Chief of Staff, AI Governance (SF)

Lavendo partners with startups and high‑growth companies to help them hire top‑tier sales, GTM, and technical talent. This role is with one of our clients; we’ll share full details about the company and interview process as we get to know you and confirm mutual fit.

About the Company

Every technological revolution produces one question that defines a generation of companies: "Can we trust this?"

For the internet, it was cybersecurity. For finance, it was compliance. For AI agents — the most consequential technology shift since the cloud — that question is being answered right now, by our client.

Our client isn't chasing the AI wave. They are building the bedrock beneath it. As the creator of an emerging global standard for AI agent risk, certification, and liability, they occupy a position that only exists once per paradigm: the company that makes everything else possible.

The model is elegant in its inevitability. Enterprises want to deploy AI agents but cannot accept unquantified risk. AI-native startups need enterprise trust to close deals. Our client sits at the center of both — certifying agents, auditing deployments, and insuring outcomes. When AI agents become as ubiquitous as cloud infrastructure, every single one of them will need what our client provides.

This is a ~20-person team operating with the structural precision of a top-tier consulting firm and the velocity of a startup that knows it has first-mover advantage on a category worth billions. The co-founders are ex-McKinsey. The culture rewards radical transparency, direct feedback, and people who build — not just advise. The window to join at this stage is closing fast.

The Mission

To make AI agents safe, trusted, and deployable at scale — giving enterprises the confidence to adopt AI agents without taking on unacceptable risk. This company is building the standard that the entire AI industry will operate by.

The Opportunity

This is a rare "right hand to the co-founder" role at a company shaping the future of AI governance. As Chief of Staff, you will embed yourself at the center of the commercial organization — running operations, driving strategy, and representing co-founder leadership in high-stakes meetings with Fortune 500 executives and AI startup founders alike. Within 90 days, you will stand in for the co-founder in 50%+ of his meetings. This is a full ownership role for someone who wants to be a builder, not a bystander.

What You'll Do

• Build the operational backbone of the commercial org: communication systems, decision-making processes, and information dissemination across the team
• Represent co-founder leadership in 50%+ of meetings within 90 days — including sales conversations and strategic internal decisions
• Lead high-impact strategic projects: identifying and onboarding channel partners, selecting key vendors, and shaping GTM strategy
• Build repeatable, scalable systems across sales collateral, pipeline tracking, hiring processes, and decision frameworks
• Drive the partner-led sales motion with auditors and, over time, own the revenue organization
• Scale the commercial org from ~20 people to full maturity across three business lines: standards, auditing, and insurance

What You Bring

The scope, pace, and stakes of this position demand someone who has been tested in a very particular way. If the description below sounds like your career so far, keep reading. If it doesn't, this likely isn't the right fit — and that's okay.

You Are

• A former BA or analyst who joined McKinsey, Bain, or BCG directly from undergrad — and excelled there
• Someone who moved fast: promoted ahead of peers, consistently rated in the top tier, and trusted with generalist work across industries and functions before ever specializing
• 5–7 years into your career, with a track record that speaks for itself — and performance review data to back it up (note: MBB review memos and performance ratings are required with your application)
• A communicator who can hold a room with a Fortune 500 CEO in the morning and earn the trust of a startup engineer by afternoon
• Experienced at an early-stage startup (seed–Series C) post-MBB — in any function: ops, strategy, partnerships, product, or growth
• Ready to be on-site in San Francisco 5 days/week

You'll Stand Out If You Also Have

• A track record of working directly with C-suite executives at large enterprises
• Experience leading a small team while also influencing a much broader group to move
• A genuine curiosity about AI — you've used the tools (Claude, Cursor, etc.), you follow the space, and you have real opinions about where it's going

A Note on Fit

This is a hands-on execution role at a ~20-person company moving fast. If you're looking to shape strategy from a distance, manage large teams, or advise without owning outcomes — this role will frustrate you. But if you want to be at the center of one of the most consequential companies being built right now, with real ownership and real impact from day one, we'd love to meet you.

Key Success Drivers

• Structured problem-solver who thrives in ambiguity and brings frameworks — not chaos — to every challenge
• High-bandwidth communicator who can hold their own in any room, from a board meeting to a technical deep-dive
• Hands-on executor — you don't just shape strategy, you drive it to completion
• Entrepreneurial hustle — you are energized by building from 0→1 and take full ownership
• Culture carrier — you thrive in a radically transparent, feedback-forward environment where feedback is given openly, not just in 1:1s
• Builder's itch — you have a genuine desire to be at the heart of a commercial AI business, not on the sidelines

Why Join?

• Base Salary: $250,000–$300,000 — significantly above market for this role, reflecting the caliber of person being sought
• Equity: Meaningful founder-level upside at an early-stage company defining a new category
• Benefits: Generous health, dental and vision insurance for you and your dependents
• Category-defining work: Help establish the global standard for AI agent trust and certification — a once-in-a-decade market moment
• Proximity to power: Work directly alongside the co-founders — both ex-McKinsey — running a highly structured, high-performance commercial operation
• Visa sponsorship available
• Relocation assistance to SF available
• Travel: ~3 nights/month

Interviewing Process

• Founder Interview
• Take-home Assignment
• Cultural Fit Interview
• Final Interview
• Offer Extended

We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, disability, genetic information, veteran or military status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law.