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.

What You'll Do

- 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.

What We're Looking For

- 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.

Location

On-site five days per week in Berlin, Germany (Berlin-Mitte). No visa sponsorship is available for this role.