Chief of Staff

Chief of StaffLocation: San Francisco — on-site requiredReports to: CEOAbout MatterMatter Intelligence is building the future of vision AI: pairing a world-first sensor that sees molecular chemistry, temperature, and 3D shape with a Large World Model - the most powerful intelligence engine for the physical world. Our team has delivered technologies to Mars for NASA/JPL, designed sensors for U.S. Defense, and invented core algorithms for spectral and 3D imaging.About the RoleMatter is looking for a Chief of Staff to work directly with the CEO and drive the company's most important strategic initiatives across engineering, commercial, finance, legal, and operations.This is a high-trust, high-context operating role for someone who can move fluidly between strategy and execution. You will help the CEO translate company priorities into crisp operating plans, connect the right teams at the right moments, surface misalignment early, and ensure that important work does not stall between functions.The ideal candidate is not looking for a purely administrative staff role. They are a strong operator who can take ambiguous company-level problems, structure them, drive them forward, and build durable systems so the company gets faster as it scales.What You'll OwnDrive strategic initiatives directly for the CEO, from problem definition through execution, follow-through, and operating cadenceConnect engineering, commercial, finance, legal, and operations teams to keep priorities aligned and dependencies visibleTurn executive priorities into clear workstreams, owners, timelines, decision points, and communication rhythmsIdentify where the company is blocked, misaligned, or under-resourced, and help resolve issues before they become bottlenecksSupport company planning, leadership meetings, board and investor materials, operating reviews, and cross-functional decision-makingPartner with commercial and product leaders to ensure customer commitments, product direction, delivery requirements, and business priorities stay connectedPartner with finance and legal on contracts, approvals, budgets, procurement, compliance, and other operating systems as the company scalesBuild lightweight processes that improve execution without adding bureaucracyTake on special projects where the company needs focused ownership and there is not yet a clear functional homeWhat Success Looks LikeIn the First 3–6 MonthsThe CEO has a trusted operator who can independently drive priority initiatives across functionsCompany priorities are clearer, better communicated, and more consistently followed throughCross-functional projects have crisp owners, timelines, dependencies, and decision pointsLeadership meetings, operating reviews, and executive follow-ups are tighter and more action-orientedEngineering, commercial, finance, and legal teams have better visibility into how their work connects to company-level goalsIn the First 12 MonthsMatter has a stronger operating cadence across leadership, planning, execution, and accountabilityStrategic initiatives move faster because coordination, decision-making, and follow-through are no longer bottlenecksThe company has better systems for translating customer, product, financial, and legal inputs into aligned prioritiesThe CEO is able to spend more time on the highest-leverage company-building work because key operating workstreams are ownedMatter has a more scalable operating foundation for its next stage of growthWhat We're Looking For4+ years of experience in a high-performance operating environment such as an early-stage startup, strategy / business operations role, management consulting, investing, product operations, or a founder / founding-team roleExceptional judgment, organization, and follow-through in ambiguous situationsDemonstrated ability to drive cross-functional work across technical, commercial, financial, legal, or operational stakeholdersStrong written and verbal communication; able to turn complexity into clear decisions, narratives, and operating plansHigh ownership: willing to take responsibility for outcomes, not just coordinationStrong analytical ability and comfort working with financial, operational, customer, and product informationLow ego and high trustworthiness; able to operate with sensitive information and work closely with senior leadersBias to action, resourcefulness, and comfort building structure where none existsTechnical curiosity and the ability to earn credibility with engineers and scientists without needing to be the technical expertWhy This Role MattersMatter is building a company at the intersection of frontier hardware, AI, physical-world data, and operational decision-making. That creates unusual coordination challenges: technical milestones, customer commitments, financing needs, legal constraints, and company priorities all have to move together.This role exists to help the CEO and leadership team keep those priorities aligned - and to make sure the most important work gets done.