
Office Manager at Foundational (London, United Kingdom)
Foundational· London, United Kingdom·
Role details
Job description
Office Manager This is a future role. We're building a shortlist now and will contact you when it opens.
About us
Foundational is building the most precise picture of Earth and orbit, using lasers fired from the ground. We call it ground truth for orbit. We design and run low-cost, autonomous satellite laser ranging stations. They measure the distance to satellites with extreme precision, day and night. Our data platform turns those measurements into tracking data and orbit products for satellite operators, space agencies and governments. We also build our own flight-proven laser retroreflector arrays, so any satellite can be tracked. Our station network is expanding across Europe, South America, Africa and Australia. The data supports resilient navigation, Earth observation and the safe, sustainable use of space. We're a small, fast-moving team of engineers, scientists and operators in London. We're backed by venture investors and supported by ESA, the UK Space Agency, Innovate UK and the European Innovation Council.
Position Overview London · Full time · On-site You'll keep our London office running smoothly so the team can focus on building. You'll be at the centre of daily operations at a fast-growing company.
What you'll do
- Run the office day to day: supplies, suppliers, post and visitors
- Coordinate onboarding logistics for new starters
- Organise team events, socials and offsites
- Support travel booking and expenses
- Keep health and safety records and office policies up to date
- Support the founders and the team with scheduling and admin
What you'll bring
- Experience as an office manager or office coordinator, ideally at a startup
- Strong organisation, and a knack for spotting what needs doing before anyone asks
- A friendly, calm manner with a busy team
- Confidence with Google Workspace and spreadsheets
Nice to have
- Experience in an engineering or lab environment
- Health and safety training
- Experience managing an office move
What We Offer
- A high-impact role with real ownership at an early-stage, venture-backed spacetech company
- EMI share options (UK employees)
- 25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays
- Enhanced Parental Leave
- Cycle to work schemes
- Work alongside engineers and scientists across optics, lasers, software and astrodynamics
- Offices in central London, with snacks, tea, coffee and regular socials
We actively champion underrepresented groups and seek to bridge gaps in our workforce. If you're excited by the role but don't match every point, or you’re seeking a part time role, please apply anyway and add a note into your application. Building the best team is our priority.
Why work at Foundational
- Mission-Driven & High-Impact: Work on one of the hardest engineering challenges of the decade — building the foundational infrastructure for the future of space. The work directly impacts space sustainability, climate monitoring, and resilient navigation. builtin.com
- Early-Stage Ownership: As an early team member, you get genuine ownership and autonomy. Engineers build greenfield projects (no legacy code) and define the architecture, tech stack, and culture. reactjobs.io
- Hybrid & In-Office Options: The London office is in central London (Borough/London Bridge). Roles are a mix of in-office and hybrid. builtin.com
- Compensation & Perks:
- Generous compensation and pension contributions.
- EMI options (equity) in a fast-growing VC-backed startup.
- Offices with snacks, tea, coffee, and regular socials. reactjobs.io
- Engineering Culture: Modern tech stack (React, TypeScript, Python, FastAPI, MongoDB, AWS, Terraform, Airflow). High bar for code quality, testing, and performance. Strong emphasis on collaboration with product and founding team.