Chief of Staff (Strategic Operations)

About Trellis

Trellis builds and deploys AI agents that help patients access life-saving therapies.

Our platform automates the complex administrative workflows that stand between patients and treatment, including document intake, prior authorizations, appeals, reimbursement research, and coverage determination. Today, our self-improving AI agents process billions of dollars in therapies annually and support patients across all 50 states.

Founded out of the Stanford AI Lab, Trellis combines cutting-edge AI with deep healthcare expertise to solve one of the largest operational challenges in healthcare: getting patients the care they need, faster. We work with leading healthcare organizations to streamline operations, reduce administrative burden, and accelerate access to treatment at scale.

We’re backed by leading investors including Altos Ventures, Y Combinator, General Catalyst, Telesoft Partners, and executives from Google and Salesforce. Over the past year, we’ve experienced exceptional growth, scaling revenue rapidly while expanding our footprint across specialty healthcare markets.

Joining Trellis means working at the intersection of AI, healthcare, and company-building. You’ll partner directly with the founders, help shape the next phase of growth, and see the real-world impact of your work in the number of patients who receive critical treatment because of the systems we build.

About the Role

We are seeking a highly capable, strategic operator to serve as our Head of Strategy & Business Operations and Chief of Staff. This role acts as a force multiplier for the CEO and leadership team, helping translate strategy into execution, driving operational excellence across the company, and ensuring the organization is aligned around its most important priorities.

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced operator who thrives in fast-paced environments, enjoys solving ambiguous problems, and can move seamlessly between strategic thinking and hands-on execution. The ideal candidate combines exceptional business judgment, operational rigor, outstanding communication skills, and the ability to influence across functions.

Reporting directly to the CEO and Co-Founder, this individual will serve as a key member of the leadership team and play a critical role in helping the company scale.

What You’ll Do

Drive Company Strategy and Planning

• Partner with the co-founders and founding team to define, articulate, and operationalize company strategy.
• Lead annual and quarterly planning processes, including goal-setting, prioritization, resource allocation, and KPI development.
• Establish systems to track strategic initiatives and communicate progress across the organization.
• Establish budgeting, headcount planning, and investment decisions and drive accountability to them in partnership with the leadership team
• Serve as a thought partner to the CEO on high-priority company decisions and strategic opportunities.

Set and Manage the  Company Operating Cadence

• Design, implement, run and continuously improve the company’s operating cadence 
• Run leadership meetings, strategic reviews, roadmap reviews, all-hands meetings, planning sessions, and other key forums.
• Develop agendas, facilitate discussions, document decisions, capture action items, and ensure follow-through.
• Create alignment and accountability across functions through effective operating processes and communication.

Provide Strategic + Operational Leverage across Trellis

• Proactively identify opportunities to remove work from the CEO’s plate and independently drive initiatives to completion.
• Prepare the leadership team for external or key stakeholder engagements as appropriate:  board meetings, investor discussions, customer meetings, industry events, and other critical events and interactions.
• Lead development of board materials, investor updates, executive presentations, company communications, and speaking materials.
• Anticipate issues, identify risks, and resolve challenges before they require executive escalation.
• Serve as an effective proxy and representative for the CEO when appropriate.

Lead Cross-Functional Execution

• Own and drive high-impact initiatives that span multiple functions and do not have a natural organizational owner.
• Coordinate stakeholders, establish accountability, and ensure successful execution against key company priorities.
• Build systems and processes that improve organizational effectiveness and support company growth.
• Help scale the organization by introducing stage-appropriate workflows, decision-making frameworks, and operating practices.

Strengthen Leadership, Culture, and Organizational Effectiveness

• Partner with functional leaders to improve leadership team effectiveness and organizational alignment.
• Support company-building efforts, including culture initiatives, leadership development, communications, and change management.
• Provide interim leadership or support across operational functions as needed.
• Over time, build and lead a small, highly leveraged Business Operations or internal operations team as the company scales.

What We’re Looking For

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in strategy, business operations, management consulting, investment, operating leadership, Chief of Staff, or related roles.
• Proven experience working closely with senior executives and leadership teams.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities, with the ability to connect long-term vision to day-to-day execution.
• Exceptional project management skills and ability to drive complex cross-functional initiatives.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to operate independently, exercise sound judgment, and handle sensitive information with discretion.
• Strong analytical and operational capabilities, including experience working with metrics, planning processes, and business performance management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at an early stage, high-growth, AI-native startup 
• Background in consulting, private equity, venture capital, investment banking, or strategic business operations.
• Experience with early-stage company building:  establishing initial processes, programs and operating rhythms and scaling them over time
• Demonstrated success serving as a trusted advisor to founders or senior executives.