Americans drive over 5 trillion miles a year, more than 500 billion of them recorded. Buried in that footage is the next frontier of machine intelligence. At NomadicML, we’re building the platform that unlocks it.
Our Vision-Language Models (VLMs) act as the new “hydraulic mining” for video, transforming raw footage into structured intelligence that powers real-world autonomy and robotics. We partner with industry leaders across self-driving, robotics, and industrial automation to mine insights from petabytes of data that were once unusable.
NomadicML was founded by Mustafa Bal and Varun Krishnan, who met at Harvard University while studying Computer Science.
Mustafa is a core contributor to ONNX Runtime and DeepSpeed with deep expertise in distributed systems and large-scale model training infrastructure
Varun is an INFORMS Wagner Prize Finalist for his research in large-scale driver navigation AI models and one of the top chess players in the US.
Our team has built mission-critical AI systems at Snowflake, Lyft, Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM Research, holds top-tier publications in VLMS and AI at conferences like CVPR, and moves with the speed and clarity of a startup obsessed with impact.
About the RoleNomadicML is entering a phase of rapid growth—expanding our partnerships with top autonomy companies and accelerating our research into video-reasoning models.
We’re seeking a Chief of Staff to work directly with the founders on the company’s most critical strategic, operational, and communication initiatives.
This is not a support role—it’s a force-multiplier position that helps the founding team operate at 10× speed. You’ll act as a connector between research, engineering, operations, and external stakeholders, ensuring that our product roadmap, business goals, and partnerships stay tightly aligned.
You’ll help drive clarity, execution, and scale across everything from fundraising and strategic partnerships to internal OKRs and cross-functional launches.
What You’ll DoPartner directly with the founders to manage key priorities, company goals, and investor initiatives.
Operationalize strategic plans—turning abstract goals into concrete deliverables across product, research, and growth.
Drive internal communication and alignment, ensuring all teams understand what’s most important week-to-week.
Lead special projects spanning GTM strategy, hiring, partnerships, and research collaboration.
Support fundraising and investor relations, including data gathering, memo writing, and due-diligence coordination.
Own cross-functional initiatives such as launch plans, product updates, and key customer deliverables.
Represent the founders in internal meetings and external communications when needed.
A strong analytical and organizational mindset; you can simplify chaos into a clear plan.
Exceptional writing and communication skills—you can draft crisp memos, investor updates, and presentations.
Deep curiosity about AI, machine learning, or technical products—you’re excited to learn how things actually work.
Comfort working in a fast-moving, ambiguous, founder-driven environment.
A bias for action and ownership; you don’t wait for direction, you create it.
Prior experience in AI / ML, autonomous systems, or deep-tech startups.
Experience with technical products, VC communications, or enterprise partnerships.
Comfort working closely with technical founders and interpreting complex technical concepts for business audiences.
Skills Required
- Exceptional writing and communication skills
- Strong analytical and organizational mindset
- Experience in AI/ML or deep-tech startups
- Comfort with technical products or VC communications
What We Do
We’re specialists in pre-seed and seed. The startups we back go far. Best-in-class founders do not come around every day. When they do, we jump at the opportunity to work together. Our approach is to work with just a small number of best-in-class founders so we can dig in and go deep.
