Chief of Staff & Business Operations Lead

About the Company

The datacenter buildout is the largest industrial project in human history. Gradient builds the autonomous robots that make it possible.

Partnered with the world's largest AI infrastructure companies and backed by the industry's best investors, we move fast and build full-stack systems that matter.

About the role

We're looking for a Chief of Staff & Founding Business Operations Lead to be the backbone of how Gradient Robotics runs day-to-day. This is intentionally a broad founding role. You'll own the company's operational backbone while partnering closely with the founders on whatever is highest leverage at any given moment. This is a role for someone who loves turning chaos into process: you'll see a recurring headache, build a system to fix it, and document it so it never needs to be solved twice. You'll touch nearly every part of the business, which means real ownership and room to grow quickly. The impact is significant- you'll free up the founders' time and attention for the highest-leverage work, while making sure nothing operational falls through the cracks.

Responsibilities

Own finance operations: payments, billing and renewals, monthly reporting, and expense management

Own company metrics and operating cadence: dashboards, KPIs, and the reporting rhythm for founders

Own vendor and supplier management: quotes, purchase orders, delivery timelines, and ongoing supplier relationships, including international suppliers

Own people operations: payroll, benefits, onboarding, equity paperwork, and HR compliance

Own facilities and office operations: leases, insurance, buildout projects, utilities, food, and day-to-day upkeep

Be an extension of the founders: drive meeting follow-through, maintain key relationships, coordinate team offsites and customer/investor visits, and support the leadership team on legal, fundraising, and other high-priority operational initiatives alongside investors and outside counsel.

Coordinate with recruiters: managing the applicant pipeline, scheduling, and fast candidate feedback

Build automated systems so recurring work runs without a human chasing it, and document everything you build

Minimum Qualifications

5+ years in business operations, chief of staff, or operations management roles, ideally as the operational number two at a fast-moving startup

Track record of owning multiple operational functions at once (finance, people, facilities, or vendor management) and running them without oversight

Relentless closer: nothing you own goes delinquent, no thread goes dark, no commitment gets missed

Systems-minded: your instinct after doing something twice is to automate or document it

Trusted with sensitive information (payroll, equity, banking) and comfortable holding full internal access with discretion

Able to work on-site in San Francisco 5 days/week (6 days/week if needed during crunch time), embedded in the team

Preferred Qualifications

Experience at a hardware, robotics, or manufacturing company

Experience with import/supply chain logistics

Comfort using AI tools to multiply your own output

Fluent in written and spoken Mandarin to communicate directly with manufacturing partners and review supplier documentation.