Director, Administration

Foundational is building a network of AI-native factories to reshore critical supply chains.

Company Overview

After decades of globalization, the United States faces a strategic imperative to rebuild our industrial capacity. But we cannot build tomorrow's supply chains with yesterday's tools. Foundational converts rigid, legacy factory floors into flexible, software-defined infrastructure powered by AI-native robotics.

Foundational builds, finances, and operates next-generation manufacturing facilities that secure the domestic supply of the key industrial primitives for the industries of the future.

We operate at the intersection of AI, robotics, private equity, and advanced manufacturing, building the orchestration and operating layer for the factories America needs next.

The Role

Foundational is seeking an Director of Administration based in New York City to serve as a force-multiplier for the founders, with a primary focus on supporting the CEO. This is an in-person role at the center of a small, senior team building an ambitious company at unusual speed.

The scope goes well beyond calendar management. A central part of the role is operating the company's internal systems and AI-enabled tools (including Notion, Affinity, Ashby, and related platforms), coordinating with external vendors that support those systems, and making sure information flows cleanly across the organization. You will also play a key role in managing the recruiting pipeline and in-office operations.

The right person combines exceptional attention to detail with strong judgment, is energized by a fast-moving, unstructured environment, and is motivated by the mission of rebuilding the industrial backbone of the United States.

Key Responsibilities

Executive support and prioritization

• Own complex calendar and workflow management for the CEO and select leaders, prioritizing across investors, customers, partners, internal teams, and personal commitments.

• Coordinate complex travel logistics

Systems, tools, and AI operations

• Run day-to-day operations of core internal systems, including:

  • Notion as the company's knowledge, project, and operating system.

  • Ashby as our applicant tracking and recruiting pipeline system.

  • Affinity as our relationship and deal/investor CRM.

• Maintain clean, accurate data across these systems; set up views, reports, and automations that make it easy for the leadership team to see what matters.

• Coordinate with outsourced vendors and consultants who help maintain or extend these tools, ensuring they are working on the right priorities and delivering on time.

Recruiting pipeline management

• Own the operational side of recruiting in Ashby: posting roles, managing candidate pipelines, scheduling interviews, and keeping candidates and interviewers informed and prepared.

• Partner with hiring managers and external recruiters to ensure a tight, professional process from first touch through offer.

• Track recruiting metrics, flag bottlenecks, and suggest improvements to how we run searches.

Office management and on-site operations

• Lead day-to-day office management for the New York office: supplies, vendors, visitors, workspace logistics, and basic IT coordination.

• Support the planning and execution of key in-person moments, including board meetings, investor visits, customer meetings, internal offsites, and leadership working sessions.

• Ensure the office runs smoothly, reflects our standards, and enables the team to work at a high level.

Trusted partner to leadership

• Act as a discrete, trusted extension of the CEO in day-to-day interactions, with sound judgment about what to escalate, what to delegate, and what to decline.

• Build strong working relationships with investors, advisors, candidates, and senior external partners while representing the company with professionalism and clarity.

Candidate Profile

Experience

• 5–10 years of experience in an Executive Assistant, Chief of Staff, or similar high-exposure support role, ideally supporting a CEO or founder.

• Experience in high-growth startups, investing environments (VC/PE), or complex operating businesses is helpful; comfort with demanding, fast-paced settings is essential.

• Demonstrated experience operating modern productivity and data systems (e.g., Notion, ATS/CRM tools, collaboration suites) in a structured, disciplined way.

Skills and competencies

• Exceptional attention to detail. You notice errors, inconsistencies, and missing pieces, and you fix them before others see them.

• Strong operational discipline: able to design and maintain clean workflows across calendars, tools, and teams.

• High proficiency with productivity and collaboration tools (email, calendar, spreadsheets, slides), and the ability to learn platforms like Notion, Affinity, and Ashby quickly and deeply.

• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to synthesize information and prepare the CEO and team efficiently.

• Strong judgment on priorities and tradeoffs; comfortable saying no or reshuffling when necessary.

Personal attributes

• Mission-driven: motivated by the idea of rebuilding American industrial capacity, not just by being "busy."

• Low ego, high ownership: comfortable doing whatever is needed, from strategic triage to detailed data entry, to keep the leadership team effective.

• Calm under pressure: able to operate thoughtfully when timelines compress, plans change, or stakes are high.

• Discreet and trustworthy: experienced handling highly sensitive information and relationships.

• In-person oriented: based in New York City and excited about being in the office, with a strong bias toward on-site collaboration.