Chief of Staff and Head of External Affairs

The Lumber Manufactory

3d • $100,000 - $160,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Lumber Manufactory (TLM) is building the future of sustainable lumber with next-generation sawmill technology. We design and operate state-of-the-art modular sawmills that produce high-grade dimensional wood products with greater efficiency and less waste. Backed by leading investors including Cantos, Slow Ventures, Susa Ventures, Banter Capital, Humba Ventures, and Ravelin Capital.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in a role combining strategic operations/chief of staff work with government relations, public affairs, policy, or community engagement — startup, political, or high-growth operating environments strongly preferred
• Track record of building relationships with government officials, regulators, or community stakeholders, ideally in natural resources, manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, or a similarly regulated/physical industry
• Strong operating instincts: able to run a rigorous internal cadence, manage competing priorities, and drive projects to completion without heavy oversight
• Excellent written and verbal communicator who can represent the company credibly to a CEO, a board, a state legislator, and a rural community meeting
• Bias toward action and comfort with ambiguity; TLM moves fast, and this role will often be defining its own playbook as it goes
• Willingness to travel regularly to mill sites, including in Mississippi and other expansion markets
• Candidates must live or relocate to Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia or Washington, D.C.

Nice To Haves

• Genuine interest in domestic manufacturing, forestry, rural economic development, or the housing supply chain is a strong plus

Responsibilities

• Advise the CEO on company strategy, organizational priorities, major decisions, and new market opportunities.
• Establish and manage the executive operating cadence, including leadership meetings, strategic planning, performance reviews, and follow-through on key decisions.
• Track progress against company priorities, identify execution risks and dependencies, and work with functional leaders to resolve them.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives that require coordination across teams or new efforts that lack an existing organizational owner.
• Support organizational planning, including leadership hiring, headcount allocation, organizational design, and other priorities required to scale the company.
• Support TLM’s growth pipeline from market evaluation through deployment, ensuring strategic, financial, operational, commercial, and external-affairs workstreams remain aligned.
• Manage relationships with investors and board members, including board materials, investor updates, meeting preparation, and follow-up.
• Support financing processes alongside the CEO, CFO, and CSO.
• Develop and maintain TLM’s corporate narrative across investor materials, press, public statements, presentations, and stakeholder communications.
• Lead government relations at the state and local levels, including relationships with elected officials, regulators, public agencies, and economic development organizations.
• Support new mill deployments through government engagement, public incentives, community outreach, and local stakeholder relationships.
• Develop and manage strategic partnerships with industry organizations, trade groups, policy coalitions, timberland owners, and other key stakeholders.
• Identify regulatory, political, community, and reputational risks associated with expansion and develop plans to address them.
• Establish repeatable processes for investor relations, government engagement, communications, market entry, and deployment as TLM expands nationally.

Benefits

• 100% employer-paid health coverage for employees and dependents (medical, dental, and vision)
• 100% employer-paid life insurance and disability coverage
• Paid time off and company holidays
• The opportunity to help build something from the ground up in an essential, evolving industry

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed