Administrative Assistant

Astera Institute•Emerybille, CA

32d•Onsite

About The Position

Astera Institute is hiring an organized and proactive Administrative Assistant to support key Astera leaders as we grow. Initially, you will support our Head of AI Research and our Head of Strategic Investments. You'll split your time between both leaders, providing day-to-day administrative support while contributing to broader operations as a member of Astera's ops team reporting to our People Operations Manager. This role sits at the intersection of frontier research and early-stage investing, so you'll work with scientists, founders, and external partners. As an AI-forward organization, we're looking for someone excited about the transformative potential of AI tools, who sees this role as a chance to build that fluency and uplevel their work from day one.

Requirements

Prioritization & organizational skills: You manage competing priorities across two leaders with ease and re-prioritize independently when things shift. You stay calm under pressure.
Relationship orientation & communication skills: You assume best intent and build positive working relationships with scientists, founders, and partners alike. You use written and verbal communication as an effective and critical tool.
Proactive: You anticipate needs rather than waiting to be asked.
Start-up mentality: You don't hold strong boundaries around what "isn't your job," and recognize this role may evolve significantly over 6–12 months.
Discretion: You use good judgment with sensitive information, including confidential investment and financial details.
Growth mindset: You value giving and receiving respectful, direct feedback. You're excited to learn new tools and techniques that uplevel your abilities and efficiency.
Creative, tenacious problem solving: You see options where others see constraints, and you're energized by delighting stakeholders with thoughtful solutions.
Mission drive: You're motivated by enabling science and ventures that could reshape the future.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to venture capital, investing, or research environments.

Responsibilities

Manage complex, multi-timezone calendars, balancing competing priorities between leaders
Coordinate domestic and international travel and conference registrations (flights, hotels, ground transport, itineraries)
Act as first point of contact for inbound requests, triaging and routing as needed
Own finance admin, including expense reports and reimbursements, procurement (vendor quotes, POs, and invoice tracking), and budget tracking for programs and projects
Prepare meeting materials, including agendas, briefing docs, and follow-up notes
Track action items and follow up on outstanding deliverables
Maintain organized shared drives and filing systems
Coordinate guest and visitor logistics, including meeting rooms, badging, and hospitality
Support research team events, seminars, workshops, and offsites
Coordinate onboarding logistics for new team members, including equipment, accounts, and first-week schedules
Schedule and coordinate meetings with researchers, academic collaborators, and external partners
Owning recruiting coordination by scheduling interviews, managing candidate communications, and owning onsite coordination.
Conduct light research (venues, vendors, background on collaborators) and support special projects
Schedule founder pitches, diligence calls, and co-investor meetings, often on short notice
Help maintain the deal pipeline and CRM, keeping notes and contact records current
Coordinate board meeting logistics and materials
Handle confidential deal, portfolio, and financial information with discretion
Support the Foundation ops team as back up front desk reception coverage
Support the Foundation ops team on projects as they arise, such as vendor coordination, event logistics, or communications support
Serve as connective tissue between supported leaders and Foundation operations
Continuously improve processes and ways of working, with an eye toward what new tools and technology make possible