Chief of Staff, Defense Tech Ops & Strategy

9mothers.com; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful Early Equity

Direct Roadmap Influence

100% Employer-Paid Premiums (Health, D

Unlimited PTO

Relocation Assistance

Austin-Based Culture

Job summary

9 Mothers seeks a high-horsepower Chief of Staff to act as the CEO’s operational right hand and strategic force multiplier. This embedded role diagnoses friction, analyzes complex contracts, resolves partner bottlenecks, and keeps engineering sprints aligned with milestones.

You will translate the CEO’s vision into structured execution, owning outcomes end-to-end in a 100% onsite Austin environment with a hardware/defense focus.

Qualifications

• 4–8+ years in hardware/defense startup operations, technical program management, consulting, or military operations/XO.
• Diagnose problems, scope variables, build a framework, and execute without SOPs.
• Read statements of work or vendor agreements, identify misaligned clauses, trace invoicing data.
• Experience with defense tech, unmanned systems, or defense acquisition is a plus.
• Extreme ownership, calm under fire, deliver operational wins.
• Onsite presence: 100% in Austin, TX.

Responsibilities

• Intercept and resolve operational blockers before reaching the CEO.
• Dissect contracts to protect financial and legal posture.
• Audit procurement friction points and vendor deliverables.
• Present decision-ready frameworks and recommendations to the CEO.
• Bridge strategy with engineering and shop-floor execution.
• Establish cadences, issue trackers, and milestone gates.
• Draft executive briefs and partner memos in the CEO's voice.

Skills

Direct operational experience

Ambiguity tolerance

Contract & commercial fluency

Technical & warfighter literacy

Ownership & composure

Onsite presence

Education

Technical or engineering degree

Job description

9 Mothers seeks a high-horsepower Chief of Staff to act as the CEO’s operational right hand and strategic force multiplier. This embedded role diagnoses friction, analyzes complex contracts, resolves partner bottlenecks, and keeps engineering sprints aligned with milestones.

You will translate the CEO’s vision into structured execution, owning outcomes end-to-end in a 100% onsite Austin environment with a hardware/defense focus.