Chief Executive Officer

Q2Impact • Arlington, VA

13d • Remote

About The Position

The Chief Executive Officer is a co-founder and principal of Elessar Systems Inc., with full profit-and-loss accountability, reporting to the Board of Directors. The CEO sets company strategy, raises capital, leads government go-to-market, and builds the team to execute the strategy. During the first eighteen months, the CEO will personally lead customer pursuits, fundraising, and pricing decisions, and will be accountable for the company’s first major contract awards.

Elessar Systems Inc. is commercializing Q2 Holodeck™, a browser-based, AI/ML-driven, scenario-based training platform for unmanned aircraft systems and counter-UAS decision-making. The platform trains security, force protection, and first-responder personnel to identify drones, select lawful and effective responses, and report incidents. It scores decisions against the authorities and rules of engagement applicable to each customer site. Q2 Holodeck™ is offered as hosted SaaS, with dedicated and customer-hosted deployments available subject to technical validation. Customers include government, law enforcement, critical-infrastructure, corrections, private-sector, and allied-nation organizations. The software supports simultaneous training at scale without the classroom, range, and instructor constraints of traditional training.

The CEO will set the company’s strategy and market-entry sequence; lead equity and non-dilutive fundraising; own revenue, pipeline, forecasts, budget, burn rate, and runway; lead early customer pursuits; establish repeatable contracting pathways; and oversee product priorities, delivery, recruiting, governance, compliance, risk, and external representation. Board-reviewed objectives over the first twenty-four months include securing funding for at least eighteen months of runway, winning first-revenue agreements and a public reference customer, establishing contract vehicles and repeatable follow-on paths, progressing toward security and compliance certifications, and hiring revenue, finance, and delivery leaders while building pipeline.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Fifteen or more years of progressively senior leadership experience, including at least five years as a CEO, general manager, division president, or other executive with profit-and-loss responsibility.
• Demonstrated success scaling a technology, services, products, or software business from early revenue to a durable commercial model, including ownership of pricing and go-to-market strategy.
• Direct experience selling to or delivering for U.S. federal, defense, public safety, critical-infrastructure, or business-to-business customers.
• Experience leading or advising on capital raises (venture, strategic, or non-dilutive) or mergers and acquisitions.
• Financial acumen, including budgeting, cash management, unit economics, and the fiduciary and governance obligations of a company officer.
• Eligible to work in the United States.
• Able to travel approximately 25–30% for customer demonstrations, agency engagements, industry events, and investor meetings.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in business, engineering, national security, public policy, STEM, or a related field.
• Background in counter-UAS, air defense, force protection, homeland security, or critical-infrastructure protection.
• Experience delivering or implementing SaaS solutions.
• Familiarity with the DoD Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process.
• Record of taking a company from pre-revenue to a recurring-revenue sales pipeline.

Responsibilities

• Set the company’s strategy and market-entry sequence across federal, state and local, and critical-infrastructure markets.
• Finalize pricing and packaging for all deployment modes; protect and extend the company’s intellectual property; and position Q2 Holodeck™ as a reference standard for C-UAS decision training.
• Lead equity fundraising and pursue non-dilutive funding, including SBIR/STTR, OTA, and program-office awards.
• Own the budget, burn rate, and runway, and establish finance, accounting, and contract-cost infrastructure required to scale.
• Own revenue, pipeline, and forecast; personally lead early-stage pursuits; close reference customers; and convert demonstrations into awards.
• Establish repeatable contracting pathways, including CRADA, government purchase card, sole source, and OTA, and build relationships with partners and prime contractors.
• Set roadmap priorities with the CTO and clearly distinguish fielded and planned capabilities in external communications.
• Turn custom scenario development into a repeatable process and build delivery, support, and training-effectiveness measures that drive renewals.
• Recruit revenue, finance, and delivery leadership; build the founding team; and establish company culture, planning cadence, and accountability standards.
• Report accurately and promptly to the Board; ensure compliance with applicable security, export-control, and authorization requirements; manage business and operational risks; and enforce ethical standards in sales.
• Represent the company to customers, agency and congressional leadership, industry, media, and investors, and contribute to policy discussions on C-UAS authorities and training standards.

Benefits

• Medical coverage.
• Dental coverage.
• Vision coverage.
• 401(k) with matching.
• Unlimited paid time off.
• Clearance-related and professional expenses.
• Performance bonus: milestone-based bonus of 25% to 50% of base salary upon achievement of Board-approved objectives.
• Founder-level equity of 10% to 15%, vesting over four years with a one-year cliff and acceleration upon a qualifying change of control.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive