Chief of Staff
Rockstar · New York City · $140,000–$210,000 (stated in the posting)
Rockstar is recruiting for a fast-growing AI startup that builds AI workers for back-office departments in American manufacturing. The client is backed by a16z speedrun and angels from Brex, Xwing, and Betterment. The company is led by founders with experience at Bain, Xwing, Meta, Brex, and other high-growth technology companies. Rockstar has partnered with this client to find a Chief of Staff who can act as a force multiplier for the founders and help build the defining AI company for American manufacturing.
The Role
The mission of the Chief of Staff is to be a force-multiplier for the founders. The role works across the company to turn priorities into action, drive the highest-leverage initiatives, and ensure important work moves with clarity and urgency. The scope will change as the company grows; if a problem matters to the company and lacks a natural owner, the Chief of Staff will step in.
The Chief of Staff will have visibility into every part of the business and a front-row seat to building the defining AI company for American manufacturing. This is not a calendar-management or administrative role. It is for a high-agency generalist with exceptional judgment who can zoom out to frame a decision, zoom in to do the work, and earn trust across the team.
What the Chief of Staff Will Do
- Act as a force multiplier to the founders: turn priorities into operating plans, drive follow-through, and keep the company focused on the highest-leverage work.
- Lead cross-functional initiatives that span go-to-market, product, customer deployments, hiring, finance, and company operations.
- Prepare the company for key decisions by gathering context, analyzing data, framing tradeoffs, and making clear recommendations.
- Build the operating cadence - goals, metrics, leadership meetings, planning, and accountability - that helps a fast-growing team execute.
- Own high-stakes communication and special projects, from board and investor materials to strategic partnerships and company-wide initiatives.
- Step into important unowned problems, solve them end-to-end, and turn repeatable work into durable systems.
Who the Ideal Candidate Is
- 4+ years in a demanding, analytical environment: The ideal candidate has 4+ years in a demanding, analytical environment - such as an early-stage startup, consulting, investing, banking, or a strategic operating role.
- Exceptional judgment: The ideal candidate has exceptional judgment and can separate urgent noise from what actually matters.
- Highly organized: The ideal candidate is highly organized and drives complex, cross-functional work to completion.
- Analytically rigorous: The ideal candidate is analytically rigorous, comfortable with data and financials, and communicates clearly in writing.
- Thrives in ambiguity: The ideal candidate thrives in ambiguity, moves fast, and takes ownership without waiting for direction.
- Low-ego and trustworthy: The ideal candidate is low-ego, trustworthy, and willing to do whatever the company needs to win.
- Mission-driven: The ideal candidate cares deeply about the mission and is excited to work in person five days a week in NYC with a founder mindset.
Bonus Points
- Early-stage Chief of Staff, founder's associate, strategy and operations, or company-building experience.
- Experience supporting fundraising, board preparation, strategic finance, or investor relations.
- Exposure to enterprise software, AI, manufacturing, or industrial businesses.
- Uses AI tools: The ideal candidate uses AI tools to automate research, analysis, and operational work.
About the Company
Revitalize an industry. Rebuild America's manufacturing backbone.
America builds satellites, jet engines, and semiconductors with world-class precision, but the software running factory offices is decades behind. Estimators, procurement teams, and accountants still lose hours to spreadsheets, PDFs, and manual data entry.
The company builds AI workers for back office departments like quoting, purchasing, invoicing, and sales coordination. By removing back-office bottlenecks, the company helps US manufacturers move faster, grow, and compete globally.
The company is backed by a16z speedrun and angels from Brex, Xwing, and Betterment. The company invites candidates to join in rebuilding the digital foundation of American manufacturing.
The Founders
Jack Strauss - Co-Founder & CEO Jack began his career at Acer and Northrop Grumman, then advised industrial companies at Bain. At Xwing, he helped scale the company and led GTM through its acquisition by Joby Aviation. He holds an MBA from Stanford and a BA from USC.
Alex Pareto - Co-Founder & CTO Alex began his career at Meta, founded YC-backed Demeanor, and joined NTWRK after its acquisition. He later became a founding engineer on Brex Spend Management and led its engineering organization. He holds a BS in Computer Science from USC.
How the Company Works
- In person every day in NYC for high-bandwidth collaboration.
- The team talks to users constantly: the company builds with manufacturers, not for them.
- The team owns outcomes end-to-end and drives solutions without waiting for permission.
The Company's Values
- Here to Win: The company is building to help American manufacturers, its customers, its company, and its teammates win at the highest level.
- There's Always a Way: The company is relentlessly resourceful, takes ownership of constraints, and finds a path forward when others stop.
- Truth Over Comfort: The company chooses honesty over ego, surfaces reality quickly, and changes course when the facts demand it.
- Act Now: The company moves fast, trusts its instincts, and corrects course as it goes.
- Step Up: The team acts like founders, fills gaps, fixes problems, and follows through until the work is done.
- The Team. The Team. The Team.: The company puts the team first, and teammates push and support one another, share wins, and own failures together.
Comp & Benefits
- Base salary: $140,000-$210,000 depending on level and experience
- Equity: the opportunity to receive meaningful early-stage equity ($30,000-$70,000 per year) in the company
- Benefits: great healthcare coverage, dinner provided at the office, and unlimited Celsius
Location
The candidate will be in the company's NYC office five days a week.