"I'm hiring my next Chief of Staff. You won’t know every field I work in. What matters is how quickly you learn, the questions you ask, and whether you can think from first principles. You’ll help evaluate opportunities and work with founders building consequential companies. Technical background preferred. Three-year commitment. Menlo Park, in person", Khosla wrote.
Core responsibilities & daily execution
The role is structured as a direct thought partnership with Khosla, blending independent judgment with hands-on execution. Key duties outlined in the position details include:
- Opportunity evaluation and diligence: Meeting founders, assessing inbound deals, investigating unfamiliar technologies, markets, and teams, and developing clear investment recommendations.
- Analyses and communications: Drafting investment briefs, essays, presentations, and correspondence while making complex ideas clear and easily assessable.
- Portfolio company support: Tracking business performance, financing plans, and leadership needs while reviewing board materials to identify strategic support from Khosla Ventures.
- Project driving and relationship building: Leading open-ended strategic projects with founders and engaging experts, operators, and researchers across disciplines.
- Constructive pushback: Contributing independent judgment, challenging assumptions, and explaining what evidence would change a given perspective.
Candidate profile & operational demands
The position demands significant rigor and adaptability, prioritizing raw intellectual capacity over traditional credentials. Requirements and expectations include:
- Key qualities: Demonstration of achievement, first-principles reasoning, precise written communication, disciplined execution, and low ego. Candidates with startup experience, unusual paths, or international backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
- Daily schedule: In-person attendance in Menlo Park, California, every day, generally from 8 am to 8 pm, along with around-the-clock availability for nights and weekends when needed.
- 3-year commitment: Designed as a distinct three-year chapter. Relocation support and visa sponsorship are provided. While not a guaranteed investing seat, past chiefs of staff have gone on to found companies, launch venture funds, or take leadership roles at Khosla Ventures.
Who is Vinod Khosla?
The position places the successful applicant at the center of a legendary technology career. Khosla, an Indian-American entrepreneur with an $13.7 billion net worth. He was recently ranked No. 1 on the 2026 Forbes Midas List of venture investors, marking his 19th appearance on the list.
His entrepreneurial journey spans decades of paradigm-shifting ventures. In 1982, Khosla co-founded computer hardware giant Sun Microsystems alongside Andy Bechtolsheim, Bill Joy, and Scott McNealy, serving as its first CEO and Chairman.
After spending 18 years as a general partner at Kleiner Perkins starting in 1986 — where he led early investments in tech stalwarts like Juniper Networks and Excite — he founded Khosla Ventures in 2004 to back experimental and high-impact technologies.
Khosla is perhaps best known for his long-term bets on foundational technologies. In 2019, he famously wrote the very first venture capital check for OpenAI.
His portfolio spans artificial intelligence innovators like Cognition AI and trust-and-safety platform Wajo; fintech giants including Stripe, Square (Block), and Affirm; consumer delivery leaders DoorDash and Instacart; sustainable food pioneer Impossible Foods; and deep tech clean energy firms like QuantumScape and LanzaTech.
Beyond technology, Khosla expanded his portfolio into sports entertainment by purchasing the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, for a record $9.6 billion.