---
title: 'Administrative Assistant at Astera Institute'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/administrative-assistant-astera-institute-emeryville-0qk239d039tq'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-13'
---

# Administrative Assistant at Astera Institute

- **Company:** Astera Institute
- **Location:** Emeryville, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-09
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-13
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/astera/5596f24e-bf75-4bf3-8027-4dcd6c4b4f31

## Job description

## About Us

Astera is a private foundation on a mission to steer science and technology toward a better future. We believe the coming years will bring an era of unprecedented scientific and technological advancement as exponential progress in AI converges with central advances in other fields to accelerate innovation. This inflection point provides an unparalleled opportunity to fundamentally rethink the institutions, systems, and tools that drive progress. We have committed a $3.5B endowment to that work and fit the form of our support to the function it serves: grants, investments, and in-house research programs. We accept meaningful risk in the research we back and expect some of it to fail because transformative ideas are rarely the ones already proven. Our projects, and the foundation itself, operate like high-velocity startups, with a high performance bar and competitive compensation to match. We are searching for leaders who are compelled by the challenge of driving high-impact change in the way science is funded, conducted, and communicated. You can read more about our mission, vision, and programming at[astera.org/vision](http://astera.org/vision).

Position Summary Astera Institute is hiring an organized and proactive Administrative Assistant to support key Astera leaders as we grow. Initially, you will support our Head of AI Research and our Head of Strategic Investments. You'll split your time between both leaders, providing day-to-day administrative support while contributing to broader operations as a member of Astera's ops team reporting to our People Operations Manager. This role sits at the intersection of frontier research and early-stage investing, so you'll work with scientists, founders, and external partners. As an AI-forward organization, we're looking for someone excited about the transformative potential of AI tools, who sees this role as a chance to build that fluency and uplevel their work from day one.

## Responsibilities

Executive Support (80%)

- Manage complex, multi-timezone calendars, balancing competing priorities between leaders
- Coordinate domestic and international travel and conference registrations (flights, hotels, ground transport, itineraries)
- Act as first point of contact for inbound requests, triaging and routing as needed
- Own finance admin, including expense reports and reimbursements, procurement (vendor quotes, POs, and invoice tracking), and budget tracking for programs and projects
- Prepare meeting materials, including agendas, briefing docs, and follow-up notes
- Track action items and follow up on outstanding deliverables
- Maintain organized shared drives and filing systems
- Coordinate guest and visitor logistics, including meeting rooms, badging, and hospitality
- Support research team events, seminars, workshops, and offsites
- Coordinate onboarding logistics for new team members, including equipment, accounts, and first-week schedules

AI Research

- Schedule and coordinate meetings with researchers, academic collaborators, and external partners
- Owning recruiting coordination by scheduling interviews, managing candidate communications, and owning onsite coordination.
- Conduct light research (venues, vendors, background on collaborators) and support special projects

Investments

- Schedule founder pitches, diligence calls, and co-investor meetings, often on short notice
- Help maintain the deal pipeline and CRM, keeping notes and contact records current
- Coordinate board meeting logistics and materials
- Handle confidential deal, portfolio, and financial information with discretion
- Nice to have: Exposure to venture capital, investing, or research environments.

Operations & Cross-functional (20%)

- Support the Foundation ops team as back up front desk reception coverage
- Support the Foundation ops team on projects as they arise, such as vendor coordination, event logistics, or communications support
- Serve as connective tissue between supported leaders and Foundation operations
- Continuously improve processes and ways of working, with an eye toward what new tools and technology make possible

## Qualifications

More important than a substantial amount of experience is cultural alignment. Key attributes for success include:

- Prioritization & organizational skills: You manage competing priorities across two leaders with ease and re-prioritize independently when things shift. You stay calm under pressure.
- Relationship orientation & communication skills: You assume best intent and build positive working relationships with scientists, founders, and partners alike. You use written and verbal communication as an effective and critical tool.
- Proactive: You anticipate needs rather than waiting to be asked.
- Start-up mentality: You don't hold strong boundaries around what "isn't your job," and recognize this role may evolve significantly over 6–12 months.
- Discretion: You use good judgment with sensitive information, including confidential investment and financial details.
- Growth mindset: You value giving and receiving respectful, direct feedback. You're excited to learn new tools and techniques that uplevel your abilities and efficiency.
- Creative, tenacious problem solving: You see options where others see constraints, and you're energized by delighting stakeholders with thoughtful solutions.
- Mission drive: You're motivated by enabling science and ventures that could reshape the future.

Location This role will be on-site 5 days a week in Emeryville, California.

## Compensation

This role's pay range is $80,000 – $100,000 per year, based on experience, skills, and location.

