Founders Office Associate
1 openingAbout the role
Ci4 builds autonomous platforms and the AI autonomy stack that runs them, handling complex, dangerous or repetitive tasks across maritime (including underwater) and land domains. We are an early-stage deep-tech company working on defense and unmanned systems. We are looking for a Founders Office Associate to work directly with senior leadership and help the company move faster and with more clarity. This is a high-ownership, generalist role. You will research questions, turn messy information into clear recommendations, and coordinate initiatives that cut across engineering, product, business development, finance, operations, production, marketing and customer teams. You will have regular exposure to leadership decisions and sensitive information, and we expect you to handle both with discretion. What you will do: - Research markets, customers, competitors, programs and technology trends in defense, autonomy and AI-enabled systems, and synthesize findings into concise recommendations for leadership. - Prepare presentations, reports, briefing notes and executive-level summaries for internal planning, partners, customers and investors. - Coordinate cross-functional initiatives across engineering, product, business development, finance, operations, production, marketing and customers: define scope, set milestones, track deadlines and dependencies, and escalate risks early. - Run operating rhythms for the leadership team, including agendas, travel, meeting follow-ups, action tracking and progress reviews. - Build and maintain trackers, dashboards and models in Excel/Sheets to monitor project status, pipeline, budgets and key metrics. - Maintain clear documentation and knowledge bases in task management and documentation tools so decisions and processes are easy to find. - Support business development, fundraising and partnership efforts with analysis, materials and coordination. - Take ownership of ad hoc, high-priority projects as they arise, with a bias for action and little hand-holding. - Build working relationships across the engineering and business teams and work closely with senior leadership. - Handle confidential company, customer and program information with discretion. What the role is like: - Early-stage environment: priorities shift, processes are still being built, and you will often be the person who builds them. - Close proximity to leadership and to the hardware and AI teams building real autonomous systems. - Broad exposure to how a defense and deep-tech company is built, from product to program execution.
What we're looking for
- 3-5 years of experience in strategy, operations, consulting, program management, business analysis, chief-of-staff or similar generalist roles (exact years are flexible for strong candidates). - Strong research and analytical skills, with the ability to turn ambiguous, incomplete information into clear, actionable recommendations. - Excellent written and verbal communication, including producing polished presentations, briefing notes and executive summaries. - Advanced proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets for trackers, dashboards and basic financial or pipeline models. - Demonstrated ability to manage multiple cross-functional projects, track milestones and dependencies, and flag risks early. - Comfort working with task management and documentation tools and keeping knowledge bases organized. - Sound judgment and discretion in handling confidential company, customer and program information. - Self-starter with a bias for action, able to work independently in a fast-changing, early-stage environment. - Ability to build credibility and working relationships with engineers, business teams and senior leadership. - Nice to have: exposure to defense, aerospace, robotics, maritime or other deep-tech or hardware companies. - Nice to have: experience supporting fundraising, business development or partnerships, or working in a startup. - Nice to have: familiarity with defense procurement, government programs or the autonomy and AI landscape.
About Ci4
Building Intelligent, Unmanned Platforms - Ci4 builds autonomous platforms and the AI autonomy stack that runs them to handle complex, dangerous or repetitive tasks. Our solutions span a range of applications in the maritime and land domains.
- Employment type
- Full-time
- Job function
- Operations
- Location
- Bengaluru
- Experience
- 2–5 yrs
- Openings
- 1