Chief of Staff / Founders Associate

About the role

This is a high-leverage operator role sitting directly alongside the CEO of a fast‑growing AI startup, turning vision into execution across growth, hiring, finance, and expansion. You will own the most ambiguous, highest‑stakes problems in the company before they have a dedicated owner. Think of it as a founder residency from the inside of a category‑defining AI company.

Key responsibilities

• Partner with the CEO to translate high‑level strategy into concrete execution across all business functions.
• Own the end‑to‑end hiring engine for the next wave of critical hires, from planning through closing.
• Build and maintain financial reporting, budgeting, and KPI dashboards that give founders and the board full clarity.
• Design operating systems including cadences, processes, and communication loops that let the company scale at speed, with AI automation built in by default.
• Lead strategic projects from zero to done: market entry, pricing architecture, partnership structures, and other high‑stakes initiatives without clear owners.
• Manage the fundraising process end‑to‑end, including data rooms, investor narratives, updates, and board relations.
• Identify and solve problems that nobody else can own yet, moving fast in ambiguous, high‑pressure situations.

Required profile

• 2+ years in a high‑intensity environment such as top‑tier strategy consulting, investment banking, a fast‑moving venture‑backed startup, or founding a company.
• Deep fluency in business fundamentals: P&L, SaaS metrics, unit economics, and financial modeling.
• Experience designing and implementing operational processes, communication cadences, and scaling systems at growing companies.
• Proven ability to own end‑to‑end hiring processes, including sourcing, evaluation, and closing candidates.
• Experience managing fundraising workflows: data room preparation, investor communications, and board reporting.
• Strong written communicator who turns complex technical or financial concepts into clear narratives for boards and investors.
• AI‑native mindset: you use AI tools daily and have a clear point of view on how an AI‑first company should operate internally.
• High agency and comfort with ambiguity; you write the playbooks rather than waiting for them.
• Fluent in both English and German (C1+ level) is required.
• Background in industrial operations, supply chain, enterprise B2B sales, or prior experience advising AI/ML companies is a plus.