diff --git a/app/Models/Operator.php b/app/Models/Operator.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d21bed7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/Models/Operator.php
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace App\Models;
+
+use App\Models\Concerns\HasUuid;
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
+use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;
+use Illuminate\Notifications\Notifiable;
+use Laravel\Fortify\TwoFactorAuthenticatable;
+use Spatie\Permission\Traits\HasRoles;
+
+/**
+ * An operator: the owner of CluPilot, or a member of staff.
+ *
+ * Extends Authenticatable rather than App\Models\User — sharing the class would
+ * put both groups back in one table, which is the thing this exists to end.
+ *
+ * `$guard_name` is what makes Spatie resolve roles against the `operator` guard.
+ * Without it every role assignment would be checked against `web` and fail,
+ * which is the failure mode to expect if roles suddenly stop matching.
+ */
+class Operator extends Authenticatable
+{
+    use HasFactory, HasRoles, HasUuid, Notifiable, TwoFactorAuthenticatable;
+
+    /** Tells spatie/laravel-permission which guard this model's roles live under. */
+    protected string $guard_name = 'operator';
+
+    /** The six roles that grant access to the console. */
+    public const OPERATOR_ROLES = ['Owner', 'Admin', 'Support', 'Billing', 'Read-only', 'Developer'];
+
+    protected $fillable = ['name', 'email', 'password', 'last_login_at', 'disabled_at'];
+
+    protected $hidden = ['password', 'remember_token', 'two_factor_secret', 'two_factor_recovery_codes'];
+
+    protected function casts(): array
+    {
+        return [
+            'password' => 'hashed',
+            'last_login_at' => 'datetime',
+            'disabled_at' => 'datetime',
+            'two_factor_confirmed_at' => 'datetime',
+        ];
+    }
+
+    /** True when this operator holds a role that reaches the console. */
+    public function isOperator(): bool
+    {
+        return $this->hasAnyRole(self::OPERATOR_ROLES);
+    }
+
+    /** A disabled operator keeps their record and loses their access. */
+    public function isActive(): bool
+    {
+        return $this->disabled_at === null;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/config/auth.php b/config/auth.php
index d7568ff..594aa33 100644
--- a/config/auth.php
+++ b/config/auth.php
@@ -42,6 +42,15 @@ return [
             'driver' => 'session',
             'provider' => 'users',
         ],
+
+        // The console. Its own session cookie name is set in config/session.php
+        // is NOT enough — Laravel keeps one session per request, and both guards
+        // read from it under different keys, so a portal login and a console
+        // login coexist in one browser without overwriting each other.
+        'operator' => [
+            'driver' => 'session',
+            'provider' => 'operators',
+        ],
     ],
 
     /*
@@ -71,6 +80,11 @@ return [
         //     'driver' => 'database',
         //     'table' => 'users',
         // ],
+
+        'operators' => [
+            'driver' => 'eloquent',
+            'model' => App\Models\Operator::class,
+        ],
     ],
 
     /*
@@ -99,6 +113,13 @@ return [
             'expire' => 60,
             'throttle' => 60,
         ],
+
+        'operators' => [
+            'provider' => 'operators',
+            'table' => 'password_reset_tokens',
+            'expire' => 60,
+            'throttle' => 60,
+        ],
     ],
 
     /*
diff --git a/database/factories/OperatorFactory.php b/database/factories/OperatorFactory.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f9846ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database/factories/OperatorFactory.php
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Database\Factories;
+
+use App\Models\Operator;
+use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\Factory;
+
+/** @extends Factory<Operator> */
+class OperatorFactory extends Factory
+{
+    protected $model = Operator::class;
+
+    public function definition(): array
+    {
+        return [
+            'name' => $this->faker->name(),
+            'email' => $this->faker->unique()->safeEmail(),
+            'password' => 'passwort-fuer-tests',
+        ];
+    }
+
+    /** Give the operator a console role. Roles are seeded by migration. */
+    public function role(string $role = 'Owner'): static
+    {
+        return $this->afterCreating(fn (Operator $operator) => $operator->syncRoles([$role]));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/database/migrations/2026_07_29_090000_create_operators_table.php b/database/migrations/2026_07_29_090000_create_operators_table.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..654b191
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database/migrations/2026_07_29_090000_create_operators_table.php
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+<?php
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;
+
+/**
+ * The people who run CluPilot: the owner and the staff.
+ *
+ * Their own table rather than a flag on `users`, because a flag lets the state
+ * "operator who is also a portal account" reappear at any time — and that state
+ * is why OperatorInPortalTest had to exist: an operator without a customer
+ * could wander into the portal and press buttons that did nothing. A separate
+ * table makes the class of fault impossible rather than caught.
+ */
+return new class extends Migration
+{
+    public function up(): void
+    {
+        Schema::create('operators', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->id();
+            $table->uuid()->unique();
+
+            $table->string('name');
+            $table->string('email')->unique();
+            $table->string('password');
+            $table->rememberToken();
+
+            // Same column names Fortify's TwoFactorAuthenticatable expects.
+            $table->text('two_factor_secret')->nullable();
+            $table->text('two_factor_recovery_codes')->nullable();
+            $table->timestamp('two_factor_confirmed_at')->nullable();
+
+            // Who is still active — the basis for the staff view that comes later.
+            $table->timestamp('last_login_at')->nullable();
+
+            // A member of staff who has left, without deleting the audit trail
+            // their id appears in.
+            $table->timestamp('disabled_at')->nullable();
+
+            $table->timestamps();
+        });
+    }
+
+    public function down(): void
+    {
+        Schema::dropIfExists('operators');
+    }
+};
diff --git a/tests/Feature/Admin/OperatorModelTest.php b/tests/Feature/Admin/OperatorModelTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a3b7a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Feature/Admin/OperatorModelTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+<?php
+
+use App\Models\Operator;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
+
+it('authenticates on its own guard, not on web', function () {
+    $operator = Operator::factory()->create(['password' => 'geheim-genug-12']);
+
+    expect(Auth::guard('operator')->attempt([
+        'email' => $operator->email, 'password' => 'geheim-genug-12',
+    ]))->toBeTrue();
+
+    // The web guard resolves against users, which has no such row.
+    expect(Auth::guard('web')->attempt([
+        'email' => $operator->email, 'password' => 'geheim-genug-12',
+    ]))->toBeFalse();
+});
+
+it('hashes the password rather than storing it', function () {
+    $operator = Operator::factory()->create(['password' => 'geheim-genug-12']);
+
+    expect($operator->password)->not->toBe('geheim-genug-12')
+        ->and(Hash::check('geheim-genug-12', $operator->password))->toBeTrue();
+});
+
+it('assigns a uuid on create and uses it as the route key', function () {
+    $operator = Operator::factory()->create();
+
+    expect($operator->uuid)->not->toBeNull()
+        ->and($operator->getRouteKeyName())->toBe('uuid');
+});
+
+it('carries the two-factor columns Fortify expects', function () {
+    $operator = Operator::factory()->create();
+
+    expect($operator->two_factor_secret)->toBeNull()
+        ->and($operator->two_factor_confirmed_at)->toBeNull()
+        ->and(method_exists($operator, 'twoFactorQrCodeSvg'))->toBeTrue();
+});
+
+it('can be disabled without deleting the record', function () {
+    $operator = Operator::factory()->create(['disabled_at' => now()]);
+
+    expect($operator->fresh()->disabled_at)->not->toBeNull();
+});