Chief of Staff

About the Job

 Chief of Staff

[ Director of operations, general counsel, CFO, Chief of Staff ]

A growing startup is seeking a right-hand person (or possibly 2) to assist the CEO.

The person(s) will work very closely with the CEO and assist in executing tasks, negotiating legal documents, sourcing and overseeing, etc. In essence, your job will be to free up as much of the CEO's time as possible, so the CEO can focus on strategic initiatives. We don't have a perfect title for the role. Nor do we have a perfect job description. At present, all of these tasks are handled by the CEO with assistance from others in the team. You might call this role the "Chief of Stuff", which incorporates elements of Director of Operations; general counsel; lead negotiator, CFO, and Chief of Staff.

LiquidPiston is reimagining power solutions, based on its novel rotary combustion engine architecture and patented thermodynamic cycle. The company develops engines, generators, auxiliary power units, hybrid drives, and other power conversion systems. The company has been developing technology for over a decade and is now poised to transition toward the commercialization and industrialization of its technology. We just closed a $17M Reg A equity crowdfunding offering and are on the verge of closing $20M in government contracts. We will be growing and expanding to a new location in the Boston metro area as we transition from a pure research company to an operating company with low volume production capability to serve defense and aerospace customers.

The main company facility is located in Bloomfield CT with a staff of 29 employees, 23 of whom are engineers or technicians. We are opening a headquarters in the Boston Metro area (probably along the 95/128 corridor, between Waltham and Peabody). For this role, you will be expected in either the CT or MA location at least 3 days per week (5/wk preferred), and sometimes you may travel between the two locations. Being based in North Boston is preferred for this role.

The job description is loosely defined, and it's probably too much for one person to fit the bill. IF you think you can help, send us a cover letter and your resume and let us know what interests you about the job and how you think you can help, and be clear about what you think you can take on, vs what you think we should outsource or fill with another complementary role. We are ultimately flexible for the right person.

Chief of staff, Director of Operations, General Counsel, and Chief of Finance:

Preferred degrees: JD or MBA; A mechanical engineering degree or inclination doesn't hurt.

Preferred experience: As Chief of Staff, Chief of Staff, Director of Operations, CFO, General Counsel, or CFO. Experience with a startup is strongly preferred. Experience with defense or aerospace applications is encouraged.

The Role (Please note on your application which you feel strongest in, we may divide this into multiple sub-roles, or hire consultants in some areas):

Sourcing and overseeing:

• Accounting and Finance
  • Interface for the company, company accountants, and auditor to ensure timely completion of the compliant audit hire an auditor, if/as needed hire an accountant, if/as needed
  • Assist in the drafting of financial statements for public release The company has recently closed a $17M Reg A crowdfunding offering, which requires annual and semiannual financial reporting to maintain SEC compliance
• Operations:
  • source and hire a local electrician; scout and find real estate to help us open our new Boston location; source and architect and get quotes to modify the building source and oversee an IT "person" or shop
  • Are you familiar with NIST 800-171? no? then research it and figure out how to get compliant! Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal guidelines (or figure out how to get or maintain compliance).

• Reviewing legal contracts:
  •  Review, edit, and flag concerns.
  • Negotiate NDA's as well as government contracts to include terms and conditions
  • Supply chain contracts (sometimes we are a buyer; sometimes we are a seller; either way we need to negotiate a contract acceptable to all parties).
  •  Our prior contracts have taken 4 months to negotiate. How to reduce this to 2 months? What are the real issues that we spend our time on?

• External legal expenses are on the increase, so bringing some of our general legal needs in-house will be great.
• Negotiations:
  •  Job offers- to include salary/stock comp.

• New lease opportunities
• Software renewals and other purchases
• Finance:
  • Fundraising & investor management
  • Support CEO/Mgmt in developing financial plans, models, and investor pitch deck material
  • Maintain investor cap table
  • Respond to investor inquiries, issues
  • Manage transfer agent, other 3rd party services
  • Act as LPI point person in preparing Investor updates, distributing updates and other information to investors

The right candidate will work closely with the CEO to figure out what needs to get done, and then figure out how to do it. This is an incredibly important role for the organization that is making its transition toward being an operating business. The role will fluctuate over time, but the right candidate will be focused on execution regardless of the task at hand.

When applying, please be sure to provide a cover letter with your resume.

Thank you!

About LiquidPiston:

Based in Bloomfield, CT, LiquidPiston develops compact, powerful, quiet, efficient, low-vibration, multi-fuel capable combustion engines that are scalable from 1HP to over 1000 HP. We're looking for trailblazers and mavericks, people who challenge the status quo and are first to bring new ideas to market.

LiquidPiston is a place where the freedom to explore your passion leads to incredible opportunities! This is an exciting time to join the team. LiquidPiston is going beyond pure R&D roots, now industrializing and commercializing our High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle engines for the first time.

Interested? Apply now and tell us how you can help! https://liquidpiston.com