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Ho Chi Minh City

Operations Manager

Build the operating model. Then keep it running.

What This Role Is

This is not a traditional EA role, and it is not a traditional operations role. It is both - and in a team this size and stage, that combination matters.

The CEO is accountable to a group board, manages a set of senior stakeholders, and is building a technical team from scratch. Someone needs to make sure the operational scaffolding is in place so that none of that falls through the cracks. That is this job.

Concretely, this role owns three things:

  • -Office and process operations. Vendor relationships, office setup, internal tooling, team rituals, and the operational processes that the team runs on. You will build most of this from scratch.
  • -People operations. Onboarding, contracts, leave tracking, HR admin, visa and relocation support for new hires. The team is being built now; this function needs to be running cleanly from day one.
  • -Executive support. Calendar management, board prep, stakeholder correspondence, meeting logistics. The CEO should not be thinking about scheduling.

What You Will Actually Do

Office and process operations

  • -Manage office setup and day-to-day office operations in HCMC
  • -Own vendor relationships for non-technical services - office supplies, facilities, insurance
  • -Maintain and improve internal operational processes - use AI tooling wherever it makes things faster or better
  • -Manage subscriptions and software licences for non-engineering tools
  • -Support the Finance & Payroll Administrator on expense processing and vendor payments where needed

People operations

  • -Manage end-to-end onboarding for all new hires - offer letters, contracts, equipment, access, first-day logistics
  • -Maintain accurate employee records, leave tracking, and HR documentation
  • -Coordinate visa applications and relocation support for Singapore-based or international hires
  • -Support the hiring process: scheduling, candidate communications, reference checks
  • -Own the employee onboarding playbook and keep it current

Executive support

  • -Own the CEO's calendar - proactive management, not reactive booking
  • -Prepare board packs, pre-reads, and meeting materials to a consistent standard
  • -Draft and manage stakeholder correspondence on behalf of the CEO
  • -Coordinate logistics for leadership events, including the monthly governance board and external stakeholder meetings
  • -Track CEO action items and ensure follow-through without being asked twice

Who We Are Looking For

You have done this kind of role before - probably in a fast-moving startup or a lean regional operation - and you know what it takes to make a small team run without friction.

You are organised in a way that is genuinely useful, not performative. Your systems work because you have thought about what actually needs tracking, not because you like making spreadsheets. You are calm when things get messy and you do not need to be told what to do when something falls through the cracks - you notice and you fix it.

A few things that matter to us:

  • -You have strong written English and can draft professional correspondence without it being rewritten from scratch.
  • -You are comfortable working directly with a CEO and with senior external stakeholders - calm, professional, no drama.
  • -You have run HR admin or people operations before and understand what good onboarding actually looks like.
  • -You are good at building processes from scratch. There will not be a playbook waiting for you.
  • -You are discreet. You will have visibility into sensitive people, financial, and board-level information, and you handle that appropriately.

What We Offer

We are a small team with a serious remit. That combination creates something that is genuinely hard to find elsewhere.

  • -Autonomy. You will own the operational backbone of the company. There is no process manual to follow and no one above you telling you how to run onboarding or set up the office. You figure out what good looks like and you build it.
  • -Flexibility. We care about output, not hours. Hybrid working is the default and we manage by results.
  • -Broad scope. This role touches people operations, executive support, office management, and process design. If you are someone who gets bored doing one thing, this will suit you.
  • -A seat close to the action. You will have direct visibility into how the company is built and run, and real relationships with senior leadership from day one.
  • -An AI-native environment - and the support to get there. We will help you get comfortable with AI tools as part of how you work. You do not need to arrive knowing them.

The Practical Details

Location

Ho Chi Minh City

Reports to

Financial Controller, Zeya Labs

Direct reports

Finance & Payroll Administrator (functional coordination)

Send us an email at build@zeyalabs.ai

Location

Ho Chi Minh City

Reports to

Financial Controller, Zeya Labs

Direct reports

Finance & Payroll Administrator (functional coordination)

Send us an email at build@zeyalabs.ai