Chief of Staff (New Venture)

Xora Innovation

Singapore
Permanent
Full-time

2 months ago
Apply easily

This role is based in Singapore and is a critical hire for a newly-created stealth venture that Xora has invested in.Why this role existsIn a new venture’s early days, a truly multi-faceted operator is mission critical. You’ll be the CEO’s right hand - part strategic partner, part high-leverage “doer” - who glues software and science teams together, keeps every milestone visible, and ensures no meeting, customer touchpoint, or board package slips through the cracks. Great Chiefs of Staff are rare; we’re looking for the one who can help scale the company from a scrappy deep-tech startup to a global platform vendor.Day-to-day responsibilities

Business formation & compliance management

Manage early-stage administrative and operational infrastructure, including contract management, corporate policies, and compliance documentation required for business incorporation.
Lead cross-border setup efforts, ensuring alignment and compliance between Singapore headquarters and US subsidiary across legal, financial, and regulatory domains.
Oversee strategic planning and execution related to initial staffing structures, office logistics, and essential vendor relationships critical to business formation.
Executive rhythm & milestone tracking

Own agendas, notes, and action items for all exec, software, and science syncs.
Maintain a live Gantt of product, science, and fundraising milestones, surface slippage early.
Cross-functional glue (Software ↔ Science)

Schedule and facilitate joint design reviews, ensuring computational and experimental groups leave with clear deliverables.
Follow up on blockers and escalate to the CEO only when truly needed.
Strategic communications & writing

Draft quarterly board updates, investor slide decks, and external white-papers; “do the leg-work” so leadership can focus on content.
Prepare CEO briefs for customer, partner, and investor calls; own data room hygiene.
External cultivation & calendar master

Triage inbound partner/customer requests, slot calls, and shepherd follow-ups.
Track relationship health in CRM; ensure no high-value lead goes cold.
Process & HR architecture

Roll out Notion/Asana workflows, SOP docs, and hiring pipelines; keep JD library current.
Coordinate with People Ops on head-count planning, culture rituals, and onboarding.

What you bring

Strong experience within strategy & operations at a high-growth tech firm, top-tier consultancy, or venture-backed startup (deep-tech a plus).
Startup architect: Proven experience managing early-stage company setup, including financial structuring and initial operational infrastructure.
Operational backbone: Demonstrated capability in overseeing foundational business operations, vendor negotiations, and administrative processes critical to early-stage ventures.
Operator’s mindset: lives in OKRs, burn charts, and rolling forecasts; ruthless about agendas and follow-through.
Writing & narrative craft: can turn complex science into crisp board prose.
Global execution: managed cross-APAC/US projects, navigating multi-entity compliance.
EQ & discretion: trusted with sensitive IP, HR, and investor conversations.

Nice-to-haves

Technical degree (CS, engineering, or materials science) or prior AI4Science experience.
Network in APAC venture, government-funding, or semiconductor ecosystems.
Familiarity with ISO-27001, SOC-2, or export-control workflows would be beneficial.
Previous exposure to supporting fundraising rounds or M&A transactions

Xora Innovation