Head of Commercial Operations

About Proper Voltage

Proper Voltage is unlocking the next generation of battery technology across robotics, data centers, and defense.

We're building intelligent battery systems that make advanced chemistries (sodium-ion, lithium-titanate, lithium-silicon) work in products that were never designed for them. Humanoid robots can upgrade power systems without redesigning their entire platform. Data centers get safer, cheaper backup power. Drones and autonomous vehicles get higher energy density without lengthy integration cycles.

If you want to work on hard engineering problems that matter this is the place.

Job Overview

Proper Voltage is hiring a Head of Commercial Operations to run and evolve the commercial execution layer as the company scales revenue across direct customers and distributor-led channels.

This role is focused on execution, judgment, and leverage. Proper Voltage already has commercial frameworks, templates, and processes in place. Your responsibility is to apply them rigorously, improve them where needed, and ensure they hold up as deal volume and complexity increase.

In addition to execution, this role will play a central role in shaping which deals Proper Voltage pursues. You will assess internal cost, delivery complexity, and repeatability when evaluating opportunities, and synthesize technical, commercial, and operational inputs into clear recommendations for leadership. Over time, you will be expected to make these judgments with increasing autonomy as credibility is established across the organization.

This role requires deep fluency in battery and power systems. You will work directly from customer specifications, convert technical inputs into volume and energy assumptions, and form clear commercial positions independently. You are expected to know what we can deliver at scale and to enforce that reality internally and externally.

Who This Role Is For

This role is for someone who wants real ownership and is comfortable being accountable for outcomes, not just process. It is a strong fit for a person who has spent years operating inside real commercial systems and knows how to make them sharper, faster, and more durable as scale increases.

You should already be fluent in battery and power concepts and comfortable working directly from technical specifications without hand-holding. You are expected to make confident commercial decisions with incomplete information, stand behind those decisions, and push engineering, sales partners, or leadership when clarity or tradeoffs are required. This role suits someone who values clean execution, concise communication, and finishing what they start, and who thrives in environments where judgment and initiative matter more than titles or rigid playbooks.

This Role Is Not a Fit If

This role is not a fit if you are looking for a late-career seat optimized for comfort or short-term upside, or if you expect to be taught basic battery, power, or energy concepts on the job. It will also not work well for someone who avoids conflict, defers decisions upward when things get uncomfortable, or prefers highly structured direction to know what to do next.

If you are primarily motivated by individual deal commissions, rely heavily on “how it’s always been done,” or are uncomfortable being held accountable for execution quality and outcomes, this role is unlikely to be a good match.

What You’ll Do

• Own day-to-day commercial execution across direct sales and distributor-led opportunities.
• Operate and continuously refine existing sales processes, approval flows, and commercial templates based on real-world usage.
• Lead pricing, quoting, and scope discipline, escalating only when deviations materially impact risk, margin, or delivery.
• Serve as the primary commercial interface for distributor partners, enforcing clarity, accountability, and process adherence.
• Translate incomplete or implicit customer requirements into clear commercial direction and internal alignment.
• Push engineering and product teams when customer needs require decisions, tradeoffs, or prioritization.
• Decide which opportunities advance, pause, or stop based on product fit, production readiness, and strategic focus.
• Reduce executive involvement in routine commercial execution by owning decisions and escalation thresholds.
• Manage and develop technical sales resources, including the Technical Solutions Manager role.
• Maintain high standards for CRM hygiene, documentation, and cross-functional handoffs.
• Identify friction points in the commercial process and drive targeted improvements rather than wholesale redesigns.

Required Qualifications

• 10 or more years of experience in commercial operations, sales operations, or customer-facing leadership roles within hardware, energy storage, power electronics, or similarly technical systems.
• Demonstrated experience operating within established commercial frameworks and improving them at scale.
• Deep working knowledge of battery systems, power electronics, or energy storage applications.
• Ability to work directly from technical specifications, including voltage, power, energy capacity, and volume assumptions.
• Proven track record of operating with ambiguity while still making confident, defensible decisions.
• Willingness to push back internally and externally to protect execution quality, margin, and delivery.
• Clear, concise communicator who brings recommendations, not just problems.
• Strong ownership mindset and follow-through.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with UPS systems, industrial energy storage, DoD or critical power infrastructure.
• Experience working with distributor or representative-led sales models.
• Background in high-growth hardware companies with real production and delivery constraints.
• Demonstrated ability to operate at both strategic and hands-on levels.
• Experience borrowing best practices from consumer or product-led companies and applying them thoughtfully in a technical, hardware-driven environment.
• Exposure to defense or government-adjacent battery programs, including applications such as drones, UUVs, eVTOL platforms, or other mission-critical energy systems.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary range: $180,000 - $210,000 depending on location, experience, and qualifications.
• Performance-based sales incentives tied to company-level outcomes.
• Company equity.
• Health, dental, vision insurance.
• Flexible PTO with a generous holiday policy.
• Remote-friendly work schedule, with travel as needed for vendor engagement.

Ready to work on power systems that matter? Let\'s talk.

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