Executive Assistant

AKA is headquartered in San Francisco's Mission district, and we work in person.

About the Role

As Executive Assistant to the CEO, you'll be a force multiplier for the company — helping our founder move faster, stay focused, and execute on what matters most. You'll work across executive operations, office management, recruiting coordination, and event strategy, on fast timelines and amid genuinely dynamic circumstances.

This is a high-trust, high-context role. You'll reduce operational overhead, keep important work moving, and build leverage across a small team where little structure exists yet. It suits someone who thrives in startup ambiguity, enjoys switching between disciplines, and cares deeply about how things look, feel, and work.

You'll partner directly with the founder and coordinate across the whole company, with the discretion that access requires.

What You'll Do

Manage founder operations and priorities. Own and streamline day-to-day support for the founder — scheduling, inbox follow-up, administrative coordination, and the many moving pieces that otherwise create drag on execution.
Support recruiting workflows. Review inbound candidates from the job board, flag anomalies and promising applications, surface high-signal candidates for review, and make sure every applicant hears back on time.
Run event strategy and coordination. Help build and execute our event program, including founder dinners and community gatherings — attendee research, outreach support, vendor coordination, and a polished, consistent experience every time.
Drive research and special projects. Absorb company context quickly and turn ambiguous asks into action: figuring out who the right people are to invite, researching opportunities, organizing high-priority internal initiatives.
Create leverage, not just throughput. Solve problems pragmatically — finding the tool, contractor, or system that handles a recurring task, rather than absorbing it manually or sending it back to the founder.

• 2+ years in executive support, operations, or chief of staff work at a startup or other fast-moving environment

• Demonstrated ownership of a demanding, constantly changing calendar, with sound judgment about what gets protected and what gets moved

• Experience running events end to end — dinners, offsites, or team gatherings — including vendor coordination and budget

• Comfort operating in ambiguity and building structure where little exists

• Strong organizational instincts and excellent follow-through: things you own don't get dropped

• High discretion and professionalism with confidential information

• Excellent written communication — you'll be drafting on the founder's behalf

• Ability to balance tactical execution with strategic thinking

• A high bar for quality, presentation, and user experience

• Fluency with Google Workspace, Slack, and Notion, and a habit of picking up new tools quickly

• Based in the Bay Area and able to work in person in San Francisco

Nice to Have

• Background in product design, brand, or events

• Experience supporting a first-time founder at an early-stage company

• Exposure to recruiting coordination or an ATS (we use Ashby)

• Comfort in technical environments — you don't need to write code, but you shouldn't be put off by it

Why This Role Is Unique

• Broad scope across executive support, recruiting, events, and special projects — not a calendar-only seat

• Small enough team that the systems you build become how the company runs

• Close partnership with leadership and unusual visibility into how an early company gets built

• Room to shape the role around your strengths over time

• 120-150k plus equity, health coverage, 401(k), and a daily meal benefit