Role Overview:
CubeSpace is expanding its global footprint with the establishment of a combined manufacturing, sales, and customer-support hub in Dublin. As CubeSpace’s Managing Director in Ireland, you will be responsible for building, leading, and scaling the European operation from the ground up.
This role is the senior executive leader of the Irish entity, accountable for business performance, compliance, governance, and strategic execution. Central to success in this role is the ability to build and scale a high-performing local team, develop talent, set clear direction, and create a strong, aligned culture that reflects CubeSpace’s values and performance expectations.
This is a visible, hands-on leadership role, suited to a builder who leads from the front - setting strategy, empowering teams, closing complex deals, and remaining closely connected to execution on the ground.
Key Responsibilities:
· Establish and scale European operations by securing and fitting out manufacturing and office facilities, sourcing and commissioning critical production and test equipment, and implementing ERP/MRP systems to support production readiness.
· Act as the responsible executive and statutory lead for the Irish operation, ensuring full compliance with Irish and EU regulatory, employment, tax, export-control, and corporate governance requirements.
· Lead people and culture for the Irish organisation, with the responsibility of building and leading a high-performing, multidisciplinary team, setting clear direction and expectations, and fostering a performance-driven, values-led culture that enables accountability, engagement, and consistent execution across the business.
· Ensure regulatory, quality, and export compliance by obtaining all required Irish and EU registrations, customs and export-control approvals, and implementing ISO 9001 / AS9100-compliant quality, health, and safety systems, with the goal of passing the first external audit within 12 months.
· Drive commercial growth and customer success through active engagement with the European space ecosystem, building senior relationships with customers and partners, leading complex bid and negotiation cycles, converting pipeline to contracted revenue, and establishing a responsive customer-support framework that delivers high customer satisfaction.
· Build and manage a resilient supply chain by qualifying European suppliers, negotiating framework agreements, and designing efficient inbound and outbound logistics processes that balance cost, lead time, quality, and risk.
· Deliver operational excellence by overseeing production planning, capacity management, and resource allocation, deploying continuous improvement and root-cause methodologies, and publishing clear monthly operational KPIs.
· Own European financial performance including full P&L responsibility, budgeting, forecasting, cost control, working capital management, and delivery of EBITDA and financial targets agreed with the Board.
· Maintain governance, risk, and reporting discipline through active risk management across technical, commercial, operational, and regulatory areas, and by providing timely, insight-rich reporting to executive leadership and the Board.
· Ensure strategic and technical alignment with CubeSpace Head Office by translating global strategic objectives into a Europe-specific roadmap and working closely with South African R&D and production teams to support product industrialisation, change control, and flight-heritage integrity.
Minimum Requirements:
Business & Operational Leadership
· Relevant tertiary qualification in Business, Operations, Management, or a related discipline; postgraduate qualification is advantageous.
· 10+ years of senior leadership experience in aerospace, space systems, advanced electronics, or high-technology manufacturing, including experience establishing and scaling new operations or manufacturing sites (preferably in Europe).
· Experience building, leading, and developing high-performing teams in growth and scaling environments, with a proven ability to embed a strong, values-aligned culture and drive accountability, engagement, and sustained high performance.
· Demonstrated track record of full P&L ownership, including budgeting, forecasting, cost control, and delivery of revenue and margin targets.
· Strong commercial acumen with proven success in leading complex bids, negotiations, and customer engagements.
· Strong governance, risk management, and executive reporting capability.
Engineering & Technical Understanding (Advantageous)
· Familiarity with satellite subsystems, advanced electronics, or comparable high-reliability products and manufacturing processes (advantageous).
· Understanding of product industrialisation, manufacturability, qualification, configuration management, and engineering change control (advantageous).
· Experience or exposure to ISO 9001 / AS9100 quality systems and regulated production environments (advantageous).
· Technical fluency sufficient to engage with engineering, quality, production, suppliers, and customers on operational and manufacturability topics (advantageous).
Regulatory & Market Knowledge
· Working knowledge of EU regulatory environments, export-control frameworks, and Irish employment and business regulations.
· Commercial understanding of the European space market and ecosystem.