Chief Operating Officer (COO)

About the job

At Reefy we are a fast-growing, mission-driven company specializing in innovative, nature-inclusive coastal protection solutions. We are currently scaling our operations, moving from early-stage development to executing high-impact projects in the Americas and Europe. We are looking for a hands-on, strategic Chief Operations Officer (COO) to join our management team and help us build a scalable, efficient, and profitable organization.

As our COO, you will be the trusted right hand and internal counterpart to our CEO. As Operating Officer, you will bridge the gap between our visionary goals and daily execution. We are looking for a "player-coach" builder. In a lean team, a purely delegating corporate executive will not succeed. We need an operational leader with executive-level strategic capabilities who thrives on diving directly into execution: personally building systems, managing logistics, setting team cadences, and driving end-to-end delivery.

You will co-own the business plan, sit on the Management Team alongside the CEO and CFO, and serve as the operational backbone of the company.

As the CEO focuses externally on global sales and stakeholder management, you will become the internal end-accountable leader: running day-to-day operations, sourcing, product delivery, and cross-functional execution as the CEO’s counterpart inside Reefy.

What you own

You are the person who makes sure Reefy delivers what it promises: on time, on budget, and ready for what comes next. Own operational backbone, project execution, and client delivery. Build the internal engine for scale and ensure flawless execution of project pipeline (including our projects in the Americas).

Project Implementation & Customer Success

• End-to-End Project Delivery: Take end-accountability for the execution, quality, budget, timeline, and customer satisfaction of our eco-engineering projects.

• International Expansion: Oversee the delivery of our key projects in the Americas, managing local project leads, logistics, suppliers, and contractor relationships.

• Customer Retention: Ensure flawless execution that drives customer satisfaction and repeating project pipelines.

• Manage supplier relationships and purchasing, from quote comparison to contract administration.

The operational backbone

• Systems & Processes: Build and maintain lightweight, scalable systems for invoicing admin, contracts, insurances, legal/IP coordination, and risk management.

• QHSE & Compliance: Lead Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment (QHSE) processes tailored to coastal engineering and site operations.

• Commercial enablement and project deliverability: You will review proposals for budget sufficiency and risk, calibrate margins, and ensure our focus is structured, disciplined, and focused on the right target.

Team and organization management

• Execution & OKRs: Co-create and translate our business plan into actionable Objective & Key Results (OKRs), team capacity organization, and results drives performance.

• Foster a culture of accountability: You will lead weekly planning meetings, ensure the team is aligned on deliverables, and provide the structure needed for a growing, high-performing team.

• Player-Coach Leadership: Direct, mentor, and guide operational responsibilities (e.g. projects and product development). Drive pace, accountability, and execution discipline while preserving team cohesion.

• Resource planning: Implement and manage robust planning tools to track team capacity, billability, and project timelines. You will identify bottlenecks, reallocate resources, and make tough decisions when demands seem to exceed capacity.

A seat in the management team

• Management Team Member: Collaborate closely with the founders and CFO on budget alignment, strategy, and business plan delivery. You co-own the budget, you sit across from investors, and you are co-accountable for the business plan. Not as an observer but as a driving force.

• Investor & Board Relations: Participate in meetings, delivery of reporting obligations, and business intelligence discussions.

Your own mandate, growing

You start hands-on in delivery. Within 3 months you are the CEO's internal counterpart, running projects, sourcing and product development day to day.

What we are looking for

Hands-On Execution and processes owner: You have personally built, rolled out, and run operational processes in a growing organization. You will own invoicing, contracts, QHSE, insurances, legal admin, and others internal processes.

Operational Discipline & Structure: Highly organized and systematic with strong operational rigor. You know how to prioritize resources and risks without over-complicating the situation.

End-to-end responsibility for (international) coastal projects: Experience managing complex supply chains, budgets, planning, and quality in international projects.

Drive & Pace: High energy, initiative, and comfortable operating with agility under constraint and ambiguity.

Strategic & Analytical Mindset: You can translate high-level business goals or challenges into actionable plans. You are data-driven and understand the importance of metrics.

Adaptability: You thrive in a start-up environment where priorities can shift. You can balance the need for structure with the agility required to win new business.

Communication: You are a clear communicator who can build trust with the team, the Founder, and our investors. You are comfortable having difficult conversations regarding resource allocation and project prioritization.

Mission & Values Alignment: You share our commitment to environmental impact, high standards, and ethical leadership. You bring operational drive while respecting a value-driven commitment.

Bonus

Industry Experience: More than 8 years of experience in civil engineering, marine/coastal construction, or environmental operations and project management.

Commercial Acumen: You understand the sales process in engineering-driven industries. You know how to manage client expectations without over-promising.

North America link:

• English a must, Spanish language skills are a strong plus.

• Previous working experience in Mexico and/or USA

• Culture understanding

This is not a role for someone who needs a finished organisation. You build what does not exist yet, and you make it scalable.

What we offer

• Impact-Driven Purpose: Directly contribute to ocean restoration and coastal protection technologies applied worldwide. You will be at the forefront of rethinking coastal protection, working on projects that combine engineering excellence with nature-inclusive design.

• Leadership and Influence: As a key member of the management team, your decisions will directly shape the future of the company.

• Competitive Package: Competitive compensation salary with the opportunity to gain part of equity.

• Dynamic Culture: Collaborative, purpose-led culture with an expert multidisciplinary team.

• Flexibility: As an international organization and results driven, we focus on what is achieved. This opens possibilities for home office and partial remote work. A balance between human contact as a team leader while being part of the flexible culture in the team.