Founders’ Associate, Office of the CEO

Atomic Machines•Santa Clara, CA

14h•$175,000 - $220,000•Onsite

About The Position

Atomic Machines is hiring a Founders’ Associate in the Office of the CEO. This is an ownership-focused role supporting the CEO and, to a lesser extent, the Head of Strategic Growth. The associate will help multiply the founders’ impact by managing operating rhythms, owning cross-company projects, preparing leaders for important conversations, and keeping calendars, travel, and commitments running smoothly. The position offers a front-row seat to scaling a Physical AI company from breakthrough technology to commercial manufacturing, with an expectation that the associate will contribute directly to that work. The role is based in the Santa Clara office, with occasional travel to Emeryville preferred. Compensation includes equity and benefits.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
Think and write clearly, lead with the answer, and distill lengthy technical material into concise decision-oriented summaries.
Be accurate, verify critical details, and use a reliable system for doing so.
Bring recommendations, options, and a point of view when raising problems.
Work effectively with minimal direction and know when to decide, ask, or escalate.
Be comfortable working mostly in writing.
Seek truth, raise bad news early, and respectfully push back when the logic does not hold.
Use AI as a force multiplier and be able to describe specific current tools and workflows and their limitations.
Be curious about technology, customers, and the business; a hardware background is not required.
Have a track record of staying in roles long enough to see work through.

Responsibilities

Run trackers, follow-ups, and action items from leadership meetings, and ensure each is completed.
Prepare briefings and pre-reads for the CEO’s board, investor, customer, and candidate conversations.
Turn lengthy documents and discussions into concise, accurate summaries with clear recommendations.
Take on cross-company projects from the founders and drive them to completion across teams.
Draft narratives, memos, and communications in the CEO’s voice to a standard he would approve.
Identify problems or work that is drifting, raise concerns directly, and propose fixes.
Manage the founders’ calendars, priorities, and incoming requests, using judgment about what requires the CEO’s attention.
Coordinate domestic and international travel and logistics.
Serve as a trusted point of contact for the team, investors, customers, and partners.
Handle highly sensitive information with complete discretion.