Operating Associate

About the role

The Operating Associate role is a two-year apprenticeship designed to develop high-potential early-career talent into future leaders of Astra Operating Companies. You will learn the disciplines of Continuous Improvement, the operational problem-solving methodology used by world-class operating businesses, while building toward placement into an Astra Operating Company in a leadership role such as Director, Operations Manager, or other mid-level operating position, with a clear path to continue advancing toward more senior operating leadership over time.

Responsibilities

• Travel to Astra Operating Companies. Roughly 50–70% of your time will be spent on-site at our operating companies across the U.S., territories, and Canada.
• Work alongside their teams, observe their operations, and contribute to Continuous Improvement work in service of their business outcomes.
• Learn the businesses we serve. You'll spend deliberate time in different parts of each operating company, dispatch, operations, sales, finance, ride-alongs with technicians, building real understanding of how service-trades businesses succeed and where they get stuck.
• Apprentice in Continuous Improvement. You'll learn the A3 problem-solving method from senior senseis, contribute to real CI engagements at operating companies, and progressively take on more of the coaching work yourself as your capability develops.
• Build business literacy. You'll learn to read a P&L, understand operational KPIs, see how leadership decisions flow through to results, and develop the judgment of an operator.
• Coursework includes Astra University, the LAUNCH program for operational excellence, and in-person training at the University of Tennessee.
• Develop through structured gates. You will pass through six structured capability assessments across the two years, quarterly in Year 1, semi-annually in Year 2, each one a real evaluation of your readiness for the next stage of development.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree by your start date.
• Willingness to be based in Boulder, CO, with travel 50–70% of your working time across the U.S., territories, and Canada in Year 1.
• Willingness to relocate within 2–3 years for placement at an Astra Operating Company.
• U.S. work authorization.

Qualifications

The strongest candidates are curious about how businesses actually run, not just focused on what role comes next. They are comfortable with ambiguity and have a hunger to learn and grow.

Skills

• Operational problem-solving using proven Continuous Improvement methods, A3 thinking, Kaizen, Lean, Kanban, and structured problem-solving disciplines.
• Understanding of service-trades businesses, the economics, the operations, the people, and the leadership choices that separate good from great.
• Ability to coach teams through structured problem-solving and build their capability rather than solve their problems for them.
• Business literacy: ability to read a P&L, understand operational KPIs, see how leadership decisions flow through to results, and develop the judgment of an operator.
• Leadership skills: ability to lead through influence and partnership rather than authority.

Benefits

• Salary range: $60,000 to $80,000, dependent on background, experience, and location.
• Compensation progression: each successfully passed gate carries a meaningful raise, and the move to Operating Associate II (Year 2) carries a further increase reflecting the expanded coaching and operating responsibility of that year.
• Competitive benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) with company match, paid time off, and full coverage of business travel expenses.

Pay

The salary range for this role is $60,000 to $80,000, dependent on background, experience, and location.

Schedule

This role is based in Boulder, CO, with heavy travel built into the work. Year 1 Associates can expect to be on the road 50–70% of the time, with the remainder of working time at the Boulder home base. We will pay for all business travel, including transportation, lodging, and meals. Within 2–3 years of starting the program, successful Associates are placed into operating leadership roles at one of Astra's operating companies. These placements may be anywhere in our portfolio, across the U.S., U.S. territories, or Canada. Relocation support is provided when placement occurs.