Chief of Staff

The Chief of Staff will work as the CEO's strategic partner and execution lead, ensuring that high-priority initiatives move from vision to reality. This role requires exceptional problem-solving ability, strong business acumen, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to work across engineering, product, operations, government relations, finance, and business development. You will be exposed to every critical aspect of building an AI Deeptech company, from fundraising and strategic partnerships to product roadmap reviews and government programs.
The candidate will have responsibilities across the following functions:
Strategic Initiatives:
Work directly with the CEO to define and execute company-wide strategic priorities.
Conduct market, competitive, technology, and geopolitical analysis related to AI/Deeptech/defence and enterprises sectors.
Develop business cases for new programs, partnerships, and growth opportunities.
Drive special projects that cut across multiple functions.
CEO Office and Executive Support:
Prepare strategic briefs, board materials, investor updates, and executive presentations.
Help structure key decisions through data analysis, scenario planning, and recommendation frameworks.
Track CEO priorities and ensure execution against agreed objectives.
Act as a thought partner and sounding board for the CEO.
Program and Execution Management:
Drive execution of cross-functional initiatives involving engineering, product, manufacturing, operations, and business teams.
Establish operating cadences, dashboards, and review mechanisms.
Monitor critical milestones and escalate risks proactively.
Ensure accountability across leadership teams.
Government and Defence Ecosystem Engagement:
Support interactions with defence agencies, armed forces, DRDO, DPSUs, government ministries, and strategic partners.
Coordinate proposal development for defence programs, grants, and procurement opportunities.
Track relevant policy, regulatory, and procurement developments.
Program Management Office (PMO) Ownership:
Establish and lead the CEO Office PMO to drive execution of strategic and operational priorities across the organisation.
Develop company-wide program governance, review mechanisms, reporting structures, and escalation frameworks.
Monitor execution of critical programs across engineering, product, Sales, operations, business development, and customer deployments.
Own executive dashboards, KPI reporting, milestone tracking, and risk management processes.
Ensure alignment between annual operating plans, quarterly OKRs, and day-to-day execution.
Facilitate leadership reviews and drive closure of action items across teams.
Strategic Partnerships and Ecosystem Development:
Identify, evaluate, and cultivate strategic partnerships with defence primes, aerospace companies, technology providers, research institutions, academia, and global industry partners.
Support partnership negotiations, commercial structuring, and strategic alliance development.
Develop partnership frameworks that accelerate product development, market access, manufacturing, and commercialisation.
Represent the company at strategic industry forums, conferences, and stakeholder engagements as required.
Fundraising and Investor Relations:
Work closely with the CEO/CFO on fundraising strategy, investor outreach, and capital planning.
Lead preparation of investor materials, including pitch decks, financial models, data rooms, business plans, and due diligence documentation.
Coordinate interactions with venture capital firms, strategic investors, family offices, and institutional investors.
Support financial planning, capital allocation discussions, and board reporting.
Drive investor communications, periodic updates, and fundraising project management from initiation through closure.
Government Relations and Defence Programs:
Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders across the defence and government ecosystem, including armed forces, DRDO, defence PSUs, Ministry of Defence, state government agencies, and innovation bodies.
Track emerging defence procurement opportunities, strategic programs, grants, and policy developments relevant to the company's roadmap.
Coordinate proposal development, bid management, consortium formation, and responses to RFPs/RFIs.
Develop and execute government engagement strategies that position the company for long-term participation in national defence and strategic technology programs.
Organisational Effectiveness:
Drive OKR planning, leadership reviews, and annual operating planning.
Improve decision-making processes and organisational communication.
Identify operational bottlenecks and implement scalable solutions.
Requirements:
B. Tech from a Tier One College.
MBA from Tier One College.
5-10 years of experience in Founder's Office, Chief of Staff, Strategy, Investor Relations, Business Operations, Consulting, or Program Management roles.
Experience in strategy consulting, investment banking, venture capital, defence, deeptech, product strategy, or startup leadership roles.
Excellent presentation, documentation, and stakeholder management skills.
Exceptional communication and presentation abilities.
Proven experience leading complex cross-functional projects.
Familiarity with defence procurement, government programs, or regulated industries.
Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced startup environment.
Key Competencies:
Strategic Thinking.
Executive Communication.
Investor and Stakeholder Management.
Program and Project Execution.
Business Analysis and Reporting.
Partnership Development.
Problem Solving and Decision Making.
Cross-functional Leadership.
Event and Operations Management.
High ownership and bias for action.
Strong judgment and discretion.
Ability to influence without authority.
Mission-driven mindset.

Experience
6-10 yrs