Chief of Staff

CHIEF OF STAFF

Mesh Optical Technologies was founded on the belief that optical photons will be at the center of advanced technologies in the coming century. Making advanced technology ubiquitous means building at scale, and that’s exactly what we’re doing at Mesh.

As we scale from early production into high-volume manufacturing, the operational and financial complexity of the business is growing fast. We are seeking a Chief of Staff to work directly with senior leadership to drive strategic planning, financial discipline, and cross-functional execution across the company. This role carries a meaningful finance orientation. You will own budgeting, forecasting, and capital planning processes alongside the broader operational cadence of the business. This is not a ceremonial coordination role; you will be expected to dig into the numbers, structure ambiguous problems, and drive decisions to closure.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serve as a strategic partner to senior leadership, helping prioritize initiatives, prepare for board and investor engagements, and translate company strategy into operational plans with clear owners and timelines
• Own the company's budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning processes, working closely with department leads to build and maintain bottoms-up operating models
• Track and report on capital expenditure planning and cash management, ensuring leadership has clear visibility into burn rate, runway, and investment timing
• Develop and maintain financial analyses to support major business decisions, including headcount planning, make-vs-buy trade-offs, supplier commitments, and facility investments
• Build and run the company's operating rhythm—leadership meetings, quarterly planning cycles, goal-setting frameworks, and cross-functional reviews—ensuring the right conversations happen at the right cadence
• Prepare board materials, investor updates, and executive presentations, synthesizing operational and financial performance into clear narratives
• Identify and drive cross-functional initiatives that fall between departments or lack a natural owner, seeing them through from scoping to execution
• Partner with HR and department leads on headcount planning, organizational design, and resource allocation as the company scales
• Stand up lightweight but effective internal processes for procurement approvals, vendor commitments, and contract review as spending scales with production ramp
• Support fundraising processes as needed, including data room preparation, financial modeling, and due diligence coordination

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in finance, economics, engineering, or a related discipline
• 4+ years of professional experience in finance, strategic operations, management consulting, investment banking, or a chief of staff role at a growth-stage company
• Strong financial modeling and analytical skills, including comfort building and maintaining operating models, budgets, and forecasts from scratch
• Demonstrated ability to structure ambiguous problems, synthesize information across domains, and drive decisions with incomplete data
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing executive-level materials for boards, investors, or senior leadership
• High degree of ownership, discretion, and judgment—comfort operating with access to sensitive financial and strategic information
• Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as needed

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE:

• Experience at a hardware, manufacturing, or deep-tech company where capital intensity and operational complexity are core to the business
• Experience supporting or leading fundraising processes, including financial modeling for venture or growth equity investors
• Familiarity with manufacturing cost structures, including BOM costing, yield economics, and unit economics at scale
• Experience with FP&A tools or ERP systems (e.g., NetSuite, Anaplan, or equivalent)
• Experience building operational processes and internal infrastructure at an early-stage or high-growth company
• Comfort working across technical and non-technical teams, with enough technical fluency to engage meaningfully with engineering and manufacturing leadership
• Experience with procurement, vendor management, or contract negotiation

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay range: 
Chief of Staff: $110,000.00 - $140,000.00/per year

Title and base salary are determined on a case by case basis commensurate with experience and merit.

In addition to base salary, compensation for this role includes:

• Eligibility for long-term incentives including company stock options and discretionary bonuses awarded for exceptional achievements.
• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance with significant cost covered by the company for yourself and dependents.
• Paid parental leave and flexible PTO (3 weeks accrued vacation and 10 company holidays per year).
• 401(k) retirement plan access.
• Relocation assistance to sunny Los Angeles.