closely with Engineering on DFM/DFT, process selection, and yield improvement

Partner with Product and Sales to align customer commitments with operational reality

Collaborate with Finance on cost modeling, cash planning, and gross margin improvement

Team & Culture

Build, lead, and mentor a lean, high‑impact operations and supply chain team

Set a culture of ownership, urgency, transparency, and continuous improvement

Roll up sleeves when needed — no task is “too small” at this stage

Qualifications
Required

Strong background in scaling globally operations in fabless semiconductor companies and/or OEM computing companies

Proven experience taking products from design to volume production

Track record of building processes and teams from the ground up

Ability to operate effectively and quickly with ambiguity, incomplete data, and tight timelines

Preferred

Experience scaling a startup/scaleup through rapid growth or acquisition

Background in markets such as AI, automotive, industrial, or data…