This paper presents early concepts and future projections of the so-called ‘Operator 4.0’, understood as a smart, skilled operator who performs not only cooperative work with robots but also aided work by machines as and if needed by means of human cyber-physical systems, advanced human-machine interaction technologies and adaptive automation towards achieving human-automation symbiosis work systems. This research introduces an Operator 4.0 typology as well as exploring a set of key enabling technologies that can support the development of human-automation symbiosis work systems for the Operator 4.0 in the Factory of the Future defined within the Industry 4.0 framework.