## About Astera Institute

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Astera Institute is a nonprofit organization that funds and conducts high-impact scientific research and engineering projects focused on neuroscience, artificial general intelligence (AGI), and open science to accelerate positive futures for humanity.
- **Entity Type**: Private nonprofit (501(c)(3) private foundation)
- **Headquarters**: Berkeley, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2020
- **Founders**: Jed McCaleb (also co-founder of Stellar Development Foundation and founder of Vast)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Research services, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, life sciences, grantmaking
- **Target customers**: Not applicable (nonprofit; serves the research community and the public through open science and foundational advances)
- **Mission / purpose**: Empower visionary, high-leverage science and technology projects with the capacity to create transformative progress for human civilization. Focus on areas like AGI, science, and climate that lack natural homes in the existing innovation ecosystem.

## Products & Services
Astera operates three main divisions (not commercial products):
- **Neuro & AGI**: Directed neuroscience and AI research effort to understand biological intelligence and engineer safe, successful general intelligence systems. [astera.org](https://astera.org/)
- **Radial**: Life sciences research division that funds and runs high-impact fundamental scientific challenges, testing new models for how science is conducted. [astera.org](https://astera.org/)
- **Foundation**: Centralized operational, financial support, and ecosystem-building for Neuro-AI, Science, and Strategic Investments. Also leads Residency and Fellowship programs. [astera.org](https://astera.org/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not applicable (nonprofit)
- **Key Metrics**: 
  - **Total assets** (2023): $2,003,858,714 [causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/astera-institute,845162617/)
  - **Total expenses** (2023): $27,504,754 [causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/astera-institute,845162617/)
  - **Investment income and dividends** (2023): $58,598,494 [causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/astera-institute,845162617/)
  - **Headcount**: 55 employees (+63.4% YoY) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Funded primarily by founder Jed McCaleb (grants contributed $131M in 2022). Key leaders include Prachee Avasthi (Head of Open Science), Doris Tsao (Chief Scientist – Neuro), Seemay Chou (CEO – Radial), and Dileep George (Co-Founder, Neuro & AGI). [astera.org](https://astera.org/team/)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - 63.4% employee growth year-over-year (55 people) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)
  - 23 active job postings (up 1050% YoY) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)
  - LinkedIn followers grew 128.9% yearly [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)
  - Presence in Netherlands and United Kingdom [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Unique model**: Nonprofit foundation that internally incubates and directly funds high-risk, high-leverage research across neuroscience, AI, and life sciences — without the pressure of commercial returns.
- **Top-tier leadership**: Led by accomplished scientists (e.g., Doris Tsao, Dileep George) and experienced operators from organizations like Stellar, Google, and Arcadia Science. [astera.org](https://astera.org/team/)
- **Open science focus**: Strong commitment to open access research and new models for scientific collaboration, attracting talent who value transparency and impact.
- **Substantial capital base**: Over $2B in assets provides long-term runway for ambitious, multi-year projects.

## Strategic Focus
- Deepen understanding of biological intelligence through large-scale neural circuit analysis and causal manipulation (Neuro & AGI). [astera.org](https://astera.org/)
- Continue incubation of radical science projects via Radial, particularly in aging, biotech, and platforms. [causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/astera-institute,845162617/)
- Expand the Residency and Fellowship programs to attract diverse scientific and engineering talent. [astera.org](https://astera.org/)
- Scale operations and hiring: current job postings span roles from vivarium operations manager to research scientists in energy-based models and distributed simulation systems. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/astera)

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven work**: Directly contribute to foundational research that could reshape humanity’s future with AGI and novel science.
- **Benefits**: Full-time W2 employees receive top-tier medical/dental/vision insurance, 403(b) retirement plans, long-term disability plan, health/dependent-care FSAs, and commuter pre-tax accounts. [astera.org](https://astera.org/careers/)
- **Culture**: Described as an equal opportunity employer committed to equity and inclusion, encouraging diverse applicants. Emphasis on open science, experimentation, and high-leverage impact. [astera.org](https://astera.org/careers/)
- **Work setup**: Headquarters in Berkeley, CA; also has staff in the Netherlands and UK. Specific remote/hybrid policy not disclosed but multiple job postings suggest flexible arrangements.
- **Team composition**: Highly technical and research-oriented (21 researchers, 10 technical staff, 6 medical). Staff previously from Google, Stanford, UCSF, Arcadia Science, Relay Therapeutics. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)
- **Rapid growth**: 63% YoY headcount increase and 1050% growth in job postings signal an expanding organization with ample career opportunities.

## Sources
1. [astera.org](https://astera.org/) – Homepage and division descriptions
2. [astera.org](https://astera.org/team/) – Leadership team details
3. [astera.org](https://astera.org/careers/) – Benefits and culture
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute) – Company page with headcount, growth, job postings, and talent sources
5. [causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/astera-institute,845162617/) – Financials (990-PF: revenues, expenses, assets, program areas)
6. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/astera) – Active open positions list

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