The Role
Partner with founders as a strategic operator to design and scale company foundations, build internal AI agents and workflows, lead end-to-end special projects across product, recruiting, and GTM, and act as an executive proxy to drive high-priority initiatives in a fast-moving, 0-to-1 startup.
Summary Generated by Built In
We’re building the scientific intelligence platform for the physical world, to accelerate breakthroughs in semiconductors, batteries, advanced materials, aerospace, and beyond. These industries represent trillions in spend, but are still trapped in outdated software. We’re changing that by building the intelligence layer to help scientists and engineers move faster and solve core problems -- R&D through manufacturing.
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a category-defining company at the intersection of AI and the physical sciences. And we’re building a world-class team to do it.
We recently raised a seed round led by Greylock, with participation from Neo, BoxGroup, Liquid 2, and top angels including Jeff Dean + leadership at OpenAI and AMD. Our team (ex-Applied Intuition, SpaceX, Warp, Jane Street, Microsoft) works in-person in San Francisco. Our office is located walking distance from 4th and King Caltrain station.
As our Chief of Staff, you will be the force multiplier for the founders and the broader leadership team. You are a strategic partner who will dive into everything from early product design to high-stakes sales preparation. This is a 0-to-1 role designed for a unicorn operator who thrives on ambiguity, moves with extreme urgency, and is eager to shape the foundations of a generational company.
What you’ll do:
- Design, build, and deploy internal AI agents and workflows to automate and accelerate as many operational processes as possible.
- Architect the 0-to-1 foundations of all facets of our business, from organizing major product launches to scaling our recruiting efforts to accelerating our GTM engine.
- Own special projects end-to-end, moving seamlessly between high-level strategic research and the tactical operational work required to scale a world-class startup.
- Partner closely with the founders to drive the company’s highest-priority initiatives, acting as a strategic thought partner and executive proxy across all functions.
We would love to meet you if you:
- Take pride in making everyone around you more effective and are willing to roll up your sleeves on any task, big or small.
- Thrive in fast-paced, unstructured environments with evolving requirements.
- Already use AI tools daily and think critically about how to push their limits. You don't need to be a software engineer, but you should be comfortable enough with technology to build agents to automate operational workflows.
- Love to learn, bias toward action, and enjoy taking full ownership of problems end-to-end.
Bonus points if you have:
- Worked at an early stage startup, founded a company, or plan to start one someday.
- Background in business operations, management consulting, investing, or a previous startup operator role.
- Experience or deep curiosity in science.
Learn More about Altara
- Video
- Blog post
- TechCrunch
- Follow us on LinkedIn and X
Skills Required
- Design, build, and deploy internal AI agents and automated workflows
- Comfortable using AI tools daily and able to build agents to automate operational workflows (technical fluency)
- Operate as a strategic partner to founders and lead high-priority initiatives end-to-end
- Thrive in fast-paced, unstructured environments and willing to roll up your sleeves on any task
- Experience scaling recruiting, GTM, product launches, or other early-stage startup operations
- Background in business operations, management consulting, investing, or previous startup operator role
- Founded a company or strong desire to found/start a company someday
- Experience or deep curiosity in science (semiconductors, materials, aerospace, batteries, etc.)
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The Company
What We Do
Altara is a San Francisco-based startup building a scientific intelligence platform for the physical world. The company aims to accelerate breakthroughs in sectors like semiconductors, batteries, and aerospace by providing an AI-powered intelligence layer that helps scientists and engineers modernize outdated software and optimize processes from research and development through to manufacturing.
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