Founders Associate

About Mater-AI

Many of the materials that will define the next century of energy and computation don't exist yet, so we're building the AI-driven pipeline to find them. Mater-AI is a deep-tech startup in London using machine learning to discover novel thermoelectric materials that cool electronics with no moving parts and turn waste heat into usable electricity. Backed by leading venture capital investors and millions in grant funding, we're scaling into our next stage of growth.

About the Role

You'll work directly alongside our COO and Co-Founder as their operational right hand, driving execution across fundraising, commercial partnerships, hiring, operations and strategy. This is a high-agency operations and commercial role, not an administrative one: you'll turn meetings into action, remove bottlenecks and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Every week is different, and you'll take real ownership from day one. As Mater-AI grows, this role is expected to evolve into a Strategic Operations Lead or Chief of Staff position.

What you'll do

Act as the operational right hand to the COO, owning follow-through on actions, decisions and next steps across the business. Attend investor, customer, commercial and internal meetings; capture actions and drive accountability. Coordinate projects across every function, removing bottlenecks and keeping execution on track. Support fundraising, investor due diligence and preparation of fundraising materials. Support commercial strategy and partnerships, from first conversation through to execution. Prepare strategic presentations, grant applications and key business documentation. Coordinate hiring, onboarding and internal operations. Build the operational systems and processes that let the company scale.

Required

• Exceptional organisational skills with meticulous attention to detail.

• Outstanding project management skills with the ability to coordinate multiple workstreams simultaneously.

• Highly proactive, you identify problems before they become problems.

• A bias towards action and the ability to hit the ground running from day one.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Strong commercial awareness and intellectual curiosity.

• Ability to think critically, solve problems independently and take ownership.

• Excellent judgement when handling confidential information.

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced startup where priorities evolve quickly.

• Excited to learn across fundraising, operations, AI, science and entrepreneurship.

Nice to have

• Experience in startups, consulting, venture capital, investment banking, law or another high-performance environment. 

• Experience supporting founders or a senior leadership team. 

• Exposure to fundraising, commercial strategy or business operations. 

• Interest in AI, deep-tech, energy or advanced materials. 

• Strong presentation, Excel and writing skills.

Education

We care more about exceptional people than specific qualifications, we're looking for someone with outstanding potential, an exceptional work ethic and a genuine desire to help build a category-defining company. So whatever your background, if you can convert chaos into structure, are an excellent communicator and like difficult problems, apply even if you don't meet every requirement.

What success looks like

• In your first 90 days you'll learn how every function operates, own meeting actions so nothing slips, improve several internal processes, and take ownership of key operational and commercial projects, freeing up significant founder time. 

• Within 12 months you'll be a trusted extension of the COO, having built the systems and removed the bottlenecks that let the business execute faster, owned major operational and commercial initiatives, and laid the foundations to grow into a Strategic Operations Lead or Chief of Staff role as Mater-AI scales.

What we offer

• Work directly alongside the founders of one of Europe's most exciting AI and advanced materials startups. 

• Real ownership from day one, with a clear path into a Strategic Operations Lead or Chief of Staff role. 

• A front-row seat to investor meetings, strategic negotiations and company-defining decisions. Meaningful equity in an early-stage, well-backed company. 

• Competitive salary and bonus structure with flexible hybrid working from our Moorgate office.
  
  

We're looking for someone who is hungry to learn, ready to hit the ground running from day one and excited by the opportunity to help build one of Europe's leading AI and advanced materials companies.

We review applications on a rolling basis. Apply even if you don't tick every box. Send your CV to gatleen.bhambra@mater-ai.com.