Founders Associate

Who We Are

Aurelius is the autonomous directed energy company.

We are a group of engineers, operators, and company patriots building American-made, laser-based, counter-UAS defense systems that neutralize aerial threats.

We're a small team that designs in San Francisco, manufactures in Detroit, and field tests Archimedes, our fiber-laser counter-UAS system, weekly on our own 400-acre private range.

About The Team

You'll report directly to our CEO while also supporting our CTO and the broader company to make sure nothing slips. Calendar, inbox, meetings, travel, follow-ups, special projects, and whatever the company needs moved today.

There's no defined lane and no playbook. It's a high energy, high throughput role, mostly on a computer, and the bar is attention to detail. A wrong time zone, a missed follow-up, or a typo in a board pre-read is a real miss here.

It's also not all screen time. We build hardware. Some days you'll be moving equipment, setting up at the shop, or helping run a test day or an event.

We expect this hire to be early in their career. We care far more about what you've started, shipped, and run than about years of experience or past titles.

Must-haves

• Built your own tools to go faster: spreadsheets with real formulas, SQL, scripts, Zapier-type automations, or AI workflows

• Owned work where mistakes were visible and kept the error rate at zero: models, trackers, client deliverables, production releases

• Executed inside a fast-growing, venture-backed startup or another chaotic environment, and shipped real work instead of shadowing it

• This role includes regular physical work. You must be able to regularly lift 50 lbs

What you'll own

• Founder's calendar, end to end: every meeting confirmed, every time zone right, every conflict caught before anyone sees it

• Inbox triage and follow-ups: action items from every meeting captured and closed the same day

• Board, investor, and customer meeting prep: agendas, pre-reads, and one-pagers that are accurate, on time, and in the room before anyone asks

• Travel and logistics for field tests, demos, and trips: flights, hotels, ground transport, gear lists, and the backup plan when the schedule moves

• Special projects end to end: CEO hands you a messy problem, and you hand back a finished thing, not a status update

• Ops tracking with zero errors: vendors, purchasing, SaaS subscriptions and renewals, and the spreadsheets the company runs on

• Internal tools and automations: if you do something twice, you build a spreadsheet, script, or AI workflow so nobody does it by hand a third time

• Visitor and site visit coordination, including NDAs and scheduling

• Physical work: moving hardware and equipment, and helping at the shop, test sites, and events. When something needs to be carried, you're already carrying it

Nice to haves

• A business you started that made real money

• Comfort with SQL or a scripting language

• A tool or automation you built that other people actually used

• Experience in a hardware, manufacturing, or defense environment

• Experience running logistics for events, trips, or field work

Not a fit if

• You want a traditional EA or admin role with a defined lane

• You need a slow, predictable pace

• Typos and loose ends don't bother you

• You won't lift, haul, or get your hands dirty

• You want strategy work without the execution

• You can't be onsite 5 days a week

How You Operate

• Extreme bias for action. You'd rather solve it now than schedule a meeting about it.

• You handle problems before they hit anyone's inbox.

• Comfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration in a startup environment.

• Clear communicator across the team, leadership, and vendors.

• Self-directed. You identify what needs to happen next and do it without being told.

How We Work

We work Monday through Friday, 9 to 6, most Saturdays, and some evenings, although not constantly. We don't manufacture intensity for show. The pace is real because the work is real.

This role is onsite 5 days a week in San Francisco. Expect travel to our Detroit site, our test range, and events.

Benefits

At Aurelius Systems, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package is available at little to no cost to employees and supports health, recovery, and whatever comes next. Explore Our Benefits.

Export Control Notice

This role requires access to export-controlled information or items and requires U.S. citizenship.

Not a Perfect Fit?

Email our Head of Talent, [email protected] with your the most extraordinary thing you've built or done.