Chief of Staff

About the role:

The Chief of Staff is a high-output operator who works directly with the CEO to drive execution across Formic’s highest-priority initiatives. This role exists to increase the CEO’s effectiveness by creating clarity, maintaining momentum, and ensuring follow-through across the business. The role spans both strategic and operational work, ranging from cross-functional initiatives and executive communications to scheduling, prioritization, and day-to-day operational support.

This is a hands-on role for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments, operates with urgency, and is willing to do whatever is needed to help the company scale. Success in this role requires strong judgment, high ownership, attention to detail, and the ability to move fluidly between executive-level thinking and tactical execution. This is an operator role designed for someone who wants deep exposure to how a high-growth company is built while serving as a trusted extension of the CEO.

In this role you will:

• Ensure the CEO is able to focus on the company’s highest-leverage work
• Anticipate needs, reduce friction, and create operational leverage day-to-day
• Drive high-priority cross-functional initiatives from idea through execution
• Translate discussions into clear action items, owners, timelines, and accountability
• Track progress across teams and proactively unblock issues
• Support company operating cadence, including leadership meetings, planning cycles, and KPI reviews
• Prepare materials for executive, board, and investor discussions
• Help maintain visibility into company priorities, risks, and performance
• Identify operational inefficiencies and help improve processes, tooling, and coordination across teams
• Take ownership of ambiguous, high-priority projects that require rapid execution
• Manage prioritization and follow-through across internal and external commitments
• Operate as a utility player across the business when needed

What makes you a great fit:

• 4-8+ years of experience in strategy, operations, consulting, investing, executive support, or other high-performance operating environments
• Proven ability to independently drive high-impact initiatives and deliver results in fast-moving environments
• Strong analytical skills with comfort interpreting business performance data, identifying trends, and supporting decision-making
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to operate effectively with executives, cross-functional teams, and external stakeholders
• Highly organized with exceptional follow-through and attention to detail
• Willingness to handle both strategic work and operational or administrative responsibilities without ego
• High ownership mentality with a strong bias toward action
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity, shifting priorities, and rapid change
• Ability to balance urgency, discretion, and sound judgment
• Strong operator mindset with a willingness to do whatever is needed to help the business move forward

Bonus points:

• Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, with the ability and interest to work in person in the East Bay
• Experience at high-growth startups or scale-ups
• Exposure to business operations, internal tooling, systems improvement, or automation initiatives
• Experience preparing executive, board, or investor materials
• Familiarity with SaaS, robotics, manufacturing, or industrial technology business models
• MBA or equivalent real-world operating experience

Attributes we value for this role:

• High intellectual honesty and strong judgment
• Low ego and high accountability
• Strong execution instincts and rigorous follow-through
• Ability to create clarity and momentum in ambiguous environments
• Trusted by senior leaders and credible with technical and operational teams
• Highly responsive with strong attention to detail
• Comfortable moving between strategic thinking and tactical execution seamlessly

Success in this role looks like:

• The CEO’s time is protected and focused on the company’s highest-leverage priorities
• High-priority initiatives move from discussion to execution with clear ownership and follow-through
• The executive team operates with strong alignment, accountability, and visibility into company priorities and performance
• Board and investor materials are concise, thoughtful, and decision-oriented
• Operational bottlenecks, communication gaps, and execution risks are identified and resolved proactively
• Important follow-ups and commitments do not slip through the cracks
• Manual processes and inefficient workflows are continuously improved over time
• Teams experience increased clarity, responsiveness, and operational momentum
• The organization becomes more coordinated, accountable, and scalable quarter over quarter