Chief of Staff, R&D

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner to both the CPO and CTO, shaping the R&D leadership agenda and preparing them for board and executive interactions.
• Lead the operational teams managing the R&D operating cadence (meetings, reviews, and quarterly planning) and drive the tracking, reporting, and alignment of R&D OKRs with company strategy..
• Act as the first line of judgment on escalations and meeting requests-triaging what requires direct leadership attention versus what can be resolved async.
• Build and maintain the R&D operational dashboard, translating data on delivery velocity, capacity, and headcount into clear narratives that drive decisions.
• Lead high-priority, ambiguous initiatives (e.g., org design or AI-operating-model buildouts) across the R&D portfolio.
• Serve as the primary POC and partner for FP&A, leading overall budget governance across Engineering, Product, and Design.
• Surface trade-offs by bringing options, costs, and recommendations to the CPO and CTO to make prioritization calls highly visible.
• Partner with People and Finance on the joint R&D hiring plan, capacity model, and senior onboarding.
• Draft and own key R&D communications, ensuring a consistent voice across executive memos and board content.

Requirements

• The minimum qualifications for this role include:
• 12+ years of experience spanning strategy, operations, management consulting, product management, or a prior Chief of Staff role, ideally within a high-growth or public B2B SaaS company
• 5+ years of direct people management experience
• A proven track record of influencing VP-, SVP-, and C-level leaders without owning the org chart
• Exceptional written and verbal communication - you can draft board materials and present to senior leaders, framing complex topics clearly and proactively
• Strong operational and analytical rigor: you build repeatable processes and hold yourself to a high standard of accuracy and accountability
• Preferred qualifications for this role include:
• Experience supporting a combined Product and Engineering (or R&D) organization, or reporting into a CPO, CTO, or CPTO
• Background in high-growth SaaS or technology companies, ideally with exposure to multiple planning cycles and periods of organizational change
• Familiarity with the tooling of modern R&D operations - OKR and planning systems, roadmapping tools, and delivery/velocity analytics
• What this role is not: To set clear expectations: this is not a senior Technical Program Manager or Engineering Manager role, and it is not an Executive Business Partner role.
• How you'll grow
• Within 1 month, you'll plant your roots, including:
• Build trust and working rhythms with both the CPO and CTO, and relationships across the R&D leadership team and key cross-functional partners
• Develop a deep understanding of Sprout's business model, product strategy, and R&D operating model
• Diagnose the current state of the R&D operating cadence, OKRs, and reporting, and identify the highest-levera

Benefits

Additional Information

Description Sprout Social is looking for a Chief of Staff to partner with our R&D leaders (Product, Engineering, and Design) to turn strategy into motion. Reporting to the CPO and supporting both the CPO and CTO, you will hold a high-visibility, high-leverage position at the intersection of strategy and execution. You'll shape how a category-leading Social Intelligence company builds and scales for the world's most forward-thinking social media practitioners. Why join Sprout's R&D team? R&D is Sprout's single largest investment area and the engine of our growth. As Chief of Staff, you'll help senior leaders run this complex organization with the speed and clarity expected by our shareholders. We value transparency and ownership, offering the autonomy to build scalable, AI-forward operating systems. This role provides a rare seat with direct exposure to executive leadership and the opportunity to influence the decisions shaping our roadmap.

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