Chief of Staff

As Chief of Staff, you’ll play a critical role in enabling company strategy, execution, and communication. The Chief of Staff will be the CEO’s right hand and will be responsible for supporting business strategy, executing on projects, and advising the broader leadership team. You’ll use your strong analytical and interpersonal skills, curiosity to learn, and ability to lead through influence to carry out the team’s vision and represent the company both internally and externally. This role will see you one day diving deep with our engineering team to scope out early prototypes, and the next day sharing Sonera’s vision with potential customers or publicly at industry events. This is a great role for an entrepreneurial self-starter looking to join the leadership team of a fast-growing hardware startup.

Typical base salary is in the $130,000 to $180,000 range alongside generous equity compensation through participation in Sonera's Equity Incentive Plan; actual salary can be more or less than the posted range and will be determined based on the individual’s applicable skills, education, qualifications and experience for the role.

What you'll do

• Partner with the CEO, CTO, and other senior leaders to manage internal operations and support key business functions (i.e. internal communication, goal setting, marketing, hiring, building systems to scale the team)
• Act as a sounding board to the CEO on critical business development decisions & market entry strategy into our beachhead markets
• Perform market research and customer discovery to influence our business strategy for our next phase of growth
• Drive commercial strategy in beachhead markets to achieve revenue targets
• Be a strong partner to technical staff to help translate business goals and customer needs into product development priorities
• Support CEO with fundraising strategy and investor relations
• Work hybrid based in our Berkeley, CA office

Requirements

• A B.S. in an engineering discipline, computer science, hard sciences, or other relevant technical fields.
• 3+ years of experience in a role requiring a blend of strong interpersonal and analytical skills (i.e. product management, program management, consulting, marketing, venture investing, banking. We are open to many profiles and there is an opportunity to calibrate the role based on your experience and professional goals)
• Optional: 1-3+ years of experience working at a sensor, material science, semiconductor, or other relevant hardware startup
• Highly organized with a strong attention to detail
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to articulate business goals internally and externally
• Ability to draw insights from information and influence decision-making based on both quantitative and qualitative inputs
• A team-oriented self-starter motivated to make a team successful

Benefits

• Competitive salary and stock options
• 401(k) with company match
• Health, vision, dental coverage
• Flexible time-off policy, paid parental leave

Process

1. Submit resume
2. In lieu of cover letter: complete two prompts below

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Thanks for your interest in the Chief of Staff role at Sonera. We’re excited to learn more about you and to explore a potential fit on our team. Instead of asking for a more traditional cover letter, we’d love to learn more about your thought process and decision-making by having you answer the two prompts below. We appreciate your time and look forward to reading your responses.

1. Please describe a specific business challenge or decision you faced in a previous or current role. Walk us through the steps you took to analyze the situation, identify potential solutions, and ultimately make a strategic decision. What critical thinking processes and methodologies did you apply? Finally, discuss the outcomes of your decision and what you took away from the experience. (Max 250 words)

2. We’d love to get a sense of your creativity and how you think about commercialization strategy. You’ve been tasked with starting a new business unit at Sonera. This business unit should use Sonera’s technology for any application of your choosing. What would you decide to build and commercialize? Walk us through the steps you took to decide, what methodologies you would use, and who on the team you’d work with and how to accomplish this. (Max 250 words)

This position will require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Please note that any offer for employment will be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations without sponsorship for an export license.

Sonera Magnetics, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis or perception of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws.

It is company policy to perform background checks and review candidate references. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. Sonera Magnetics, Inc. participates in the E-Verify Program.