About Vernius
Vernius Systems is a U.S. defense technology company developing compact radar systems for autonomous drone interception.
We are building our team and operations in Kyiv to work directly with Ukrainian interceptor manufacturers and integrate our technology into their platforms.
We are looking for a highly capable and proactive person to work directly with the CEO and help build Vernius Systems’ Ukrainian operations from the ground up. This is a hybrid Executive Assistant / Chief of Staff role, combining hands-on executive support with significant operational responsibility. As the Ukrainian operation grows, we expect the role to increasingly shift toward Chief of Staff / Ukraine Operations.
What you’ll do
Work directly with the CEO and support his day-to-day work in Ukraine.
Manage scheduling, meetings, priorities, follow-ups, and important communications.
Help establish and operate the Kyiv office.
Coordinate communication between the Ukrainian and U.S. teams.
Coordinate relationships with Ukrainian interceptor manufacturers and other partners.
Help organize engineering field work and flight tests.
Coordinate logistics, equipment, hardware shipments, and procurement.
Support recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding of the Ukrainian team.
Coordinate local legal, accounting, administrative, and operational matters with external providers.
Maintain visibility into ongoing projects, deadlines, responsibilities, and blockers.
Make sure decisions and commitments turn into execution.
Handle unexpected operational problems independently.
Gradually take increasing ownership of Vernius Systems’ day-to-day operations in Ukraine.
What we’re looking for
Exceptional organizational and communication skills.
High level of personal ownership and reliability.
Ability to operate independently with limited structure.
Ability to manage several unrelated priorities simultaneously.
Strong judgment and ability to solve ambiguous problems.
Comfortable switching between detailed administrative work and higher-level operational problems.
Comfortable communicating with engineers, executives, external partners, and government or military stakeholders.
Professional English sufficient for daily communication with the U.S. team.
Based in Kyiv and comfortable with regular in-person work.
English
B2+/C1.
You should be comfortable communicating with the CEO and U.S. team in English on a daily basis, both verbally and in writing.
You should be able to independently handle meetings, calls, correspondence, coordination, and follow-ups in English.
Strong advantages
Previous experience in Ukrainian defense tech.
Experience in the UAV/drone industry.
Understanding of the Ukrainian defense ecosystem.
Experience working with defense manufacturers or military units.
Startup operations experience.
Project or program management experience.
Experience working directly with a founder or CEO.
Recruiting experience.
Experience coordinating technical field tests.
Understanding of procurement, logistics, contracting, or company operations in Ukraine.
Who this role is for
This role requires someone comfortable operating across very different levels of responsibility.
One day may involve managing the CEO’s schedule and coordinating meetings. Another may involve arranging a flight test with an interceptor manufacturer, solving a hardware shipment issue, interviewing a candidate, coordinating with lawyers, or making sure an important partner commitment does not get stuck.
You should enjoy taking an unclear problem, figuring out what needs to happen, finding the right people, and driving it to completion.
The role is expected to grow together with Vernius’s Ukrainian operation, with a path toward taking substantial ownership of running the organization in Ukraine.
