Founding Chief of Staff

About Retell

Retell is building the new standard for automating call center communications, including sales, support, customer engagement, and retention calls.

Backed by Altman Capital, Y Combinator, and top investors, we've raised a $4.7M seed round and hit $10M ARR in 15 months.

Check us out on the Top Lean AI Native Companies Leaderboard at leanaileaderboard.com.

Why This Company

Twenty years ago, every business found itself needing a website, the new gateway to the world. Platforms like WordPress and Squarespace rose to become the standard for getting businesses online.

Today, we’re at the start of a new shift. Every business that relies on phone interactions can now have an AI voice agent of their dreams. A tireless and empathetic receptionist, salesperson, debt collector, or appointment reminder that works 24/7. Operational bottlenecks vanish overnight. Doubling your business no longer means doubling your team. Customer experience no longer suffers. (Ever tried calling an East Coast bank after 3 p.m. PT?) But companies aren't ready. Platforms don't exist.

At Retell, we're building the new standard for building AI voice agents. A seamless UI, a comprehensive toolkit, effortless integrations, and a thriving builder community, we're creating everything businesses need to deliver exceptional phone interactions on every single call.

This shift is happening, so why not be part of the team that defines it?

Video Walk Through About The Product

Retell AI - API That Turns Your LLM Into A Human-Like Voice Agent

Retell AI Basics: Everything You Need to Start Building Voice Agents

Why This Role

As Retell’s Founding Chief of Staff, you’ll work side-by-side with the founders on the most important and time-sensitive challenges—whether it’s hiring top talent, pushing key deals forward, building operational systems, or keeping product launches on track.

It’s a high-trust, high-context role where you’ll have visibility into everything: product, engineering, sales, support, recruiting, and fundraising. You’ll be given broad ownership, expected to move quickly, and counted on to make good decisions with limited guidance.

If you’re a sharp generalist who thrives in fast-paced environments, likes connecting dots across teams, and wants to see how a high-growth company operates from the inside—this role will give you a front-row seat and a meaningful stake in building something that lasts.

Position: Founding Chief of Staff

Job type: Full-time 70hr/week (50 hr/week onsite with flexible hours + 20 hr/week work from home)

Salary: $150K - $230K

Equity: 0.2% - 0.7%

Bonus: $15k - $100k

Location: San Carlos, CA, US

US visas: Sponsors Visa & Greencard

Benefits: 100% medical, dental, vision insurance coverage. Unlimited breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Gym, daily commute fee reimbursement. Internet, phone bill covered.

Who You Are

• Process-Obsessed & Data-Driven – You love building better processes and making things run smoother across the board, and you’re not afraid to dive into data to make it happen
• Hands-On & Resilient – A detail-oriented generalist who thrives in high-stakes environments and stays calm under pressure
• Clear & Confident Communicator – Whether you're talking to customers, candidates, investors, or posting on social media, you get your point across effectively
• Fast Learner & Systems Thinker – You pick up new tools quickly and have a sharp eye for spotting inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement
  
  

What You’ll Do

• Automate Everything – Design and build AI automations across all areas of Retell’s operations—from support and sales to recruiting. Your goal: make the company as lean and efficient as possible, enabling us to scale with top talent and minimal overhead.
• Recruit the Best Talent – Own and continuously improve our recruiting process for all roles. Source candidates, schedule interviews, draft offers, and manage relationships with external recruiters. Identify and eliminate bottlenecks in the hiring funnel.
• Manage the Customer Pipeline – Track every step of the sales pipeline to ensure follow-through. Draft and manage contracts—from pilots to enterprise deals—and coordinate redlines with legal. Handle enterprise security reviews and partner relationships, tracking success and leading regular syncs.
• Drive the Product Forward – Keep product timelines on track by aligning engineering, design, and GTM teams. Plan and execute events, conferences, and high-impact initiatives that move the needle.
• Keep the Company Running – Own operational workflows across the board—coordinate contracts, legal, vendor, and customer matters with outside counsel. Triage and resolve non-technical customer support issues to ensure a seamless experience.
  
  

Our Compensation Philosophy

• Our Strongest Offer, Upfront We give you our best offer from the start. No need to negotiate or match other companies offer — instead, we offer three clear compensation options, each with a different balance of cash and equity. You pick what fits you best.
• Designed for Talent Density We’re building with the top 1%, not the average. That’s why our compensation is set far above market — to attract people who raise the bar for everyone around them.
• Scale Through Code, Not Headcount We aim for >$1M in revenue per employee. That means smaller teams, fewer layers, and higher ownership per person — both in terms of scope and equity.
• Performance > Background We don’t anchor to other companies, past salaries, or industry ranges. Your offer is based entirely on your performance in our interview process. That’s it.
• Experience Doesn’t Dictate Pay Your offer is based solely on how well you perform in the interview process. We don’t factor in past salaries, titles, or number of years worked. You can earn our highest tier with zero years of experience — if you prove you’re ready for it.
  
  

Interview Process

• Introduction – We’ll kick things off by getting to know each other—sharing backgrounds and answering any questions you have about the role. The session wraps up with a mini mock project: three research questions to prepare for the next stage.
• Phone Interview 1 – A 30-minute conversation focused on communication, conflict resolution, and judgment. We’ll work through a hypothetical scenario together using a shared document.
• Phone Interview 2 – A 30–45 minute session centered around tool usage. You might be asked to demonstrate how you’d use a SaaS tool to build automations or improve efficiency within a company.
• Onsite Interviews – These take 1–4 hours and are conducted in person in the San Francisco Bay Area. For remote candidates, we’re happy to arrange virtual sessions. Please bring a computer for any hands-on portions. There are up to two rounds:
• Practical session to assess your organizational skills, prioritization, and workflow design
• Research session where you’ll explore a product and walk us through your thinking, communication style, and product sense
  

Compensation Range: $150K - $230K