Director of Field Operations

Location: Valkenburg

We don't build systems that sit in labs. We build the next generation of autonomous maritime and underwater platforms—and we need a Director of Field Operations who is ready to take them to sea, hand them to the fleet, and make navies trust them.

We are a lean, agile defence technology company growing fast. As our product portfolio moves from development into production and customer delivery, we need an operational leader who speaks the language of the fleet, thrives in deployed environments, and can ensure our systems are adopted, operated, and battle-ready in the hands of the navies we serve.

THE MISSION
As our Director of Field Operations, you are the bridge between our engineering excellence and real-world naval deployment. You will lead the international delivery, training, and operational support of Surge Marine's unmanned maritime systems—deploying abroad for extended periods to train naval personnel, support acceptance trials, and drive fleet integration from the customer's own waterfront.

This is not a role for someone who prefers the office. You will spend significant time—up to 60% - deployed at customer facilities and naval bases across Europe and beyond. You are comfortable operating independently in the field, building trust with naval officers, and feeding hard-won operational lessons back into our product development.

YOUR IMPACT

Customer Training & Deployment:  Lead international training programmes at customer sites; deploy abroad to train naval personnel in the operation, maintenance, and tactical employment of our autonomous maritime and underwater systems.

Curricula & Instruction:  Develop and deliver comprehensive training curricula—classroom instruction, simulation exercises, harbour acceptance testing, and at-sea operational training—tailored to each customer's force structure and doctrine.

On-Site Representation:  Act as the primary company representative during acceptance trials, IOC milestones, and fleet integration activities. You are the face of Surge Marine in the field.

Operational Feedback Loop:  Gather structured feedback from end users and channel it directly to engineering. You are the most important product intelligence source the company has.

Documentation:  Support the development of CONOPS, SOPs, and training manuals that enable navies to operate our systems confidently and safely.

Operations Management:  Coordinate delivery logistics, deployment scheduling, and field support in collaboration with programme management and engineering; track deployment milestones and field issues to ensure commitments are met.

WHO YOU ARE
You are a former naval officer who has made the decision to bring your operational credibility into the defence technology industry. You have stood watches, run exercises, and operated complex systems  know how navies think, how they adopt new capabilities, and what it takes to earn the trust of a fleet.

You are equally at ease giving a tactical briefing to a force commander and writing a lessons-learned report for our engineering team. You are self-sufficient in the field, calm under pressure, and energised by the challenge of being somewhere new every few months with a mission to accomplish.

THE ESSENTIALS

Naval Background:  Commissioned naval officer background with a minimum of 10 years of service in an EU Member State navy, including operational sea duty and command experience.

EU Citizenship:  EU citizenship is mandatory.

Deployment Availability:  Full availability for extended international deployments (up to 60% travel)—including consecutive weeks abroad at customer naval facilities is a core requirement of this role.

Operational

Experience:

Direct operational experience with naval combat systems, underwater warfare, mine warfare, or unmanned/autonomous systems at tactical or operational level.

Training & Instruction:  Demonstrated ability to design and deliver training for military personnel on complex technical systems and their tactical employment.

Languages:

English is the working language—professional fluency is a must. Dutch is strongly preferred. Any additional EU language (French, Italian, German, Greek, etc.) is a significant advantage.

Natio…