Chief of Staff
Business - Villeneuve, CH
The position
- Crew
- Business
- Location
- Villeneuve, CH
- Type of contract
- Full-time
Your role
PAVE Space is building LYOBA, a heavy kick stage moving up to 4-tonne payloads from LEO to high-energy orbits in under 24 hours. Real hardware, real funding, real milestones, tackling two of the biggest markets in space: telecom and defence.
We have our first mission in space in a month and a rocket engine ignition before the end of the year, real proof points, not roadmap promises. The company is doubling in size, and the sales, financing, and operational load still runs through the co-founders. Joining now means shaping how a company at this inflection point actually scales, not managing a machine that's already built.
You will own
The CoS operates at the intersection of strategy - decision - execution - company building:
Execution follow-through on CEO decisions across teams
Cross-functional projects and strategic initiatives nobody else owns
Tracking grants, funding opportunities, and sales opportunities
Key meetings, and the supporting dossiers they run on
Flagging problems before they become the CEO's problem
Spotting where the org is missing capability, and building the plan to fill it
What we are looking for
3 to 5 years in startup or scale-up, strategy, consulting, operations, product, finance, investing, or P&L roles
Demonstrated ability to build and defend financial models from scratch
Track record of owning ambiguous, high-stakes projects end to end under pressure
Exceptional judgement and discretion, comfortable handling confidential financial, commercial, and personnel matters
Clear, direct communicator who can challenge senior leadership constructively
Fluent in English
Exposure to aerospace, defence, deep tech, or other capital-intensive hardware sectors
Startup or high-growth operating experience
Working French (our local ecosystem is francophone); German is a plus
Familiarity with the European and Swiss investor, grant, and funding landscape
You will fit if
You take full ownership and are accountable for outcomes, not just activity
You are comfortable owning a topic temporarily, then handing it to a clear owner rather than accumulating functions
You handle confidential financial, commercial, and personnel matters with discretion
You step outside your core discipline when the timeline needs it
You have a strong interest in space technology and where PAVE Space is trying to take it
Fully on-site in Villeneuve (VD), with daily in-person work. This is not an assistant role and not a fixed box: the boundaries are fluid, the timelines are tight, and you will own ambiguous problems before anyone has scoped them. That is the role, stated plainly.
What makes that worth it: joining now means shaping how a company at this inflection point actually scales, and participating directly in the development of a next generation Orbital Transfer Vehicle.
If you're ready to take on this challenge and help build a next generation Orbital Transfer Vehicle, apply to join PAVE Space, and if it isn't you but you know the person, send them our way.