--- title: 'Executive Assistant to the President & Chief Operating Officer at Ohalo' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/executive-assistant-to-the-president-chief-operating-officer-ohalo-south-san-qbkhy1hs25g4' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-07' --- # Executive Assistant to the President & Chief Operating Officer at Ohalo - **Company:** Ohalo - **Location:** South San Francisco, CA - **Posted:** 2026-07-13 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ohalogenetics/jobs/4714371005 ## Job description Position:  Executive Assistant to the President & Chief Operating Officer (COO) Location: South San Francisco Type: Full-time The Opportunity Ohalo™ is seeking a dedicated, highly organized Executive Assistant to the President & Chief Operating Officer (COO). This is an execution-focused, high-velocity support role for a true administrative partner. You will be our COO’s “right-hand person,” enabling them to advance company initiatives and goals. By managing complex calendar logistics and filtering incoming administrative demands, you will ensure the COO can focus entirely on high-level leadership and strategy. In our fast-growing environment, you will establish steady administrative routines, navigate complex scheduling dynamics, and ensure the COO's schedule and travel are always one step ahead of a rapidly expanding business. This is a high-impact role for a self-starting assistant who thrives on organization, execution, and discretion. You will approach the COO’s professional and personal logistics holistically, fiercely protecting their time and focus. You will succeed if you are relationship-driven, solutions-oriented, and equally at home managing fluid calendars as you are rolling up your sleeves for ad-hoc personal tasks. ## What You’ll Do Executive & Calendar Support - Strategically design and own the COO’s calendar. Schedule and prioritize meetings, protect focus time, and skillfully handle competing demands across internal and external stakeholders. - Manage end-to-end travel logistics, including flights, lodging, ground transport, and detailed itineraries for the COO and broader commercial team as needed. - Help the COO keep momentum by tracking action items, key decisions, and commitments coming out of commercial and operational meetings to ensure steady follow-through. - Organize digital files, coordinate meeting prep materials, and ensure the COO is fully briefed and prepared for the day ahead Office and Event Operations - Act as the primary, welcoming point of contact for visitors, external partners, and clients arriving for meetings with the COO. - Partner closely with the rest of the administrative team to coordinate logistics for company offsites, board meetings, commercial partner visits, and other key corporate events. - Provide seamless backup coverage for the office manager during absences or when business needs require temporary support. Personal Assistant Support - Handle personal scheduling, private travel arrangements, and ad-hoc personal tasks to completely optimize the COO's daily productivity - Exercise impeccable judgment and strict confidentiality when handling highly sensitive professional and personal information. ## What We’re Looking For - Experience: 4+ years of experience as an Executive Assistant supporting C-suite or senior operations leaders, ideally within a fast-paced, high-growth environment. - Business Acumen: A strong foundational understanding of corporate operations; you recognize who key stakeholders, clients, and partners are, allowing you to prioritize requests and make smart administrative decisions based on business impact. - Availability ("Always-On" Mentality): Flexibility and readiness to manage fluid, time-sensitive communications via text and email outside standard business hours, including regular weekend availability. - High EQ & Discretion: Exceptional interpersonal skills with a deep understanding of how to seamlessly manage professional relationships on behalf of leadership. - Low Ego & Service Mentality: You believe no task is too small. You are genuinely at your best when supporting others, optimizing administrative workflows, and rolling up your sleeves to get things done. - Grit & Resourcefulness: An ability to improvise, think on your feet, and remain positive and focused in a fluid startup environment. You are solutions-oriented and bounce back quickly from unexpected logistical changes. - AI & Tech Savvy: Proficient in Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Slides) and experienced with or highly enthusiastic about utilizing AI productivity tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, or administrative automation tools) to optimize workflows and scale yourself. - Education: Bachelor’s degree preferred, or equivalent practical experience. ## About Ohalo Ohalo® is sowing the seeds of tomorrow founded in 2019, Ohalo develops novel breeding systems and improved plant varieties that help farmers grow more food with fewer natural resources, increasing the yield, resiliency, and genetic diversity of crops to sustainably feed our population. Ohalo's breakthrough technology, Boosted Breeding™, will usher in a new era of improved productivity to radically transform global agriculture. For more information, visit [www.ohalo.com](http://www.ohalo.com). The anticipated base pay range for this role is $95,000 - $130,000 per year for our South San Francisco location. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs. Notes: If you previously applied for a job at Ohalo Genetics, we encourage you to restate your interest in the position by submitting your application. No visa sponsorship is available for this position at this time. This organization participates in E-Verify. Posters linked [here.](https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/IER_RightToWorkPoster%20Eng_Es.pdf) No recruiters, please. ## About Ohalo ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Ohalo develops novel plant breeding systems, primarily its Boosted Breeding™ technology, to dramatically increase crop yields, resilience, and genetic diversity while reducing resource use for global agriculture. