[Hiring] Chief Executive Officer @Q2Impact

Role Description

The Chief Executive Officer is a co-founder and principal of Elessar Systems Inc., holds full profit-and-loss accountability, and reports to the Board of Directors. The CEO sets the company’s strategy, raises capital, leads government go-to-market, and builds the team to execute on that strategy. In the first eighteen months, the CEO will personally lead customer pursuits, fundraising, and pricing decisions and will be accountable for the company’s first major contract awards.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Strategy and Commercial Model (15%) :
  • Set the company’s strategy and market-entry sequence across federal, state and local, and critical-infrastructure markets.
  • Finalize pricing and packaging for all deployment modes.
  • Protect and extend the company’s intellectual property.
  • Position Q2 Holodeck™ as the reference standard for C-UAS decision training.
• Capital Formation and Finance (20%) :
  • Lead equity fundraising.
  • Pursue non-dilutive funding, including SBIR/STTR, OTA, and program-office awards.
  • Own the budget, burn rate, and runway.
  • Establish the finance, accounting, and contract-cost infrastructure required to scale.
• Business Development and Capture (30%) :
  • Own revenue, pipeline, and forecast.
  • Personally lead early-stage pursuits and close reference customers.
  • Establish repeatable contracting pathways (CRADA, government purchase card, sole source, and OTA).
  • Convert demonstrations into awards.
  • Build relationships with partners and prime contractors.
• Product and Delivery Oversight (10%) :
  • Set roadmap priorities with the CTO.
  • Clearly distinguish fielded and planned capabilities in all external communications.
  • Turn custom scenario development into a repeatable process.
  • Build delivery, support, and training-effectiveness measures that drive renewals.
• Organization and Talent (10%) :
  • Recruit revenue, finance, and delivery leadership ahead of need.
  • Build the founding team.
  • Set the company's culture, planning cadence, and accountability standards.
• Governance, Compliance, and Risk (10%) :
  • Report accurately and promptly to the Board.
  • Ensure compliance with ISO 27001, FedRAMP or equivalent authorizations, export controls (ITAR and EAR), and security requirements.
  • Manage concentration, accreditation, key-person, and IP risks.
  • Enforce ethical standards in government or commercial sales.
• External Representation (5%) :
  • Serve as the company’s principal spokesperson to customers, agency and congressional leadership, industry, media, and investors.
  • Contribute to the policy debate on C-UAS authorities and training standards.

Key Performance Objectives

• Capital formation : Priced round or non-dilutive award closed, funding at least eighteen months of runway against a credible plan (Months 1–9).
• First revenue : Signed multi-seat agreements, including at least one named reference customer willing to speak publicly (Months 3–12).
• Contract vehicles : At least one executed CRADA, OTA, or sole-source award, with a documented, repeatable path for follow-on work with government and private-sector customers (Months 6–15).
• Compliance and delivery : Progress toward ISO 27001, CMMC 2.0, and FedRAMP certification, including a GCC High environment accredited for CUI (Months 6–24).
• Team and pipeline : Revenue, finance, and delivery leadership hired; qualified pipeline covering the following year’s plan (Months 1–24).

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required.
• Experience: Fifteen or more years of progressively senior leadership, including at least five years as a CEO, general manager, division president, or other executive with profit-and-loss responsibility.
• Growth record: Demonstrated success scaling a technology, services, products, or software business from early revenue to a durable commercial model, including ownership of pricing and go-to-market strategy.
• Market exposure: Direct experience selling to or delivering for U.S. federal, defense, public safety, critical infrastructure, or business-to-business customers.
• Capital formation: Experience leading or advising on capital raises (venture, strategic, or non-dilutive) or on mergers and acquisitions.
• Financial acumen: Including budgeting, cash management, unit economics, and the fiduciary and governance obligations of a company officer.
• Work authorization: Eligible to work in the United States.
• Travel: Able to travel approximately 25–30% for customer demonstrations, agency engagements, industry events, and investor meetings.

Preferred

• Advanced degree in business, engineering, national security, public policy, STEM, or a related field.
• Background in counter-UAS, air defense, force protection, homeland security, or critical infrastructure protection.
• Experience delivering or implementing SaaS solutions.
• Familiarity with the DoD Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process.
• A record of taking a company from pre-revenue to a recurring-revenue sales pipeline.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary of USD 200,000-250,000 per year, based on experience and the company’s capital position at the time of hire.
• Performance bonus: A milestone-based bonus of 25% to 50% of base salary is paid upon achievement of the Board-approved objectives.
• Equity: Founder-level equity of 10% to 15%, vesting over four years with a one-year cliff and acceleration upon a qualifying change of control.
• Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage; 401(k) with matching; unlimited paid time off; and clearance-related and professional expenses.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Elessar, a subsidiary of Q2IMPACT™, is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Reasonable accommodations are available to applicants and employees with disabilities upon request.