Chief of Staff to the Chief Technology Officer

Chief of Staff to the Chief Technology Officer

The Chief of Staff (CoS), reporting to the CTO, is a strategic leader who establishes operational excellence and solves complex challenges to scale and enable the CTO to deliver the Company’s goals.  This individual will excel at establishing processes, prioritizing tasks, resolving conflicts, addressing challenges, and fostering alignment—often anticipating and addressing issues before they reach the CTO’s desk.

The Chief of Staff will act as a frequent sounding board for ideas, and in turn will be an excellent communicator and collaborator, in some cases on behalf of the CTO — both verbally and in writing, and in both English and Japanese. The Chief of Staff will build trusted, collaborative relationships with the Product and Technology leadership team and key stakeholders across Woven By Toyota, Toyota, and beyond.  You are passionate about transforming technology to save lives and improve the quality of lives. 

Who Are We Looking for

• Align the CTO’s management team, ensuring they are working as one team with one plan. Align KPIs to give the CTO a consolidated view of company performance/areas that require focus.
• Build bridges, and partnerships, and collaborate with key stakeholders, including Toyota and Toyota Ecosystems, to create synergies and leverage work to achieve the company’s goals
• Budget oversight, in collaboration with the finance and other stakeholders, teaming up to align the financial plan and hiring plan with the strategy
• Support the CTO on strategic topics, taking things off the CTO’s plate and ensuring the CTO is set up to run efficiently in that role. Act as the CTO’s representative and ambassador.
• Proactively optimize the CTO’s time, aligned with business priorities. Decide where time should be invested, ensuring the right balance between internal/external commitments. Allocate the right time investments to the right stakeholders.
• Work behind the scenes to help solve problems, mediate disputes, and foster alignment before issues reach the CTO
• Create dashboards and analyses for the CTO, in support of achieving the goals of the Product and Technology division
• Engender operational excellence and infrastructure to drive results, foster growth, and increase the overall efficiency of the Product and Technology division
• Anticipate the CTO’s needs in advance and ensure that the CTO is well prepared and has materials well in advance of key events and meetings
• Provide inspirational leadership with active listening, empathy, inclusivity, and modeling company values to maximize the performance of teams and individuals

Experience and Skills

• Proven experience in a leadership role to scale C-level executives in a high-growth technology company or deep tech environment
• Demonstrated ability to lead and coordinate complex, multi-functional initiatives, acting as a strategic thought partner and operational right hand to senior leadership
• Demonstrated success delivering advanced technologies and shipping complex software ideally in the automotive space
• Exceptional interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills, with a proven ability to manage multifaceted operations and build trust-based relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders
• Recognized for high ethical standards and empathetic leadership, with extensive experience in navigating organizational complexity and engaging effectively across all levels of an organization
• A good track record of leading through change and transformation, including organization-wide strategic planning, process improvements, and cultural evolution
• Adept at partnering and influencing at the senior levels of an organization and working collaboratively across functions, levels, and divisions toward shared goals
• Familiarity with working across multiple cultures and levels of organizational maturity
• A mission-driven leader who believes that the role of technology is to contribute to the common good of humanity
• Thrive in ambiguity and embrace the challenge of creating company-wide OKRs, designing product roadmaps, problem-solving, and influencing a diverse set of stakeholders toward a common goal
• Fluent in both English and Japanese, with strong written and verbal communication skills in both languages