Founders Office

AQUAAIRX AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS; Karnataka; On-site; INR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

AquaAirX Autonomous Systems Pvt. Ltd. is seeking a proactive Founder's Office professional to work directly with the founders, shaping strategic priorities across defence, ports, offshore energy and marine tech.

You will own high-impact initiatives, map partnerships, and drive execution in a fast-moving deep-tech startup environment. You will coordinate across functions, conduct market research, prepare executive materials, and support fundraising with investors.

Qualifications

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Advanced PowerPoint / presentation skills.
• Business research and market analysis.
• Project management and follow-through.
• Ability to work independently.

Responsibilities

• Lead high-priority strategic initiatives with the founders.
• Identify and map business development and partnership opportunities.
• Prepare briefing documents, investor and partner materials, and follow-ups.
• Drive cross-functional execution with Engineering, Product, BD, Finance and Operations.
• Own select special projects from initiation through to completion.

Skills

Analytical thinking

PowerPoint skills

Business research

Project management

Independent work

Education

MBA / Engineering / Economics / Finance / Business / Technology

Job description

Company: AquaAirX Autonomous Systems Pvt. Ltd.

About AquaAirX

AquaAirX is a deep-tech autonomous systems company building the next generation of amphibious drones, autonomous underwater vehicles, and AI-powered ocean data platforms .

Our product ecosystem includes AVATAAR , an amphibious autonomous drone; NEXOR , an autonomous underwater vehicle platform; and DeepNimbus , our cloud-based ocean data processing and intelligence platform.

We work across defence, ports & harbours, offshore energy, marine inspection, environmental monitoring and ocean infrastructure .

We are looking for a high-energy, highly ambitious individual to join the Founder's Office and work closely with the founders on some of the company's most important strategic and execution priorities.

The Role

The Founder's Office will operate as a high-ownership execution and problem-solving function within AquaAirX.

You will work directly with the founders across areas such as:

• Strategic initiatives
• Investor relations and fundraising
• Partnerships
• Market research and intelligence
• Government and defence opportunities
• Special projects
• Internal execution and operational excellence

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys working in a fast-moving deep-tech startup , can navigate ambiguity, and wants exposure to how a technology company is built from the ground up.

You will not have a narrowly defined job description. Your responsibilities will evolve based on the company's most critical priorities.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Projects

• Work directly with the founders on high-priority strategic initiatives.
• Break down ambiguous problems into structured action plans.
• Conduct market, competitor, customer and industry research.
• Prepare strategic analysis, business cases and recommendations.
• Track key initiatives and ensure timely execution.
• Identify bottlenecks and proactively drive resolution.

2. Business Development & Partnerships

• Support the founders in identifying and evaluating potential customers, partners and channel partners.
• Research target accounts across defence, ports, offshore energy, shipping and marine industries.
• Prepare customer briefs, meeting notes, proposals and follow-up plans.
• Track the business development pipeline and ensure follow-ups happen on time.
• Support preparation for customer meetings, demos and strategic discussions.
• Help convert strategic conversations into pilots, LOIs, contracts and revenue opportunities.
• Support the founders in fundraising activities and investor engagement.
• Research and map relevant VCs, family offices, strategic investors and deep-tech funds.
• Prepare investor research briefs and meeting preparation documents.
• Maintain investor pipeline, follow-ups and engagement status.
• Support preparation of investor updates, fundraising materials and financial/business narratives.
• Coordinate due-diligence requirements across internal teams.
• Track fundraising milestones and action items.
• Conduct research on emerging markets relevant to AquaAirX.
• Analyse market size, customer segments, competitors, pricing and business models.
• Identify new opportunities across:
  • Defence & homeland security
  • Ports & harbours
  • Offshore wind
  • Oil & gas
  • Shipping
  • Marine inspection
  • Environmental monitoring
  • Ocean data
• Convert research into actionable recommendations for the founders.

5. Founder Support

• Prepare briefing documents before important meetings.
• Attend selected customer, investor and partner meetings.
• Capture decisions, action items and next steps.
• Ensure follow-ups are closed.
• Prepare presentations, proposals, reports and executive documents.
• Help the founders maintain visibility across critical company initiatives.

6. Cross-functional Execution

• Work with Engineering, Product, Business Development, Finance and Operations teams to drive strategic projects.
• Establish timelines, owners and deliverables.
• Follow up with stakeholders and identify delays.
• Create dashboards and reports to track progress.
• Ensure that important decisions made by the founders translate into execution.

7. Special Projects

You may be given ownership of projects such as:

• Entering a new international market
• Evaluating a new business vertical
• Launching a new product
• Building a strategic partnership
• Government/defence opportunity development
• Strategic procurement

The expectation is to own the problem from start to finish , not simply prepare reports.

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for someone who is:

• Highly analytical and structured
• Extremely proactive and execution-oriented
• Comfortable working with ambiguity
• Strong in written and verbal communication
• Comfortable interacting with senior executives and external stakeholders
• Able to independently research and learn new industries
• Strong at presentations and business storytelling
• Highly organised with excellent follow-through
• Curious about technology, business and startups
• Willing to take ownership beyond a conventional job description

Preferred Background

• 0–3 years of experience in consulting, investment banking, venture capital, corporate strategy, business development, startup operations or a similar role.
• MBA / Engineering / Economics / Finance / Business / Technology background is preferred.
• Experience in a startup or high-growth environment is a strong advantage.
• Exposure to deep-tech, aerospace, defence, robotics, drones, marine technology or industrial technology is a plus.

Freshers with exceptional analytical ability, communication skills and entrepreneurial mindset are also encouraged to apply.

Key Skills

Must Have

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Advanced PowerPoint / presentation skills
• Business research and market analysis
• Project management and follow-through
• Ability to work independently

Good to Have

• Investor research
• Consulting experience
• Startup experience
• Understanding of defence, aerospace, robotics or marine technology

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 6 months, you should be able to:

• Independently own multiple strategic projects.
• Help founders improve execution velocity across critical initiatives.
• Build high-quality market and customer intelligence.
• Create actionable investor and business-development pipelines.
• Drive follow-ups and closure of strategic opportunities.
• Present clear recommendations to the founders.
• Become a trusted execution partner to the leadership team.

Why Join AquaAirX?

This is an opportunity to work directly with the founders of a deep-tech company building autonomous systems for the ocean .

You will get exposure to:

• Defence and government business
• Strategic partnerships
• Customer acquisition
• Aerospace and marine technology
• Building a company from early stage to scale

If you want a conventional 9-to-5 role with a fixed scope, this may not be the right role.

If you want to be in the room where important decisions are made, solve difficult problems, work across functions and help build a deep-tech company from the ground up, we would like to hear from you.

Required Skills

Strategic Thinking Business Research Data Analysis Business Development Problem Solving Stakeholder management Communication Executive Communication Market Intelligence Project Management