The Role
The Chief of Staff will support the CEO in driving strategic and operational initiatives, overseeing a small team, and optimizing company effectiveness and culture.
Summary Generated by Built In
Who we are
The problem: Every minute matters in fire response. As climate change amplifies the intensity of wildfires—with longer fire seasons, drier fuels, and faster winds—new ignitions spread faster and put more communities at risk. Today, most wildfires are detected by bystanders and reported via 911, meaning it can take hours to detect a fire, verify its exact location and size, and dispatch first responders. Fire authorities need a faster way to detect, confirm, and pinpoint fires so that they can quickly respond—preventing small flare-ups from becoming devastating infernos.
About Pano: We are a 130+ person growth-stage hybrid-remote start-up, headquartered in San Francisco. We are the leader in early wildfire detection and intelligence, helping fire professionals respond to fires faster and more safely—with the right equipment, timely information, and enhanced coordination—so that they can stop a new ignition before it grows. Pano AI combines advanced hardware, software, and artificial intelligence into an easy-to-use, web-based platform. Leveraging a network of ultra-high-definition, 360-degree cameras atop high vantage points, as well as satellite and other data feeds, Pano AI produces a real-time picture of threats in a geographic region and delivers immediate, actionable intelligence.
Pano AI is on TIME's list of the 100 Most Influential Companies of 2025! MIT Technology Review listed Pano as one of the top 15 climate tech companies to watch in 2024, and Fast Company named Pano AI one of the Top 10 most innovative companies in AI of 2023. We’ve also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and CNBC News. Pano AI’s dozens of government and enterprise customers span 16 states in the U.S., five states in Australia, and BC, Canada, and we are currently monitoring over 30 million acres of land. Pano AI has raised $89M in venture capital funding from Giant Ventures, Liberty Mutual Ventures, Tokio Marine Future Fund, Congruent Ventures, Initialized Capital, Salesforce Ventures, and T-Mobile Ventures. Learn more at https://www.pano.ai/.
The Role
The Chief of Staff (Director-level) will report directly to the CEO, will be based in the Bay Area along with most of the Pano AI leadership team, and will lead a small, high-impact team with both a strategy and execution/operations skillset (the “Office of the CEO”).
Key mandates of the Office of the CEO:
1) It maintains Pano’s relentless commitment to speed and excellence across the organization, including establishing KPIs and management processes to ensure focus and accountability, as well as driving swift and effective decision-making.
2) It provides leverage and optimizes the effectiveness of Pano’s CEO, Sonia Kastner.
3) It supports the annual strategic planning and financial planning process, working shoulder to shoulder with the finance function. E.g. designing and implementing management and company offsites, and overseeing the setting/measurement of company priorities and department OKRs.
4) It helps to steward the company’s culture and morale, working shoulder to shoulder with the People function, including driving real estate and social activity strategy for both remote and non-remote employees.
5) It helps to initiate and drive key cross-functional initiatives company-wide, such as Gen AI Transformation.
6) Supports the creation of new business functions.
7) Provides contingency support for departments in complex problem-solving and addressing their highest priority challenges (like a Navy SEAL team of executors).
8) Other as needed
Initially, the Office of the CEO will be 3 people: the Chief of Staff (Director Level), overseeing a Deputy Chief of Staff or “Manager of _____, e.g. strategic initiatives” (Individual contributor - either recent MBA grad or pre-MBA), and the CEO’s executive assistant (very experienced, senior-level EA). Over time, the size and mandate may change in accordance with the needs of the business.
This might be the right role for you if you are:
- A fast-paced, energetic, ambitious leader with very high standards who is passionate about solving global issues and building world-changing businesses.
- A classic "honey badger", you are “relentlessly resourceful” and a creative problem-solver.
- An operational and strategic business leader with a track record of success in high-performance, demanding, fast-paced environments, such as top-tier consulting firms, private equity firms, the military, and tech companies.
- Seeking a career challenge where you can “take the bit in your teeth” and run!
Minimum Qualifications:
- 2 years of experience in an early-stage or growth-stage start-up (sub-1,000 people).
- 8 years of work experience total; 10 years, if no MBA.
- 2 years of management experience.
- Strong technical aptitude and curiosity.
- An early adopter of Gen AI / LLM tools in your own work, with a strong understanding of Gen AI tech trends.
- Executive presence - appropriate for serving as a member of the senior leadership team along with VPs and C-Suite.
- Leadership skills with the ability to inspire others to achieve a common objective.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Both diplomatic and assertive; not conflict adverse.
- Superior organizational skills and project/time management abilities, with the ability to juggle multiple projects and priorities at the same time, and very high throughput.
- Keen business acumen, with a high-level understanding of all functions of a tech company.
- Both a strategic big picture thinker and extremely detail-oriented.
- Entrepreneurial and creative mindset with the ability to formulate solutions to problems
- The highest level of honesty and integrity, and an unwavering sense of what is best for the business and the mission as a whole.
- Growth mindset, including the ability to give and receive feedback.
Preferred Qualifications:
- 1-2 years of experience from top-tier consulting firms.
- MBA degree from a top business school.
- Technical degree or experience working in a technical role.
- 2+ years of experience as an operator.
Pano is an equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and supporting our team-members regardless of where they come from. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
Top Skills
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The Company
What We Do
Pano AI (Pano) is the leader in early wildfire detection and intelligence, providing government, utilities, insurers, and private landowners with advanced tools and up-to-the-minute intelligence to quickly mitigate wildfire threats while protecting lives, property, and the environment.
Pano combines advanced hardware, artificial intelligence, and software in a single integrated enterprise solution. Leveraging data and satellite feeds, as well as propriety imagery from a network of ultra-high-definition, 360-degree cameras atop high vantage points, Pano’s artificial intelligence model produces a real-time picture of threats in a geographic region and delivers immediate, actionable intelligence.
Pano is based in San Francisco with a team of experienced technology professionals–from companies including Cisco, Tesla, Apple, Salesforce, and Nest–who are on a mission to give firefighters advanced tools to safeguard lives, communities, and the environment. Recently, Pano has been featured on Fox Business News, the San Francisco Chronicle, Morning Brew, and T&D World Magazine. Learn more at https://www.pano.ai/.
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