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Job description
About Pillar VC
Pillar VC is a seed-stage venture capital firm based in Boston. We invest in engineers, researchers, and scientists building solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. We are currently investing out of Pillar IV, a $175M fund.
We’re entering a golden age with unmatched potential for breakthrough research to become world-changing companies. Our investments emerge from research organizations and universities at the cutting edge. We work with founders months to years in advance of commercialization, collaborating with PhD students, postdocs, and faculty. Our team helps by validating customer demand, recruiting key team members, developing business plans, navigating licensing agreements, and building syndicates with strong co-investors.
Our investments include Circle, Abridge, Algorand, PillPack, Jellyfish, Neural Magic, Higharc, Thymmune, Edison Scientific, Asimov, and PathAI, among others.
Position Overview
We’re seeking a Chief of Staff to join our Boston-based team. In this role, you will work directly with our Partners, Thomas de Vlaam and Tony Kulesa, who focus on human health — spanning therapeutics, diagnostics, healthcare, and AI for science companies. While this role sits outside the investment track, you will support Thomas & Tony across the full investing lifecycle, from sourcing breakthrough science to diligence to helping portfolio founders navigate the leap from lab to commercial reality.
It is an incredible opportunity to gain hands‑on exposure to the VC industry, learning from a team with decades of experience investing at the frontier of biology and medicine. Every day will be different. VC is fast-paced and dynamic — there is always a founder to meet, an investment to diligence, and new scientific research to explore. We often work ambitious schedules and seek a Chief of Staff who is committed to delivering the same level of excellence to founders.
Key Responsibilities
Investment Operations & Deal Flow
Support Thomas and Tony in reviewing new investment opportunities in human health
Conduct market research and scientific landscape reviews to support diligence, including getting up to speed quickly on unfamiliar areas
Engage with prospective customers and domain experts, including clinicians, pharma BD teams, health system operators, and more to pressure-test investment theses
Help track and cultivate relationships with researchers at academic institutions, medical centers, and more, a core part of how Pillar sources early
Portfolio Support & Founder Success
Support portfolio founders with access to the customers and partners that matter most in health: health systems, payers, pharma and biotech companies, and clinical research networks
Coordinate founder programming, events, and community‑building initiatives
Partner Support & Communications
Lead special projects end-to-end, from sourcing initiatives to brand awareness to research
Support partner branding/marketing initiatives through writing and events
Handle follow‑up and planning across a range of initiatives
Who You Are
Essential Qualifications
Self‑starter who sees what needs to happen before being asked and moves fast to make it happen
Ambitious and hungry — you have a relentless drive and hold yourself to a bar of excellence most people wouldn’t
Creative and unconventional thinker — you don’t default to the obvious answer
Exceptional writer who communicates with clarity, precision, and intentionality
Relationship‑oriented with strong presence to interact with seasoned CEOs
Ideal Background
Genuine intellectual curiosity about biology, medicine, and breakthrough science. You don’t need a PhD, but you should be comfortable learning a new scientific area quickly and asking informed questions of domain experts
Experience working in a tech company, biotech, health system, or research environment, or an aspiring founder who wants a window into how the best health companies get built
Excitement about the venture capital field and eagerness to learn the business quickly (deep VC knowledge not required)
Low ego — happy to work in support of other people (investors and founders) and do what’s needed to succeed
Watches and learns, anticipating and solving for investor and founder needs on‑the‑fly
Curious and intuitive — a creative and unconventional thinker, yet also highly analytical and logical
Knows the right questions to ask, as well as when to listen and learn
Extremely detail‑oriented with a desire to create an A+ experience for those you work with
Thrives in ambiguity and creates systems and processes that allow for scale
Passion for supporting early‑stage founders and breakthrough innovations
Bio background is a plus but not required
Why Pillar VC
Our team operates in a high‑velocity environment that is always changing. This role will require hard work, agility, and long hours, and we set the bar high for each other to bring our best to the team.
Every person who works at Pillar VC should expect their career to be accelerated through the ownership of clear work products, high expectations, the quality of companies and people in our network, and our active support of your future career endeavors.
Benefits
We cover 100% of health and dental premiums (plus half of your deductible)
Unlimited vacation policy
Commute and wellness benefits
Phone reimbursement for business use
Free snacks, coffee, lunch, and espresso when you’re in the office
Location: Boston, MA (strong in‑office culture)
Reports to: Partners (Thomas de Vlaam & Tony Kulesa)
Type: Full-time
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Worksite address
boston, MA, 02298, US
Who can apply
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