← All roles

Administrative Assistant

Astera Institute· Foundation
Apply on company site
Emeryville HQ$80k - $100kFull-timePosted 1w ago

About the role

Administrative Assistant to support key Astera leaders (Head of AI Research and Head of Strategic Investments) within Astera Institute’s ops team, enabling day-to-day administration, travel, and cross-functional coordination at the intersection of frontier research and early-stage investing.

Responsibilities

  • Manage complex, multi-timezone calendars, balancing competing priorities between leaders
  • Coordinate domestic and international travel and conference registrations (flights, hotels, ground transport, itineraries)
  • Act as first point of contact for inbound requests, triaging and routing as needed
  • Own finance admin, including expense reports and reimbursements, procurement (vendor quotes, POs, and invoice tracking), and budget tracking for programs and projects
  • Prepare meeting materials, including agendas, briefing docs, and follow-up notes
  • Track action items and follow up on outstanding deliverables
  • Maintain organized shared drives and filing systems
  • Coordinate guest and visitor logistics, including meeting rooms, badging, and hospitality
  • Support research team events, seminars, workshops, and offsites
  • Coordinate onboarding logistics for new team members, including equipment, accounts, and first-week schedules
  • AI Research: Schedule and coordinate meetings with researchers, academic collaborators, and external partners
  • Owning recruiting coordination by scheduling interviews, managing candidate communications, and owning onsite coordination
  • Conduct light research (venues, vendors, background on collaborators) and support special projects
  • Investments: Schedule founder pitches, diligence calls, and co-investor meetings, often on short notice
  • Help maintain the deal pipeline and CRM, keeping notes and contact records current
  • Coordinate board meeting logistics and materials
  • Handle confidential deal, portfolio, and financial information with discretion
  • Nice to have: Exposure to venture capital, investing, or research environments.
  • Operations & Cross-functional: Support the Foundation ops team as back up front desk reception coverage
  • Support the Foundation ops team on projects as they arise, such as vendor coordination, event logistics, or communications support
  • Serve as connective tissue between supported leaders and Foundation operations
  • Continuously improve processes and ways of working, with an eye toward what new tools and technology make possible

Qualifications

  • Prioritization & organizational skills: manage competing priorities across two leaders and stay calm under pressure
  • Relationship orientation & communication skills: build positive working relationships with scientists, founders, and partners; strong written and verbal communication
  • Proactive mindset
  • Start-up mentality and adaptability to evolving role (6–12 months)
  • Discretion with sensitive information, including confidential investment and financial details
  • Growth mindset and openness to learning new tools and techniques
  • Creative, tenacious problem solving and stakeholder-focused solutions
  • Mission drive to enable science and ventures that could reshape the future

Skills

Required:Calendar managementTravel coordinationFinance administrationMeeting materials preparationOnboarding coordination
Last updated Oct 15, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Astera Institute

The future, faster.

We empower visionary, high-leverage science and technology projects with the capacity to create transformative progress for human civilization.

ScienceTechnologyResearchAIOpen ScienceInnovation
Company profileWebsite

More open roles at Astera Institute