ABOUT KARDION

Kardion is a cardiovascular medical device company developing next-generation mechanical circulatory support technology, with dual headquarters in Irvine, California and Stuttgart, Germany. Every moment matters. Our team is building toward a future where circulatory support gives patients and clinicians more time, more options, and more certainty.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Executive Assistant supports Kardion's Executive Leadership Team as we prepare for FDA approval and U.S. launch of our heart pump system. You will manage calendars and meetings, build polished presentations, plan leadership meetings, offsites, and events, and track projects and action items so our leaders can stay focused on the business. This role suits someone who is organized, works well without direction, balances requests from several leaders with ease, and takes pride in clear, professional work.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Manage calendars and scheduling for the CEO and executive team across U.S. and German time zones, including early-morning calls with our Stuttgart team.
Act as the team's shared point of contact for scheduling and meeting logistics, balance competing requests fairly, and take conflicts to the CEO.
Protect time for leaders' most important work, and prepare agendas and materials ahead of meetings.
Build, format, and proofread PowerPoint presentations for the CEO and executive team, turning rough notes and data into clear, polished slides.
Coordinate executive team meetings, monthly reviews, quarterly planning sessions, and offsites: schedule them, draft agendas for the CEO's review, gather materials from presenters, take notes, and track action items to completion.
Plan all-hands meetings and leadership events from start to finish, including offsites and leadership dinners: venues, vendors, budgets, invitations, and day-of logistics.
Support projects for the CEO and executive team by tracking deliverables, deadlines, and status, and keeping people on schedule.
Schedule investor, partner, and visitor meetings, and coordinate guest visits to the Irvine office.
Arrange domestic and international travel for the executive team and process expenses accurately and on time.
Route documents for signature for Kardion, Inc. and Kardion GmbH with Finance and Legal.
Handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion.
Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

7+ years of executive assistant experience, including supporting a CEO or other C-suite executive and supporting several executives at once.
Advanced PowerPoint skills and a strong eye for clear, well-designed slides.
Excellent calendar management and prioritization skills, including across time zones.
Sound judgment about what to handle and what to escalate, and comfort pushing back politely on senior leaders.
Experience planning meetings and events from start to finish, including venues, vendors, and budgets.
Strong project coordination skills; able to track many moving pieces and follow through.
Clear, professional written communication.
Proven discretion with confidential information.
Advanced Microsoft 365 skills (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel); experience with DocuSign and expense tools.
Comfortable in a fast-paced startup with changing priorities.
Bachelor's degree preferred, or equivalent experience.

Preferred

Medical device, life sciences, or healthcare experience.
Venture- or private equity-backed company experience.
German language skills or experience working with European teams.

ENVIRONMENT

Office: On-site in Irvine, CA.
Hours: This is a non-exempt role with overtime paid as required by California law. Expect occasional early-morning calls with Germany and after-hours needs.
Travel: Occasional, including Stuttgart, Germany when needed.

PHYSICAL AND LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Physical abilities: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, talk, and hear for up to 8 hours per day. The employee regularly lifts and carries up to 10 pounds and occasionally up to 20 pounds. Duties involve daily keyboard and computer use and require close vision. These demands are representative of those needed to perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Language abilities: Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, with the ability to communicate clearly and professionally with colleagues in the US and Germany.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The base salary range for this role is 125,000-145,000. Final pay depends on job-related skills, experience, and location. This role may be eligible for equity and an annual incentive bonus, plus Kardion's benefits package.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Kardion is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Kardion will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act.

About the company

Kardion is a medical technology company developing a catheter-based heart-support system. The company researches, engineers, tests, and prepares clinical and manufacturing programs for an implantable cardiovascular device. It serves clinicians, patients, researchers, regulators, clinical partners, and medical-device suppliers. Its operating model centers on device development coordinated across engineering, clinical, quality, regulatory, and manufacturing teams. Teams work across biomedical engineering, clinical affairs, quality, regulatory, manufacturing, research, and operations. Its work connects cardiovascular medical devices expertise with coordinated delivery for clinical and healthcare stakeholders.

Company Size

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Company Stage

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Total Funding

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Headquarters

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Founded

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

PICANTE enrolled in 2026 across Hartford and Christ Hospital, proving active clinical execution.
September 2026 trial pages describe an enrolling pivotal study, not a stalled prototype.
Patents published in March and August 2026 strengthen bargaining power with partners and acquirers.

What critics are saying

PICANTE results are due December 31, 2026; a miss blocks FDA and hospital adoption.
Kardion shows no disclosed funding, limiting manufacturing scale and trial expansion.
Impella’s incumbent network at Abiomed and Johnson & Johnson crushes weak clinical superiority claims.

What makes Kardion unique

Kardion’s CORY P4 targets high-risk PCI with randomized head-to-head evidence against Impella CP.
The company owns implantable vascular support patents filed in 2026, including flow-monitoring designs.
Steve Williamson became CEO in August 2026, signaling a commercialization-focused MedTech team.

