Chief of Staff

COMPANY OVERVIEW Lydian is developing the lowest cost sustainable fuels from waste CO2, water, and renewable electricity to decarbonize the aviation industry. Our breakthrough technology replaces oil and gas refining with fully electrified, modular, and flexible reactor systems that produce fuel with 95% lower emissions than traditional jet fuel. Since our founding in 2021, Lydian has achieved key milestones in record time, including the production of our first liquid fuel from our pilot system, capable of producing ~10,000 gallons of fuel per year for a fraction of the capital and time of alternative approaches. Lydian is backed by top climate investors including Congruent Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Union Square Ventures, Voyager Ventures, Grok Ventures, and Overture. We are building a motivated, diverse, and collaborative team that is passionate about addressing the growing climate crisis and is committed to excellence in their work. In particular, we look for tenacious people who are energized by solving the hardest, highest impact problems that come their way. POSITION OVERVIEW Lydian is growing fast and sprinting towards the deployment of its first commercial project, which will convert CO2 into jet fuel at a larger scale than any other project in the world. As we work towards this milestone and grow the team across multiple locations, the potential cost of missed context, misaligned decisions, or decisions made with insufficient data is increasing. The Chief of Staff role makes sure that cost isn’t realized. You'll partner closely with the CEO and leaders across commercial, engineering, manufacturing, project development, and finance. You'll help turn complex, ambiguous challenges into clear plans, actionable decisions, and measurable results. Your work will span commercial execution, strategic analysis, technical writing, operational effectiveness, and special projects. Over time, you'll identify and lead high-impact initiatives that help the company move faster and operate more effectively. We're looking for someone who is analytical, highly organized, collaborative, curious, and comfortable working across technical and business topics. You enjoy learning quickly, using AI thoughtfully, and bringing structure to complex problems. RESPONSIBILITIES COMPANY PRIORITIES & OPERATIONS - Maintain visibility into company priorities, risks, and key decisions - Keep the CEO informed through dashboards, briefings, and decision materials - Support executive operating rhythms, including agendas, pre-reads, decisions, and follow-up - Coordinate across teams to remove blockers, improve communication, and drive execution - Build trust through sound judgment, discretion, and reliable follow-through COMMERCIAL EXECUTION - Support strategic partnerships and commercial opportunities from outreach through execution - Develop market research, account strategies, stakeholder maps, proposals, and meeting materials - Track priority deals, next steps, risks, and executive involvement - Coordinate technical, commercial, legal, finance, and project teams throughout the deal process - Step in wherever needed to keep priorities moving STRATEGY & COMMUNICATION - Analyze technical, commercial, and strategic questions and recommend next steps - Build market, competitive, financial, and scenario analyses - Prepare executive briefs, board materials, proposals, investor updates, and technical documents - Create concise, evidence-based writing that clearly distinguishes facts, assumptions, and risks - Document key decisions and rationale to improve organizational alignment SPECIAL PROJECTS & AI - Lead cross-functional initiatives that don't have a natural owner - Evaluate and implement AI tools to improve research, analysis, writing, and workflows - Establish practical AI best practices that improve quality, accuracy, and efficiency QUALIFICATIONS - 6+ years in operations, engineering, product, strategy, or similar roles within a leading hardw…