
Chief of Staff - Hardware Projects at Hexa (Bruxelles, Belgium)
Hexa· Bruxelles, Belgium·
Role details
Job description
Chief of Staff - Hardware Projects
Location: Brussels or Paris - regular travel between the two expected Type: Full-time
About Hexa
Hexa (formerly eFounders) gives entrepreneurs the best chances to build outstanding companies. We are a pioneering, world-leading startup studio born in Europe that designs, builds and launches category-defining startups. We are today recognized as one of the best venture studios in the world, with a track record comparable to tier-1 VC funds. We have created 60+ companies (including 3 unicorns) with a combined valuation of over $5 billion among them Aircall, Spendesk, Front, Swan and Yousign. We are passionate about B2B software, particularly AI-native and agentic SaaS, fintech, climate tech, defense tech and healthtech. Hexa is in full growth mode, with three early-stage activities: our Ventures programs Hexa Start and Hexa Sprint which help entrepreneurs go from zero to one, and a PE program, Hexa Scale, which takes majority stakes in existing startups and pushes them to new thresholds.
A new hardware vertical at Hexa We've just welcomed Guerric as a new Partner at Hexa, and he's launching our hardware vertical. Guerric is an engineer with a PhD in aerospace engineering. He co-founded ScanWorld, a satellite imagery analytics company, before spending a few years in nuclear energy, where he played a key incubator role in launching companies across fission, fusion and defense. Guerric is building and scaling hardware startups within the studio, starting with two projects already validated and entering a critical growth phase:
- An atmospheric water generation project: producing drinking water from ambient air.
- A satellite communications project: space telecommunications infrastructure.
Two projects, two markets, one thing in common: relatively long sales cycles, complex procurement processes, and a need to land the first customers and partners in highly specific industrial environments.
The mission We're looking for a Chief of Staff to support these two projects on their go-to-market and business development track. You'll be at the heart of building the commercial engine for these early-stage startups: identifying targets, structuring the commercial approach, making first contact, and developing strategic partnerships in sectors with long, complex sales cycles.
What you'll be doing
- Mapping the market: identifying the first target accounts, decision-makers, and buying committees in industrial sectors such as aerospace, energy, defense, and data centers.
- Building the go-to-market approach: structuring how each project reaches its first customers and partners, from outreach strategy to positioning.
- Prospecting hands-on: picking up the phone and cold-calling into specific B2B, industrial buying environments. This is not a delegated task, you'll be doing it yourself.
- Developing partnerships: engaging with industrial players, integrators, and institutional actors relevant to each project's ecosystem.
- Acting as a right hand to the founders: helping structure priorities, coordinate across the projects launched within the venture studio, and bring an operator's rigor to fast-moving, still-forming teams.
- Feeding learnings back into the projects: translating what you learn from the field (objections, buying criteria, procurement constraints) into sharper go-to-market decisions.
Who we're looking for
- Solid experience in a hardware / industrial environment, with long sales cycles and complex procurement (e.g., aerospace, energy, defense, infrastructure, or adjacent sectors).
- A background that combines a large industrial company (e.g., Airbus, Siemens, Rheinmetall, EDF, Thalès) with startup experience. We're looking for someone who also has a real hands-on, scrappy startup layer.
- A genuine go-to-market / business development appetite: you're not afraid to cold-call into specific, technical B2B worlds.
- An existing network in industrial sectors like aerospace, energy, defense, or data centers is a strong plus.
- Deep knowledge of the sector and its purchasing dynamics matters more than the exact title of your previous role.
Recruitment process
- First call with Laure - introduction to Hexa and a check on cultural fit.
- Interview with Guerric - mutual introduction, deep dive into the role, both projects, and our approach to management.
- Case study - an exercise inspired by our real projects (for example: identifying the first 10 contacts to reach out to for the water project).
- Final interview - with other team members
- Reference check and offer
What we offer
- 53-56K + 20% “interessement” : 63K-67K total comp
- Opportunity to invest in Hexa portfolio startups at a preferential rate
- Swile meal card
- 8 to 12 RTT days per year
- Mobility budget: €500/year for green transportation (bike, metro, electric scooter)
- Health insurance with 50% coverage for you and your family
- 1% Holiday bonus
Why work at Hexa
- Culture: "You'll never build alone" – the studio emphasizes deep collaboration, ambition, humility, and execution. The team is composed of entrepreneurs and expert operators.
- Remote/Hybrid Policy: Hexa is based in Paris. For the Start track, a presence at HQ is important to benefit from resources and mentorship. Sprint is remote-friendly but based in France/Europe for events. Scale is likely remote-friendly with in-person board/partner meetings.
- Perks & Engineering Culture: No software engineers in the core team – each startup's product is built by engineers recruited specifically for that company. This means engineers get to join a funded startup with a built-in support system from day one. The studio provides legal, finance, recruiting, and strategic support so engineers can focus on product.
- Career Path: Two kinds of roles: (1) the core team that builds the machine (partners, product managers, designers, GTM, finance, legal) and (2) founding hires inside the startups coming out of the studio. Either way, you're in "before it exists" – a high-risk, high-reward environment with significant ownership and impact.