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Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance

Company News

PR Newswire

Sep 22nd, 2026

Cadence Neuroscience appoints medtech executive Chris Cronin as CEO to lead clinical execution and platform growth.

Cadence Neuroscience appoints medtech executive Chris Cronin as CEO to lead clinical execution and platform growth. Cadence Neuroscience Sep 22, 2026, 09:00 ET Veteran medtech executive brings leadership experience across neuromodulation, clinical-stage company building, and commercialization; Founder Kent Leyde to lead technology and product development as CTO REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ - Cadence Neuroscience, a clinical-stage company developing a biomarker-guided platform for personalized neuromodulation, announced the appointment of medtech executive Chris Cronin as Chief Executive Officer. Cronin joins as Cadence prepares for clinical evaluation of its investigational Biomarker Targeted Stimulation (BTS) system in focal drug-resistant epilepsy as its first indication, while building the capabilities to develop the platform across additional neurological conditions. Cronin brings nearly three decades of experience across medical technology, healthcare, finance, business development, and commercialization, including leadership experience in neuromodulation and other complex therapeutic-device categories. Kent Leyde, company founder, will become Chief Technology Officer and continue to lead Cadence's technology development, product strategy, and key external collaborations. Cronin most recently served as CEO and President of KARDION, a cardiovascular medical technology company, where he led the organization through a critical stage of growth as it moved from first-in-human to pivotal study. Previously, he held executive leadership roles at MOBĒ, helping scale the early-stage healthcare company, and spent more than a decade at Medtronic in leadership roles spanning cardiac and restorative therapies. As a Business Director at Medtronic, he held P&L responsibility across eight countries and regions for one of the company's largest franchises, with experience spanning neuromodulation modalities including deep brain stimulation, spinal cord stimulation, and intrathecal baclofen. Cadence's investigational BTS system is designed to use patient-specific neural biomarkers to inform stimulation and measure the brain's response to therapy. This biomarker-guided approach is intended to provide clinicians and researchers with real-time physiological feedback that may support more personalized and adaptable neuromodulation. Cadence is initially evaluating BTS in focal drug-resistant epilepsy, a serious condition in which many patients continue to experience seizures despite available anti-seizure medications and may have limited treatment options. This substantial unmet need makes focal drug-resistant epilepsy an important first indication for clinical evaluation of Cadence's platform. "Cadence has developed a fundamentally different approach to personalized neuromodulation - using patient-specific biomarkers not only to guide stimulation, but to measure how the brain responds," said Cronin. "The company has built a compelling technical and scientific foundation, and I'm excited to work with Kent, the board, clinical collaborators, and the broader team at this pivotal stage as we prepare for an important clinical study in focal drug-resistant epilepsy and build toward the broader potential of the Cadence platform across neurological conditions." "Chris' patient-centered approach to healthcare and medical devices is closely aligned with the way we've built Cadence from the beginning," said Leyde. "He brings deep business and medtech leadership experience at an important point in our growth. I'm pleased to have Chris leading the company while I focus on developing the technology and products at the heart of our work." "Cadence has reached an important inflection point," said Dan Moore, Independent Board Director at Cadence Neuroscience. "The company combines innovative technology with a clear initial clinical focus. Chris's experience in complex therapeutic-device categories and growth-stage medtech leadership complements Kent's continued technical leadership, positioning Cadence to execute its clinical plan and build toward future commercialization." Cadence's technology originated from research conducted by a Mayo Clinic Neurology and Neurosurgery team led by Gregory Worrell, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic epileptologist and lead investigator. Cadence is building on this scientific foundation as it advances the BTS system through clinical evaluation. About Cadence Neuroscience Cadence Neuroscience is a clinical-stage medical technology company developing a biomarker-guided platform for personalized neuromodulation. Its investigational Biomarker Targeted Stimulation (BTS) system is designed to use patient-specific neural biomarkers to inform stimulation and measure the brain's response to therapy in real time. Cadence is initially advancing BTS in focal drug-resistant epilepsy, with a long-term goal of developing the platform for additional neurological conditions. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, Cadence is building on technology originating from Mayo Clinic research. Cadence is backed by leading healthcare and technology investors, including F-Prime Capital, Jazz Venture Partners, LivaNova, Angelini Lumira Biosciences Fund, and Mayo Clinic. For more information, visit cadenceneuro.com. Mayo Clinic and Dr. Worrell have a financial interest in the technology referenced in this news release. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education, and research. Cadence Neuroscience is developing investigational medical technologies that have not been approved or cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other health authorities. Any forward-looking statements reflect current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially. This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or investigational device promotion. Patients should consult qualified healthcare providers regarding diagnosis and treatment options. Currently, these investigational technologies are only accessible through participation in a clinical trial. To learn more about these investigational technologies and how to access them, talk with your qualified healthcare provider or visit www.clinicaltrials.gov. Media Contact Alysa Wood, Cadence Neuroscience, 1 (425) 298-3184, [email protected], https://cadenceneuro.com/ SOURCE Cadence Neuroscience

Kardion

Executive Assistant

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