Chief of Staff - Stealth AI Manufacturing Startup

Role Description:UP.Labs is seeking a proven Head of Operations / Chief of Staff with a track record in 0>1 environments to join a new SaaS platform in our portfolio. This stealth venture is reimagining how manufacturers configure, price, and quote complex products, an area still dominated by spreadsheets, legacy CPQ tools, and manual workarounds. By bringing AI-driven intelligence into manufacturing workflows, the platform aims to make configuration and pricing seamless, intelligent, and scalable.
As our Head of Operations / Chief of Staff, you’ll be a jack of all trades operator: building internal infrastructure, running back office functions, partnering closely with the product and customer success teams, and directly engaging with enterprise customers. You’ll help translate product feedback into actionable insights, manage onboarding and adoption with manufacturers and OEMs, and establish the systems and processes that allow the company to scale.
In this role you will:

• Build and oversee operations for the company, leading with a hands-on approach to processes, playbooks, and KPIs while aligning expectations with internal teams, corporate partners, and investors.
• Partner with customers during onboarding, deployment, and adoption — ensuring successful enterprise rollouts and capturing product feedback.
• Work across business functions: managing and/or coordinating HR, Legal, Finance, and Customer Success vendors and partners.
• Serve as the connective tissue between customers, product, and engineering — gathering feedback, structuring it, and driving insights into roadmap decisions.
• Establish and manage systems to run the company (e.g., Notion, Zapier, productivity and reporting tools).
• Own stakeholder reporting: prepare updates for leadership, partners, and investors on adoption, operations, and outcomes.

The ideal person would have:

• Success building operational infrastructure for high-growth startups, with the ability to stay hands-on while scaling processes.
• Strong background in customer success and enterprise SaaS implementations, ideally with ERP or CPQ experience.
• Reputation as a well-rounded project manager with exceptional instincts and organizational skills; able to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.
• High EQ, low ego — you bring executive presence but thrive in a team-first, scrappy environment.
• Comfort with enterprise customers and the ability to act consultatively with manufacturers and OEM stakeholders.
• Experience building systems from the ground up across finance, HR, marketing, and operations.

You should have:

• 3–5+ years of experience in strategy, operations, or customer success in SaaS, with exposure to enterprise integrations (ERP/SAP/CRM).
• Program management and reporting chops — you know how to track progress and outcomes across complex projects.
• Technical fluency with APIs and enterprise SaaS workflows.
• Background in product, consulting, customer success, or operations.
• Experience in a high-pressure tech environment with exposure to multidisciplinary teams; consulting or venture experience is a plus.
• Startup grit: willing to operate solo early on and wear multiple hats.
• (Nice-to-have) Direct exposure to CPQ or manufacturing software.

Remote, with 50%+ travel to customers and corporate partner sites.
UP.Labs Summary:We build high-growth tech startups that enable faster, cleaner, and smarter movement of people and goods. Our unique approach combines:

• Risk: Meaningful equity for team members and partners.
• Technology: Building and launching scalable software platforms from the ground up.
• Industry Focus: Tackling real-world operational bottlenecks with corporate partners deeply invested in success.

Our team is dedicated to the first year of a new venture’s life cycle: from ideation to minimum viable product build - and beyond.