Executive Assistant to the CTO

Modern Intelligence•Austin, TX

12d•Onsite

About The Position

Modern Intelligence is seeking an Executive Assistant for their CTO. This is a crucial role in a fast-growing company where the CTO is managing a high volume of information. The ideal candidate will be responsible for organizing calendars, managing time to ensure sufficient focus for engineering and design, and handling traditional EA tasks. A key aspect of this role involves embracing AI to automate routine tasks, allowing the EA to focus on human-centric responsibilities. The EA may attend meetings on behalf of the CTO, capture information, and brief the CTO afterward. They will also be responsible for preparing the CTO and other executives for meetings, checking in on the engineering team, and building strong relationships across the company, particularly with the engineering organization and other executives. While formal engineering experience is not required, a degree of technical sophistication is necessary, as the EA may take notes in technical meetings, capture decisions, and provide updates. This is the first EA position at Modern Intelligence, offering an opportunity to shape the role for future hires and educate the company on the effective utilization of EAs.

Requirements

3+ years supporting a senior leader as an executive assistant, or equivalent experience in a coordination-heavy role.
Enough technical comprehension to sit in an engineering meeting and follow it (e.g., distinguish between "blocked on review" and "blocked on hardware" and relay a problem accurately without needing to solve it).
Strong written communication skills for accurate and quick-to-read meeting preps and written updates.
Fluency with AI tools and enthusiasm for using them to automate routine tasks.
Discretion to handle sensitive personnel, financial, customer, and export-controlled information.
On-site presence in Austin, Texas.
Must be a U.S. person (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)).
Ability to sit in meetings covering export-controlled technology.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting engineering or technical leadership.
Experience at a startup or other small, fast-moving company.
Fluency with Google's office suite (Gmail, Calendar, Drives, Docs, Sheets, Slides).
Familiarity with Jira, Confluence, or GitLab, or a demonstrated ability to pick up similar tools quickly.
A background in program or project coordination (e.g., scrum master, program coordinator, technical recruiting coordinator, or similar).
Experience owning travel booking and expense management for an executive.
Prior defense industry experience.
An active or previously held security clearance.
Military administrative experience, particularly in a technical role.
Experience supporting more than one executive at once.

Responsibilities

Organize calendars and manage time, ensuring sufficient focus time for engineering and design activities.
Handle traditional EA activities.
Embrace AI to help with EA tasks, focusing on tasks that require a person or physical presence.
Attend meetings the CTO cannot, capture what happened, and brief the CTO afterward.
Prep the CTO and possibly other execs before meetings.
Check in on the engineering team while the CTO is busy or away.
Form a strong relationship with everyone at the company, especially members of the engineering organization and other executives.
Take notes in technical meetings, capturing decisions and follow-ups.
Provide periodic updates throughout the day.
Help shape expectations for the EA role for future hires and teach the company how best to utilize EAs.