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series B) - **Headquarters**: South San Francisco, California, United States - **Founded**: 2019 - **Founders**: David Friedberg (CEO), Jud Ward (Chief Technology Officer) ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Agricultural Biotechnology, Plant Breeding, AgTech - **Target customers**: B2B — global seed companies, commercial growers, and agricultural supply chain partners (e.g., strawberry, potato, almond, corn, and berry producers). - **Mission or purpose statement**: "Accelerating evolution to unlock nature's potential" — aiming to sustainably feed a growing population by shrinking the environmental footprint of agriculture through faster, more efficient plant breeding. ## Products & Services - **Boosted Breeding™**: A proprietary breeding platform that suppresses meiotic recombination, allowing offspring to inherit the complete genome from both parents (2x + 2x = 4x™). This creates "Boosted" plants that contain all beneficial traits from each parent, accelerating genetic gain and delivering predictable heterosis without multi-year selection cycles. - **Agile Breeding™**: A service that applies the Boosted Breeding platform across multiple crops to rapidly develop improved varieties. - **True Seed™**: A plant-breeding service delivering uniform, disease-free seedlings directly to growers — ready to sow, right out of the packet. Applied to crops like strawberries and potatoes. - **FruitionOne™**: The world's first self-fertile Nonpareil almond variety, eliminating the need for traditional bee pollination and cross-variety planting. - **Value-Added Traits**: Custom-developed traits (e.g., improved sustainability, better taste, longer shelf life, disease resistance) integrated into existing varieties for supply chain improvements. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed. - **Key Metric**: Total funding of approximately $100M (USD 99,999,969) across multiple rounds: - Seed (2019): Not disclosed - Early-stage venture (2021): $3.7M - Venture round (2024-01-25): $40.0M (2 investors) - Venture round (2024-05-01): $60.0M - Series B (2025-01-01): 1 investor - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Incubated by The Production Board (venture firm founded by David Friedberg). Partners include University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc., Florida Strawberry Growers Association, and the Ohalo Strawberry Consortium. - **Growth Signals**: - Headcount grew 40% YoY to 85 employees (with 17 active job postings as of mid-2025). - Recognized on the "50 by 2050" list by Congruent Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank for climate tech innovation. - Launched FruitionOne™ (self-fertile almond) and the Ohalo Strawberry Consortium in 2025. - Expanding into Brazil and United Arab Emirates. - CEO David Friedberg has appeared on the All-In Podcast with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, signaling high-level policy engagement. ## Competitive Advantages - **Proprietary technology moat**: Boosted Breeding™ is a breakthrough approach that fundamentally changes plant reproduction — enabling entire genome inheritance from both parents. This is a patentable, hard-to-replicate scientific platform applicable to nearly every crop. - **Speed to market**: Traditional breeding can take decades; Ohalo's method can deliver improved varieties in a fraction of the time, with predictable outcomes. - **Broad crop applicability**: The platform works across potatoes, corn, berries, almonds, and more — not limited to a single crop. - **Strong investor & partner network**: Backed by The Production Board and partnered with major agricultural research institutions and grower consortia. - **Sustainability angle**: Higher yields with fewer inputs (water, land, pesticides) aligns with global climate and food security trends. ## Strategic Focus - **Commercial expansion**: Scaling the Ohalo Strawberry Consortium and potato programs, with plans to enter corn, berries, and other row crops. - **Partnership development**: Collaborating with seed companies, grower groups, and research institutions to license Boosted Breeding™ and distribute True Seed™. - **R&D pipeline**: Developing new self-fertile and disease-resistant varieties (e.g., FruitionOne™ almonds) and integrating value-added traits. - **Global footprint**: Building operations in Brazil and UAE to address international agricultural markets. - **Talent acquisition**: Actively hiring across engineering, plant breeding, commercial sales, and operations — with 17 open roles as of mid-2025. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-driven work**: Directly contribute to solving global food security and sustainability challenges through cutting-edge science. - **Innovative culture**: Described as "Farmers First," with a bias toward action, iteration, and finding truth — a fast-paced, science-first environment. - **Talent & team**: Employees come from top institutions (UC Davis, Iowa State, North Carolina State) and companies (Driscoll's, Zymergen, Inari). The team includes 29 researchers (26% of workforce) and 20 technical staff (18%). - **Growth trajectory**: 40% YoY headcount growth and $100M in funding signal a well-resourced, scaling company with career advancement opportunities. - **Diverse roles**: Openings range from Senior Full Stack Engineer and Quantitative Geneticist to Technical Sales Representatives and Greenhouse Technicians — appealing to both technical and commercial talent. - **Location & flexibility**: Headquarters in South San Francisco, CA, with remote roles available for some positions (e.g., Technical Sales Representatives across multiple US regions). Presence in Brazil and UAE offers global exposure. - **Perks**: Not explicitly listed, but as a well-funded private company, competitive compensation and equity are likely. The company emphasizes "improving the lives of farmers" and a collaborative, truth-seeking culture. ## Sources 1. [ohalo.com](https://www.ohalo.com/) 2. [ohalo.com/about](https://www.ohalo.com/about) 3. [Greenhouse Careers](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ohalogenetics) 4. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohalo_Genetics) 5. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ohalo-genetics) ## Other roles at Ohalo - [Product Manager - AI-Native Business Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/product-manager-ai-native-business-systems-ohalo-south-san-francisco-zyfvp2sjy3dv) — South San Francisco, CA - [Greenhouse Maintenance Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/greenhouse-maintenance-technician-ohalo-watsonville-5as3swhxtpyj) — Watsonville, CA - [Field Technician – True Potato Seed Production](https://feeny.ai/job/field-technician-true-potato-seed-production-ohalo-watsonville-m0pbwqchnncx) — Watsonville, CA - [Global Crop Product Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/global-crop-product-manager-ohalo-south-san-francisco-6byvykwzefnx) — South San Francisco, CA - [Senior Greenhouse Facilities & Maintenance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-greenhouse-facilities-maintenance-manager-ohalo-watsonville-e5wetq8vy76w) — Watsonville, CA - [Business Development Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/business-development-lead-ohalo-south-san-francisco-n1bc9tccc4ye) — South San Francisco, CA - [Biotech Program Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/biotech-program-manager-ohalo-south-san-francisco-kkmf971cb6wc) — South San Francisco, CA - [Greenhouse Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/greenhouse-technician-ohalo-watsonville-85xh750e2xbm) — Watsonville, CA