Chief of Staff

] The Chief of Staff is a strategic executive partner to the CEO and a key integrator across Paragon's technical and operational functions. This role combines direct leadership responsibility for the Engineering organization with company-wide coordination of Program Execution, Operations, Supply Chain, and Quality.

The Chief of Staff increases the CEO's bandwidth by driving clarity, alignment, and execution across departments; monitoring strategic priorities; and ensuring programs and engineering teams operate with discipline, transparency, and predictable performance.

This role is part technical leader, part operational strategist, and part organizational integrator - ideal for a senior engineering or program leader ready for enterprise-level impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct Leadership Over Engineering
• Lead and oversee the Engineering organization, including Systems, ECLSS, Mechanical, Thermal, Electrical, Analysis, R&D, and Principal Investigator teams.
• Ensure technical rigor, staffing alignment, and adherence to engineering processes and review cycles.
• Develop engineering leaders and advance the technical capability and maturity of the organization.
• Establish engineering standards, resource planning models, and long-term capability development roadmaps.
• Operational Oversight & Integration
• Partner closely with Program Execution, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Quality to ensure technical and operational alignment.
• Drive operational KPIs across engineering and programs, including :
• Cost performance
• Schedule predictability
• Quality metrics
• On-time delivery
• Labor forecasting & utilization
• Technical risk management
• Strengthen program execution through disciplined planning, earned value management, mission assurance practices, and integrated risk reviews.
• Ensure compliance with aerospace quality standards, customer requirements, and regulatory expectations.
• Strategic Support to the CEO
• Serve as a strategic thought partner and advisor, providing insight across engineering, operations, and programs.
• Translate CEO priorities into actionable plans for engineering and operations.
• Facilitate executive alignment : manage leadership meetings, track decisions and commitments, ensure follow-through.
• Identify gaps, risks, and misalignments across the organization; lead corrective action initiatives.
• External Engagement
• Serve as a visible senior leader with customers, suppliers, and strategic partners.
• Support business development by evaluating capability readiness, resourcing, technical risks, and strategic fit for new opportunities.
• Represent engineering and operations during audits, readiness reviews, and customer engagements.
• Culture & Leadership
• Promote a culture of accountability, transparency, technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Build communication channels that strengthen trust, execution, and alignment across teams.
• Support leadership development, talent pipelines, and technical career progression inside Engineering.

Qualifications

Salary Range

$225,000–$275,000 annually + bonus + stock options (DOE).

Job Posted by ApplicantPro