Rotational Operations Program

Job Description

Rotational Operations Program | Second Order Effects

The Tone:
This is a 24-month full-time Rotational Operations Program for new or recent graduates, located in the El Segundo area of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Second Order Effects is an engineering solutions firm that designs and ships complete custom electronics and systems for frontier technology, including space, fusion energy, and advanced vehicles. Additionally, the company acts as a technical incubator, spinning out new concepts into separate companies. This role is crucial for developing a robust operational toolkit, offering early exposure to complex operational infrastructure, capital raising, legal entity setup, go-to-market strategies, and supply chain management for hardware that doesn’t yet exist, preparing participants for significant impact within the company or future endeavors.

The TL;DR
• Role: Rotational Program
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person El Segundo area (Los Angeles Metropolitan Area)
• Pay: $71900–$107850 yearly
• Team: Reports directly to functional leadership and interfaces regularly with the executive team.
• Mission: Develop a robust operational toolkit and provide clarity on personal goals and interests by exposing new graduates to advanced operational challenges across various business functions.
• Tech Stack: Excel/Sheets, Word/Docs, presentation software, SQL, Python

What You’ll Actually Do
• Operational Infrastructure: Develop and implement operational infrastructure, policies, and programs across core business functions like finance, people operations, and business development.
• Strategic Support: Support key strategic initiatives such as financial modeling, budgeting, investor relations, board material preparation, and legal entity formation and compliance.
• Market & Client Engagement: Interface directly with clients, manage pipeline, develop proposals, build account relationships, and execute go-to-market strategies for SOE and its portfolio companies.
• Supply Chain Management: Engage in vendor management, logistics, and procurement to ensure operational mechanics keep hardware-adjacent projects moving and determine successful product shipments.
• Functional Operation: Confidently stand up and operate the core work of an assigned function, delivering a major infrastructure effort or external deliverable by the end of each rotation.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Psychology, Economics, Computer Science, Physics, Math, or a related field, or equivalent experience; Entry-Level (new or recent graduates).
• Experience: Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver under ambiguity through coursework, prior internships, campus leadership, or work experience; willingness and ability to relocate to the El Segundo area; eligible to work on ITAR projects; authorized to work in the U.S. without current or future sponsorship.
• Skills: Proficiency with core productivity tools including Excel/Sheets, Word/Docs, and presentation software at a level sufficient to produce professional deliverables without heavy oversight.
• Bonus: Prior internship, co-op, or part-time work experience in finance, recruiting/HR, business development, product/marketing, operations/supply chain, or legal/compliance; coursework or independent projects involving financial modeling, data analysis, or basic scripting (e.g., Excel modeling, SQL, Python); experience in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment such as a startup, small business, family operation, or founder-run student organization; exposure to hardware, deep tech, or space/telecom industries; a track record of self-directed learning, quickly picking up new tools, processes, or subject areas.