Chief of Staff

Duckbill is on a mission to bring clarity, transparency, and confidence to every enterprise’s management of cloud costs. We’re building the platform every enterprise should have to make this easy.

This isn't your typical Chief of Staff position. We're looking for someone who can build and run the operational machine that lets a founder stay focused on what matters most: strategy, fundraising, key hires, and enterprise sales.

As Chief of Staff at Duckbill, you'll own the systems and rhythms that make a small team punch above its weight. You'll be equal parts operational architect, communications owner, and trusted buffer—someone who can translate high-level vision into specs, hold the organization accountable to its goals, and manage the administrative complexity that would otherwise consume founder time.

The split:

• 40% — Communications architecture, goal management, and organizational rhythm

• 30% — Hiring, onboarding, and people operations

• 30% — Administrative infrastructure (legal, IT, vendors, office, CEO support)

We work together in the office in San Francisco, so you must be located in the SF Bay Area and able to work in the office on a regular basis.

As the owner of company rhythm and accountability:

• Design and operate our information architecture—weekly updates, all-hands, async communication standards

• Own the goal-setting cadence and make goals the backbone of leadership syncs

• Define and enforce "Definition of Done" for company goals and projects

• Track progress against our 2-year North Star and surface blockers before they become problems

As the builder of operational infrastructure:

• Run the hiring machine: recruiting coordination, candidate experience, offer letters

• Own onboarding so new hires are aligned and productive from day one

• Manage HRIS, benefits, equipment, vendors, and office operations

• Coordinate with outside counsel, insurance brokers, and compliance requirements

As a force multiplier for the CEO:

• Prepare board materials

• Handle meeting prep, notes, and action item tracking

• Coordinate or directly handle a lot of random things that pop up throughout the week

• Act as a buffer—comfortable pushing back when needed to protect team trust and founder focus

Non-Negotiables:

• High conflict tolerance: You're comfortable being the buffer and can push back on the CEO when necessary

• Proactive ownership: You close loops without reminders. You don't wait for permission or detailed instructions

• Judgment and discretion: You handle sensitive information with maturity and know when to escalate vs. handle independently

• Experience partnering with high-velocity founders to translate strategic intent into operational wins

Core Strengths:

• Strategic translation: You hear a high-level vision and turn it into a spec or plan

• Data-oriented rigor: Natural inclination toward spreadsheets, metrics, and objective verification

• Organizational discipline: You manage multiple workstreams without dropping balls and build systems that scale

• Clear communication: You write concisely, represent the company professionally, and keep stakeholders informed proactively

• Resourcefulness: You figure things out without a playbook and build processes from scratch

• Comfort operating in ambiguity at a fast-moving startup

For Duckbill:

• 70% reduction in CEO time spent on low-leverage work

• Deterministic, reliable cadence of information across the team

• New hires ramped and aligned with our North Star from day one

• Administrative relationships (legal, insurance, vendors) running smoothly without CEO bottlenecks

For You:

• Deep partnership with a founder building a leading brand in cloud cost management

• Ownership of the operational systems that let a small team serve sophisticated enterprises

• A seat at the table on strategy, hiring, and company-building decisions

Compensation for this role is a salary range of $160,000 to $200,000 plus early-stage equity. We provide a 401(k), as well as healthcare, vision, and dental benefits, with premiums fully covered by the company. Dependents are covered 50%. We offer 4 weeks of PTO.

We are a small and growing team, which means you get the opportunity to be on the ground floor of building the product and company. Our team is some of the most experienced domain experts in the industry, and our customers are among the biggest cloud spenders in the world, which means the scale and complexity of the data challenges we solve are truly at the cutting edge.