The posting
📍 San Francisco | 🏢 5 Days Onsite
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE FOUNDER & CEO
Location: Onsite in San Francisco
Compensation: Competitive Salary + Equity
WHO WE ARE
Engineering simulation is one of the last major categories of software that AI hasn't rebuilt. The tools used to design aircraft, ships, reservoirs, and medical devices still run on numerical methods that are decades old, and an engineer can wait a full day for a single answer. UniversalAGI is building foundation models that learn physics directly from data, and they are already running in early deployments on real computational fluid dynamics and reservoir engineering problems for some of the largest industrial and defense organizations in the world.
We are a team of 25 researchers and engineers in San Francisco backed by Elad Gil (#1 Solo VC), Eric Schmidt (former Google CEO), Prith Banerjee (ANSYS CTO), Ion Stoica (Databricks Founder), Jared Kushner (former Senior Advisor to the President), David Patterson (Turing Award Winner), and Luis Videgaray (former Foreign and Finance Minister of Mexico).
ABOUT THE ROLE
As Executive Assistant to our Founder & CEO, you'll be in the arena from day one, operating as the single point of leverage that keeps our CEO moving at founder speed. This is a role for someone who treats attention to detail as a point of pride, responds to anything time sensitive within minutes, and only needs to be told something once before it becomes second nature.
You'll build a true operating partnership with our CEO: owning a calendar that never stops moving, triaging an inbox that demands same day turnaround, and anticipating needs before they're voiced.
What You'll Do
- Own the Founder & CEO's calendar end to end, proactively resolving conflicts and protecting time for what matters most.
- Monitor and triage the CEO's inbox and messages with urgency, responding to time sensitive items within minutes, not hours.
- Stay reachable and responsive well outside a standard 9 to 5, because this role runs on founder time.
- Coordinate complex domestic and international travel, often on short notice, with zero defect execution.
- Prepare the CEO for meetings by assembling agendas, briefing materials, and follow ups so they walk in fully equipped.
- Own recurring administrative processes, including expense management, vendor coordination, and document organization, with precision.
- Handle highly confidential information with absolute discretion.
- Take direction and execute it correctly the first time, flagging ambiguity proactively rather than needing to be told twice.
- Build the systems, trackers, and SOPs that let a fast growing executive function scale without breaking.
- Represent the CEO's priorities and voice when coordinating with team members and external partners.
- Help plan and execute team events, offsites, and culture moments that keep a fast growing team connected.
- Help plan and execute external events, from partner dinners to conferences, representing UniversalAGI and the CEO well.
- Ability to travel as needed.
QUALIFICATIONS
- 3+ years supporting a Founder, CEO, or other C suite executive, ideally at a fast growing startup.
- Exceptional attention to detail and a near zero tolerance for errors in your own work.
- A demonstrated track record of being highly responsive, including same day, often same minute, turnaround on email and messages.
- Comfortable being reachable outside standard business hours when the business needs it.
- Learns quickly and retains instruction the first time; you only need to be told something once.
- Highly organized, with systems for tracking competing priorities without dropping anything.
- A consistently positive, no task too small attitude paired with genuine hunger and drive.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Full proficiency with standard productivity tools (Google Workspace, Slack, calendar and travel platforms), and quick to pick up new ones.
- Based in or willing to relocate to San Francisco, while working onsite 5 days a week.
- Before you apply, please note: if you’ve read this far, begin your answer to the first application question with the word ‘Noted’ before anything else.
BONUS QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience supporting more than one senior executive at a time, or scaling an executive support function as a leadership team grows.
- Experience at an early stage (Series A/B) startup where priorities shift quickly and scope isn't always well defined.
- Experience handling highly sensitive confidential information.
- Familiarity with AI tools and a habit of using them to increase personal leverage and efficiency.
- Project management experience, including building and maintaining SOPs or operating systems for an executive or team.
CULTURAL FIT
- Technical Respect: Ability to earn respect through deep technical curiosity and genuine understanding of what makes engineers tick
- Intensity: Thrives in our unusually intense culture - willing to grind when needed to close critical hires
- Mission Obsession: Passionate about finding the absolute best talent to solve real problems, not just filling seats
- Deep Work: Values long, uninterrupted periods of focused sourcing and candidate engagement over meetings
- High Availability: Ready to be deeply involved whenever critical candidates are in play—evenings, weekends when needed
- Communication: Can translate complex requirements into compelling narratives that attract top talent
- Growth Mindset: Embraces the compounding returns of building talent networks and continuous process improvement
- Startup Mindset: Comfortable with ambiguity, rapid change, and wearing multiple hats (sourcing, coordinating, closing, employer branding)
- Work Ethic: Always willing to put in the extra hours when needed to close game-changing hires
- Team Player: Collaborative approach with low ego and high accountability—you win when the team wins
WHAT WE OFFER
- Direct, daily partnership with UniversalAGI's Founder & CEO, and a front row seat to how a fast growing AI company gets built.
- Real ownership over the systems and processes that keep the executive function running, with the latitude to build them your way.
- Room to grow your scope as UniversalAGI's leadership team expands.
- Competitive compensation with significant equity upside.
- In-person first culture - 5 days a week in office with a team that values face-to-face collaboration.
- Access to world-class investors and advisors in the AI space.
BENEFITS
We provide great benefits, including:
- Competitive compensation and equity.
- Competitive health, dental, vision benefits paid by the company.
- 401(k) plan offering.
- Flexible vacation.
- Team Building & Fun Activities.
- Great scope, ownership and impact.
- AI tools stipend.
- Monthly commute stipend.
- Monthly wellness/fitness stipend.
- Daily office lunch & dinner covered by the company.
HOW WE'RE DIFFERENT
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again... who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." - Teddy Roosevelt
At our core, we believe in being "in the arena." We are builders, problem solvers, and risk-takers who show up every day ready to put in the work: to sweat, to struggle, and to push past our limits. We know that real progress comes with missteps, iteration, and resilience. We embrace that journey fully knowing that daring greatly is the only way to create something truly meaningful.
If you're ready to join the future of physics simulation, build a world-class team from scratch, and deliver impact, UniversalAGI is the place for you.
