Executive Business Partner to VP, Policy

The Hire Standard•Palo Alto, CA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Business Partner will serve as a high-trust strategic partner to the VP of Policy, supporting a fast-scaling technical organization working across the U.S. and Europe. The role goes beyond traditional administrative support, helping the leader and organization operate effectively while working with engineering, research, product, infrastructure, executives, and the board. The position owns the VP’s calendar, travel, and logistics across time zones; maintains the engineering organization’s operating rhythm; supports technical hiring and organization planning; prepares the VP for important meetings; and leads events such as offsites, hackathons, and executive dinners. The partner also tracks commitments across teams, takes on ambiguous special projects, and continually improves the VP’s workflow and the broader organization’s ways of working. The role is on-site in Palo Alto, California.

Requirements

At least 8 years of experience in executive support or executive operations, including direct partnership with a CTO, VP of Engineering, or technical founder.
Background in government affairs, government relations, or public policy, through supporting a policy or government affairs leader or working in the field.
Comfort working alongside policymakers, regulators, and Hill or agency staff.
Understanding of how engineering teams operate, including planning cycles, launches, technical hiring, and on-call realities.
Fluency with tools used by engineering teams.
Strong attention to detail and reliable follow-through.
Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to work with engineers, researchers, executives, and board members.
Excellent judgment and discretion when handling sensitive information.
Proactive problem-solving skills and the ability to take ownership without waiting for direction.
Ability to move quickly through ambiguity and build lightweight processes where needed.
Curiosity about AI and experience using AI tools to work more efficiently.
Low-ego, team-oriented approach.

Nice To Haves

Experience in high-growth technology companies, ideally in AI, infrastructure, developer tools, or deep tech.

Responsibilities

Manage the VP’s demanding calendar, travel, and logistics across multiple time zones, protecting focus time while balancing 1:1s, technical reviews, executive meetings, and board commitments.
Run the engineering organization’s operating cadence, including staff meetings, roadmap and planning reviews, all-hands, and leadership syncs; prepare agendas and pre-reads and manage follow-ups.
Partner with recruiting to maintain the VP’s interview pipeline, coordinate senior technical candidates, and support headcount and organization planning.
Ensure the VP has the right people, context, and materials for important meetings.
Plan and execute engineering offsites, hackathons, team events, and executive dinners.
Track commitments and action items across engineering, research, and product, and ensure priority work is completed.
Take on special projects with undefined paths, determine what needs to happen, and drive the work to completion.
Identify ways to improve the VP’s workflow and make the wider engineering organization faster, simpler, and more effective.