Chief of Staff

New York City (5 days on-site) · $160-190K base + equity + benefits U.S. Citizen Only (10 CFR Part 810 Export Controls) TL;DR: Early-stage, IC-heavy CoS role for a builder who wants to run the operating system of the company. THE MISSION We’re building the AI that makes nuclear power actually deployable—collapsing licensing and delivery timelines from decades to years. Gordian, our platform, already accelerates work for utilities, advanced reactor companies, and major tech. We pair deep nuclear expertise with frontier AI and move with startup speed. Now we need a Chief of Staff to turn momentum into machinery. THE ROLE (REPORTING TO THE CEO) Not an EA. Not a scheduler. This is an IC-heavy role. You’ll run the operating system of the company and remove friction from the work that matters most. Think 70% internal execution / 30% external orchestration with investors, clients, and partners like Accenture and hyperscalers. Most weeks you’ll be building docs, systems, and processes yourself—then iterating them as we scale. You will: - Run the exec OS: set and maintain weekly plans, capture decisions within 24 hours, keep quarterly goals (OKRs) live and visible, surface risks/roadblocks early. - Own cross-functional programs: from hiring blitzes to product/partner launches; keep the Gantt real, not pretty, and ship the artifacts (timelines, owners, checklists) that make it happen. - Communicate like a star: spin ideas into investor updates, partner one-pagers, and external comms that don’t waste words. - Coordinate hiring (not HR): calibrate roles, keep the funnel moving, organize interview loops, and land candidates quickly. - Make compliance boring: drive completion of vendor security/IT questionnaires and light procurement processes so deals don’t stall. - Instrument the business: take ambiguity and turn it into dashboards, trackers, and decisions—starting in Sheets/Notion, improving over time. - Raise our profile: help run events, coordinate outreach to students and candidates, and be one of the operational “faces” of the business. A sample week: close out quarterly strategy meeting action items; prep new-hire swag kits; cross-compare contract documents for a new client; run hiring stand-up; turn a founder’s brain dump into a crisp one-pager; unblock two team dependencies; publish the weekly plan. HOW YOU LIKE TO WORK - You prefer being in the office with the core team 5 days a week. - You don’t flinch at long days when it matters; you care more about impact than strict hours. - You’re low-ego, direct, and kind—and you’d rather fix the problem than win the argument. WHAT YOU’VE DONE - 4–8 years in roles where you actually owned outcomes: Chief of Staff, founder, first bizops/ops hire, GM, or similar. Pure slide-making / advisory without ownership is not a fit. - Built and owned lightweight systems that survived reality (calendars, hiring funnels, project trackers, decision logs) in tools like Notion/Linear/Slack/GDocs. - Shipped cross-functional projects where you were the one keeping everyone honest on deadlines, dependencies, and tradeoffs. - Elite writing (short, precise) and executive presence (calm + direct). - Comfortable switching from 30,000-ft strategy to “change cell E43 and ship” in the same hour. - AI-native, already using use tools like ChatGPT; you’re excited to master Gordian. - No nuclear/AI background required—only the will to learn fast. WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE (90 DAYS) - Exec cadence is predictable; key decisions are documented and visible within 24 hours. - Top-10 initiatives hit ≥90% on-time milestones. - Hiring SLAs met weekly; time-to-offer < 35 days for priority roles. - Major meeting/event prep lands T–5 days before; zero scramble. - At least one “from-scratch” system you built (for hiring, planning, or delivery) is now part of how the company runs. GROWTH PATH Over time, strong CoS hires may grow into Head of Ops, Head of Partnerships, or GM roles as the company scales. First, you’ll prove you can run the core operating system of the business. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS - Base $160-190K, equity depending on experience; standard benefits (health/dental/vision, FSA). - In-person NYC (midtown/Bryant Park). Occasional travel. HOW TO APPLY (SHOW, DON’T TELL) Complete the application with: 1. Resume AND LinkedIn profile 2. Writing sample: a 1–2 page real-life artifact you created (board memo, program plan, partner one-pager, etc.) 3. 200 words: “What excites you most about Everstar’s mission?” 4. 150 words: “Describe a system you built that made your company move faster. What changed because of it?” We respond to strong submissions within one week.