CEO & Co-Founder, Outpost

Montauk Capital

2d•Remote

About The Position

We are seeking a high agency, zero-to-one CEO and co-founder to drive Outpost from technical vision and identified white space into a category-defining company. With pre-seed capital secured, a highly capable CTO in seat, and MVP development underway, the CEO will lead the company as it expands its high-conviction commercial pipeline, develops the roadmap toward deployment, and completes a seed financing. This is a hands-on company-building role at the intersection of energy, compute, AI, robotics, and secure industrial infrastructure. The CEO will sell the full vision while identifying the most urgent near-term wedge, learning rapidly from customers and external market signals, and making confident decisions without losing sight of Outpost's north star: the modular infrastructure layer that powers autonomous industry. The right leader will be equally credible with plant and operations leaders, defense and industrial partners, technical teams, investors, and prospective employees. They will pair the judgment and playbook of a proven operator with the obsession, resilience, and velocity of an early stage founder / CEO who recognizes the massive opportunity here.

Requirements

Proven hard-tech commercialization. A track record of building, launching, and scaling innovative hardware-enabled or AI-enabled products deployed in industrial, manufacturing, robotics, autonomy, energy, compute, or defense environments.
GM-level operating leadership. Experience owning a business, product line, market, or major initiative from strategy through execution, with measurable commercial outcomes. Founder, GM, business unit leader, or early-stage operating experience is highly relevant.
Zero-to-one company-building ability. Comfort operating before the answers are known: validating the market, narrowing the wedge, shaping product, winning first customers, raising capital, and recruiting a foundational team.
Industrial customer connectivity. A deep network among buyers and partners in industrial manufacturing, assembly, warehouse automation, logistics, energy, or adjacent sectors. Defense exposure and relationships are valuable but not required.
Technical and systems fluency. A strong understanding of how energy, power systems, edge compute, AI, robotics and autonomy come together in real-world deployments
Exceptional commercial storytelling. The ability to make a complex technical platform intuitive, urgent, and investable for customers, strategic partners, investors, and prospective talent.
Relevant operating environments. Experience in forward-looking industrial and defense technology businesses deploying robotics and ambitious platforms into complex physical operations.

Nice To Haves

Defense exposure and relationships are valuable but not required.

Responsibilities

Set the north star and market entry strategy. Define Outpost's category, positioning, and initial beachhead while preserving a platform vision that can expand across industrial and defense markets.
Commercialize and deploy the platform. Partner with the CTO to take Outpost from concept to MVP, pilots, and repeatable deployments, translating complex hardware, energy, compute, and AI capabilities into clear customer value.
Build the customer pipeline. Develop relationships with industrial manufacturers, warehouse and logistics operators, defense and aerospace organizations, and ecosystem partners; secure design partners, pilots, strategic partnerships, and early revenue.
Create Outpost’s narrative. Engage customers, talent, investors, suppliers, OEMs, and commercial partners around both Outpost's immediate value proposition and its long-term role in autonomous industry.
Lead future financing rounds. Develop the fundraising narrative, milestones, operating plan, and investor process required to capitalize the company for its next stage, partnering closely with Montauk Capital for support and to leverage its investor network.
Build the founding organization. Recruit and inspire a top-tier team, leveraging Montauk’s support and network, and establish a culture that .
Own the business end to end. Lead strategy, product and commercial prioritization, partnerships, fundraising, operations, and company-building while creating the systems needed to scale.