Chief of Staff

About Subsense

Subsense is a deep-tech company developing the world’s first non-surgical, bidirectional brain-computer interface powered by plasmonic and magnetoelectric nanoparticles. Our mission is to unlock direct communication between the human brain and AI — starting with medical applications such as stroke recovery and moving toward cognitive enhancement for healthy users. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Subsense brings together leading scientists and engineers to redefine the future of human–machine interaction.

The Opportunity

We’re looking for a Chief of Staff / Executive Operations Lead who can serve as the operational, organizational, and strategic extension of the CEO - ensuring clarity, alignment, and execution across a high-velocity deep-tech company.

You will work at the intersection of Operations, R&D, Product, HR, Finance, and external partnerships, driving mission-critical projects, solving ambiguous problems, and ensuring the company runs with precision and discipline. This role is central to aligning the executive team, enabling the CEO to operate at maximum leverage, and building the internal infrastructure that supports hyper-growth and a high-stakes Series A.

You will bring elite execution skills, organizational discipline, exceptional communication, and the ability to navigate complexity while maintaining calm, structure, and strategic clarity.

Responsibilities

Strategy Translation & CEO Enablement

• Act as the CEO’s operational proxy, supporting day-to-day decisions and running point across functions so the CEO can focus on fundraising and external strategy.
• Convert CEO priorities into clear execution plans, timelines, and decision pathways.
• Maintain CEO operating rhythm: quarterly cycles, OKRs, retros, milestone tracking, decision records.
• Prepare the CEO for critical discussions — investor meetings, partner negotiations, internal reviews.
• Ensure the CEO always has structured visibility into progress, risks, blockers, and required decisions. 
• Act as the CEO’s strategic extension - ensuring alignment, context continuity, and disciplined follow-through.

Execution Management & Operational Discipline

• Drive execution of CEO-sponsored programs and initiatives end-to-end (without owning functions).
• Coordinate dependencies between teams, escalate tradeoffs early, and eliminate blockers before they surface.
• Maintain rigorous reporting systems: dashboards, status reviews, risk logs, decision summaries.
• Ensure the organization moves in sync with CEO priorities and timelines - bridging gaps, clarifying expectations, and reinforcing execution standards.
• Improve cross-company workflows and information flow so execution is fast, predictable, and high-quality.

Communication, Stakeholders & Special Initiatives

• Manage critical communication flows on behalf of the CEO across internal teams, advisors, partners, and external stakeholders.
• Build and maintain the communication and documentation infrastructure that keeps the CEO effective: briefings, memos, summaries, internal decks.
• Support cultural alignment and organizational clarity through structured communication and context delivery.
• Lead CEO-level special initiatives (off-sites, strategic projects, advisory boards, executive prep) with flawless execution and tight timelines.

Qualifications

• 5 years of experience supporting, advising, or being C-level in fast-paced, high-complexity environments.
• Former founder, co-founder, or early-stage operator who has built and run core parts of a startup is a plus.
• Proven track record in program management, executive operations, organizational leadership, and cross-functional coordination.
• Experience driving strategic initiatives end-to-end with high ownership and minimal oversight.
• Demonstrated ability to operate in ambiguous, high-stakes environments with precision and composure.
• Exceptional communication skills: written, verbal, interpersonal, and executive presence.
• Deep experience building operational systems, improving processes, and coordinating across multiple functions.
• Proven ability to handle highly confidential information with impeccable judgment.
• High emotional intelligence and ability to anticipate needs of executives and teams.

Location: Palo Alto