Executive Operations Associate/Director, Office of the CSO

Arcadia Science • Emeryville, CA

6h • Onsite

About The Position

Arcadia Science is an evolutionary biology company founded and led by scientists, with a mission to turn natural innovations into real-world solutions by developing systematic and quantitative approaches to leveraging biology for therapeutics R&D. They are seeking an Executive Operations lead for the Office of the CSO, at either the Associate or Director level, who will report directly to the Chief Scientific Officer, Prachee Avasthi. This role is critical for operational support and execution, with the primary job being to make the CSO more effective by protecting her attention, keeping work moving, and shaping complexity into clear frameworks for decision-making. This involves managing her calendar, handling inbound requests, and filling operational gaps as the organization evolves. The position is ideal for a scientifically trained individual who has moved away from bench work and is energized by supportive roles that amplify scientific missions. Promising candidates should thrive in bringing structure to chaos, see themselves as a force multiplier, and be effective when operating behind the scenes. An ideal candidate moves with urgency, has great attention to detail, biases towards quantitative thinking, and is excited to leverage cutting-edge AI tools to generate nimble data-driven processes, improve communication, and enhance deliverables. They will ultimately be responsible for building and managing a suite of agents that constitute the core executive operations team for the CSO.

Requirements

• PhD in the life sciences with direct research experience within the last five years.
• Scientific fluency across a broad range of biology, sufficient to engage meaningfully with working scientists.
• Demonstrated operational judgment and at least one year of hands-on project management or execution-heavy experience.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• The maturity to approach high level or sensitive matters with discretion and judgement.

Nice To Haves

• Computational experience in machine learning, computational biology, or evolutionary biology.
• Comfort in fast-moving, ambiguous environments and matching that with lean, nimble processes.
• A genuine passion for open science and some familiarity with the landscape.
• An early-riser that, by default, acts with urgency.

Responsibilities

• Own the CSO's calendar in partnership with her executive assistant, optimizing for strategic focus and minimizing unnecessary context-switching.
• Serve as the primary intake point for inbound requests, issues, and proposals: filter, synthesize, and route appropriately so the right things reach the CSO at the right time.
• Handle logistics and first-pass screening for external engagements, candidate interactions, and inbound inquiries, with a clear understanding of scope and representation.
• Build situational awareness by engaging with leaders across the CSO's cross-organization network, ensuring they have consistent visibility into collaborative work without important things falling through the cracks.
• Increase ease and efficiency of CSO’s executive processes by deploying existing AI agents tools.
• Help project manage scientific operations on behalf of the CSO: track progress toward goals, surface misalignments, and ensure that decisions turn into outcomes.
• Translate ambiguous situations into clear decision prompts, defining the question, mapping the options, and identifying who needs to be involved.
• Prepare concise written and visual materials (briefs, slides) that raise the quality of internal and external decision-making.
• Lead special strategic and operational projects at the CSO's direction, with scope clearly defined and revisited as needs evolve.
• Step into new or temporary gaps as they emerge, serving as a flexible operational resource wherever the organization needs coverage.
• Identify targeted process improvements that reduce friction, favoring lightweight and adaptable systems over heavy or bureaucratic processes.
• Continuously develop, update, and manage custom agents to assist with executive operations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 1-10 employees