Chief of Staff: Hands-On Ops Leader & AI Driver

Vvater Llc; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

VVater, America's Next Water Company, is seeking a results-driven Chief of Staff onsite in Austin, TX. You will translate the CEO's vision into actionable plans, own cross-functional execution across sales, marketing, finance, engineering, HR, and operations, and build internal tools and AI-powered workflows to multiply executive output.

You will operate on the shop floor and in the boardroom, drive rapid decision-making, and help scale VVater from startup momentum to sustained growth while

Qualifications

• 7+ years of operating experience in a hardware, manufacturing, defense, energy, aerospace, or similar physical-product industry.
• 7+ years of stakeholder management, investor relations, fundraising, listed or private.
• Track record of building internal tools, systems, products, or businesses.
• Hands-on fluency with modern AI tools; capable of vibe-coding a working internal application.
• Cross-functional fluency across at least three of operations, manufacturing, supply chain, sales, marketing, finance, engineering, HR.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering or STEM; assessment tests are part of recruitment.

Responsibilities

• Own the rhythm of how the company runs at the executive level, leadership meetings, planning cycles, all-hands, board prep.
• Set agendas, drive meeting discipline, capture decisions, assign owners, and follow up until items are closed.
• Maintain a real-time view of the CEO's top priorities and ensure his time is allocated against them.
• Triage information into and out of the CEO's office, surface what matters, filter what does not.
• Step into sales when a deal needs senior coordination, RFP responses, customer escalations, and contract negotiations.
• Step into marketing when a launch, campaign, or PR moment needs executive-level coordination.
• Step into operations and the factory floor when production, supply chain, or facilities issues need cross-functional unblocking.
• Step into finance when cash flow, financing rounds, or vendor negotiations need executive involvement.
• Step into HR when sensitive personnel issues, hiring decisions, or organizational design questions arise.
• Step into engineering when project coordination, technical reviews, or customer technical escalations need a senior point of contact.
• Build and document VVater's operating system, SOPs, policies, escalation paths, and decision frameworks.
• Identify process gaps and design lightweight, scalable solutions that do not create bureaucracy.
• Partner with functional leaders to standardize planning, reporting, and execution.
• Own internal tooling decisions in coordination with IT and operations, CRM, ERP, project management, and communication platforms.
• Build internal tools, dashboards, automations, and AI agent workflows that multiply executive output; this is non-negotiable.

Skills

operating experience

stakeholder management

internal tools

AI fluency

cross-functional fluency

communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or STEM

Tools

AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor)

Job description

VVater, America's Next Water Company, is seeking a results-driven Chief of Staff onsite in Austin, TX. You will translate the CEO's vision into actionable plans, own cross-functional execution across sales, marketing, finance, engineering, HR, and operations, and build internal tools and AI-powered workflows to multiply executive output.

You will operate on the shop floor and in the boardroom, drive rapid decision-making, and help scale VVater from startup momentum to sustained growth while