R&D Amplifier
As a key support to the R&D leaders, the Chief of Staff will enhance the leaders impact by:
- Acting as a buffer: Resolving challenges, addressing escalations, and managing sensitive issues before they reach the leaders
- Providing counsel: Serving as a thought partner to the R&D leaders and offering tailored advice to the R&D team members and cross-functional leaders
- Improving communication: Bridging communication gaps between R&D, executive leaders, and GTM teams to foster alignment and manage R&D-related internal communications
- Supporting the leader: Supporting the Engineering and Product leaders' schedule, coordinating travel, and responding to inquiries on their behalf
- Recruiting & sourcing: identifying talent gaps, helping in building a hiring plan, and prioritizing hiring efforts across engineering leaders
- Meeting management: Preparing agendas, taking detailed notes, and driving follow-ups and tracking actions for R&D-led meetings, including those with the Executive and GTM teams
- Leading and supporting planning process: Supporting R&D in managing reoccurring events such as roadmap planning and prioritization, market analysis, review cycles, demos and org restructuring
- Drive the creation of executive-ready R&D decks and documentation: ensuring clarity, alignment, and consistency across All Hands decks and SAP leadership related communications
- Orchestrating and coordinating the request for product and engineering customer engagement: will direct and coordinate the different requests to the right people in the R&D organization ensuring efficiency and customers needs are met
R&D Operations
The Chief of Staff will ensure the R&D organization vision is executed across teams by:
- Managing projects: Acting as the Project Manager for large-scale, cross-functional initiatives, ensuring decisions are made and goals are met
- Guiding others: Advising R&D department heads on team efficiency, offering recommendations on organizational design and process improvements
- Temporary leadership: Stepping in as interim leadership for key R&D teams during transitions, ensuring continuity until new leaders are in place
- Offsite management: Coordinating, facilitating, and setting agendas for R&D team offsites and strategic planning sessions
- OKR management: Overseeing the creation, tracking, and reporting of R&D-focused OKRs, identifying areas for adjustment as needed to ensure organizational success
This role is for an individual who thrives in a fast-paced, high-impact environment and is passionate about driving R&D success. You are a problem solver, a proactive strategist, and a natural leader who enjoys managing complex projects and aligning diverse teams toward common goals.
- 5–10+ years of experience in product, engineering, program management, strategy, operations, or a Chief of Staff role within a technology-driven organization
- Strong R&D domain fluency: deep understanding of how Product and Engineering teams operate, including roadmapping, prioritization, delivery, and technical tradeoffs
- Proven experience partnering with senior executives (VP+, CPO, CTO, SVP Engineering) as a trusted advisor and thought partner
- Exceptional execution and project leadership skills, with a track record of driving complex, cross-functional initiatives to completion
- Excellent communication skills—written, verbal, and executive presence—with the ability to influence without authority and tailor messaging to different audiences
- Strategic mindset with operational rigor: ability to zoom out to strategy while diving deep into details when needed
- Strong organizational and prioritization skills, capable of managing multiple workstreams in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment
- Experience with OKR frameworks, operating cadences, and performance management in R&D organizations
- Demonstrated ability to navigate sensitive situations, manage escalations, and handle confidential information with discretion and judgment
- People leadership experience or demonstrated ability to step into interim leadership roles and guide teams through change
- Customer- and business-oriented mindset, with experience collaborating closely with GTM, Sales, Customer Success, and Executive teams
- Comfort operating in high-growth, scaling, or transformational environments, including org changes, new operating models, or AI-driven initiatives
- Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or equivalent experience preferred
SmartRecruiters is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
