Chief of Staff
Rivia
People & HR, Operations
Zürich, Switzerland
Posted on Apr 20, 2026
Chief of Staff
Zurich, Switzerland
Human Resources
Hybrid
Full-time
About Rivia
Rivia is a technology company building a data engine that powers the future of clinical trial intelligence. Rivia was founded on the belief that new drugs can be brought to market more successfully with a fraction of today's capital.
Biotechs are the source of most therapeutic innovation, yet clinical development is constantly constrained by fragmented data and outdated tooling. Rivia unifies clinical trial data at scale through a core engine built as a reusable intelligence layer, comprising hundreds of configurations and trial-specific logic, independent of source structure. This vertical stack of data engine, workflows, and agents creates a distinct advantage in how trials are operated.
Over the past two years, European and US based biotechs running global clinical trials on Rivia have demonstrated measurable impact, from earlier understanding of therapeutic potential to significantly more efficient trial execution. In March 2026, Rivia raised its $15M Series A led by Earlybird Venture Capital.
Rivia’s ambition is to become the standard infrastructure for modern drug development, transforming how trials are executed end-to-end.
The Role
As Chief of Staff at Rivia, you will act as the operational backbone of the CEO and a driving force for the company's most critical cross-functional initiatives. You will build and own the internal operating machinery that keeps a fast-scaling team aligned: management reporting, board preparation, business operations, and the coordination infrastructure that turns strategy into execution.
This is a senior IC role with real ownership and scope. You will carry significant analytical and operational weight independently. This includes designing the processes, owning the numbers, and driving the initiatives that allow Rivia to accelerate its revenue growth and nearly double its team in 2026 without losing the speed and quality that got us here.
Our Stack
While we focus on outcomes over tools, our current workflow involves: Figma, React, TypeScript, and AI-assisted design/prototyping tools. We value designers who understand the medium they are building for. If you can bridge the gap between design and code, you will thrive here.
What Excites You
- Building from scratch: Designing the operating infrastructure of a company that only has the initial foundations, with enough momentum that you'll see your impact within weeks.
- Being at the core: working cross-functionally with the CEO across key areas of the business, without the specifics of a functional remit.
- Owning the hard problems: company wide initiatives where no one person has full ownership and something needs to move: you want to be the one to drive it.
- Scaling with purpose: The intellectual and operational challenge of helping a 15-person team operate at 45-person quality, and then doing it again.
Responsibilities
- CEO & Leadership Leverage: Own the CEO's operating rhythm: syncs, quarterly planning, board preparation, and strategic projects. Act as a proxy for the CEO in key efforts.
- Business Operations: Drive operational improvements: build the processes, tools, and systems that allow Rivia to scale without adding unnecessary overhead. Identify friction points as the team grows and design targeted interventions: the minimum viable infrastructure to keep a high-performance team moving fast.
- Cross-Functional Execution: Drive operational alignment between teams as the organisation scales. Including OKRs and to scope,and drive new cross-functional initiatives end-to-end, from defining the problem to delivering the outcome.
- Strategic Planning: Partner with CEO and other key functions including Head of People and CFO on headcount planning, budgets, and linking business priorities to resource allocation.
- Reporting: Build and own management reporting: the internal view of how the business is performing across pipeline, revenue, customer health, hiring, and financials. Support board preparation.
What Excites Us
- 4+ years of experience in a high-performance environment: Tier 1 strategy consulting or a high-growth startup, with demonstrable operator experience
- Experience within life sciences, ideally in the pharmaceutical industry.
- A track record of owning and delivering complex cross-functional projects independently, from scoping to outcome
- Strong problem solving and analytical skills: comfortable building models, synthesising data into insights, and presenting findings to senior audiences
- Excellent written communication
- Prior experience in Strategy & Ops roles is a plus
- Comfortable in ambiguity: you don't need a playbook, you write it
Our Values
At Rivia, we are committed to excellence, continuous learning, and the success of both our customers and our team. If you are driven to exceed targets, eager to shape the future of clinical trials, and passionate about making a meaningful difference in the biotech industry, Rivia is the place for you.
- In it to Win it: Approach every challenge with determination, resilience, and a drive, aiming for the best outcomes and solutions.
- Embrace change: We see change as an opportunity for growth, innovation, and improvement, continuously evolving to stay one step ahead
- Why not?: Asking why not, instead of why, allows us to show our curiosity, allowing us to challenge assumptions and explore new possibilities.
- Find the gap: We are curious and we proactively approach identifying opportunities and solving problems before they arise.
- Collective accountability: We are one team, on one mission and we are committed to shared responsibilities and mutual support, enabling trust and collaboration.
- Value-add solutions: Know better. Act better. We are dedicated to delivering meaningful and impactful results.
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Req ID: R33
