Chief of Staff

About VSCO

For years, we've helped photographers create their work. Now we're building what comes next.

VSCO exists for photographers. Not as a side feature, not as an afterthought, but as the whole point. We build the connected system photographers rely on, and we've spent over a decade earning the trust of a global creative community that takes the craft seriously.

Photography is at an inflection point. AI is reshaping what's possible for creative work, and that's where our mission shines. VSCO is building the full photographer's workflow: from creating and editing your work, to delivering it to clients, to running your business. All of it built thoughtfully, with photographers leading the way. We believe the future of photography tools creates more space for creativity, handling the busy work so photographers can focus on the craft.

If you care about craft, community, and what technology can unlock for creative people, this is the work. We're a mission-driven and focused company where your work ships quickly, is meaningful, and reaches tens of millions of people worldwide. You'll have a real say in what we build and how we build it. We hire people who don't wait to be asked, naturally connect the dots, care about the quality of what they ship, and believe the best outcomes come from building together.

About You

Most business education happens from a distance. This role puts you in the room where it's made.

We're hiring a Chief of Staff who gets genuine energy from making things run well, and who wants to learn how a real company grows by doing the actual work, not studying it. You'll work directly with VSCO's CEO to drive execution across the full company: owning high-stakes projects, building the operating rhythms that keep a fast-moving team aligned, and making sure what matters on Monday actually happens by Friday.

You'll touch everything: planning, hiring, product, go-to-market, finance, and culture. You'll be trusted to figure things out without waiting to be asked. In return, you'll get something genuinely rare: direct mentorship from a deeply experienced CEO, unfiltered access to how strategic decisions get made, and a front-row seat to building a company that helps photographers turn their passion into a profession.

If you're 5+ years into your career, are wired to execute, and want to compress a decade of business education into a few years of real work, this is that opportunity.

This role reports directly to the CEO and is based out of our San Francisco, CA office (minimum 3 days/week in office).

The Day-to-Day

Operating Rhythm & Execution

• Own the company's operating cadence: weekly leadership syncs, monthly business reviews, quarterly and annual planning
• Track priorities, decisions, and commitments across the leadership team; make sure nothing important falls through the cracks
• Build lightweight systems that keep teams aligned and moving without adding bureaucracy

CEO Partnership

• Be the CEO's closest day-to-day operational partner: anticipate needs, manage inbound priorities, and protect focus on the highest-leverage work
• Serve as a strategic sparring partner to the CEO: pressure-test ideas, challenge assumptions, and help sharpen thinking before it goes anywhere important
• Prepare the CEO for high-stakes conversations with crisp briefing materials, clear decision framing, and the right context
• Draft memos, strategic updates, and communications on behalf of the CEO; act as a trusted proxy when the CEO can't be in the room

Cross-Functional Projects

• Lead initiatives that don't fit neatly inside one function: planning processes, org design, go-to-market launches, vendor relationships, internal tooling
• Identify where cross-functional work is stalling; surface ownership gaps, resolve friction, and drive follow-through
• Be the person who can be dropped into any problem and trusted to figure it out

Company Operations & Culture

• Support board meeting prep, investor communications, and company-wide all-hands
• Partner with our People team on headcount planning, new hire onboarding, and leadership team offsites
• Help design and communicate internal processes that reflect how VSCO works and what it stands for

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in operations, consulting, strategy, business development, or a cross-functional startup role
• Demonstrated ability to run complex, multi-stakeholder projects from kickoff to completion
• Strong systems thinker: you build processes that scale, not workarounds that hold
• Executive partnership: you are comfortable partnering with the CEO and other senior executives, asking difficult questions, challenging assumptions respectfully, and driving accountability across leadership teams
• Excellent written communicator: you write clearly and concisely, whether it's a decision memo or a company update
• Strong synthesizer: you take ambiguous information and turn it into clear recommendations that reduce complexity and help people drive outcomes quickly
• High judgment and discretion: you know what to escalate, what to handle, and what to let go
• Genuinely curious about business: how companies grow, how teams operate, how decisions get made
• Fluent using AI tools: you use them to work faster and think better, not as a substitute for judgment, are able to elevate others to use them in a best-in-class way

What Makes You Stand Out

• Teams you've been part of move faster and with more clarity after you join them
• You've consistently taken on more than your title suggested, and delivered
• Operational problems you drive get solved with extreme ownership
• You've operated as the "glue" on a team before, making everyone around you more effective
• You turn messy information into clear recommendations that people can act on
• When you don't know the answer, you find it instead of letting yourself get blocked
• You write a good memo. Not verbose. Concise
• You want to become a better business leader, and you understand that the fastest path is doing real work alongside someone great

 

Why VSCO?

We value the creative process and our employees' opinions. Input is encouraged, regardless of your position or title. We want to work with people who are driven and demonstrate initiative in taking our mission to the next level.

We believe in building a safe place for creative expression and celebrating that which makes us human, welcoming unique and personal backgrounds and experiences. We're proud to foster diverse perspectives within VSCO as we continue to build an inclusive culture.

Compensation

The base salary range for this role is $150,000 - $175,000. Salary is one component of our total compensation package. This position also qualifies for bonuses and equity (i.e. stock options). The benefits available for this position include flexible time off, a 401K retirement plan, insurance (medical, dental, vision, life/AD&D, short and long term disability), and 11 paid holidays. We also provide paid sick time as required by state and local law. Additional benefits and perks are also offered for this position.