Executive Assistant to CEO - Tampa, Fl

Your Dream. Our Team. · About Rise8 · Rise8 builds custom, secure software for government organizations, measuring success by impact: lives saved, time returned, and missions advanced.  · We think big, start small, and scale fast with elite teams across product, design, and engin ...

Job description

Your Dream. Our Team.

About Rise8

Rise8 builds custom, secure software for government organizations, measuring success by impact: lives saved, time returned, and missions advanced. 

We think big, start small, and scale fast with elite teams across product, design, and engineering to drive continuous delivery for critical missions.

We believe customer experience starts with employee experience, so we take care of our employees. Rise8 is where you'll do the best work of your career—supported by a culture you won't find anywhere else. We offer competitive pay and benefits, but what sets us apart is our commitment to autonomy, growth, and a culture rooted in kindness, candor, and continuous learning. 

Certified as a Great Place to Work, with 100% of employees saying they love working here, Rise8 is where bold ideas become real capabilities. Where mission meets meaning. And where fewer bad things happen because of bad software.

A Note From Our CEO

If selected for this role, you will be my right-hand partner—helping me move faster, stay focused, and drive critical initiatives across the company. You will act as an extension of my capacity, filtering information, coordinating priorities, and handling operational details so I can focus on strategy, external partnerships, and company leadership.

Please ensure the responsibilities below reflect work that energizes you. This is a highly trusted position with broad access, fast pace, and significant impact. For the right person, it is an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to a mission-driven, high-growth company during a pivotal chapter.

- Bryon Kroger, Founder & CEO

As a Principal EA at Rise8: 

You will serve as the Principal Executive Assistant to the Founder & CEO of a high-growth company (50% YoY) operating at meaningful scale (>$50M revenue). You will act as an extension of the CEO's judgment, presence, and operating system.

• Your job is not to simply manage tasks.
• Your job is to remove friction, anticipate needs, and multiply leverage.
• This is an in-person role. Remote or hybrid candidates will not be considered.

What this role is not:

• A stepping stone to Chief of Staff, Operations, Strategy, or Leadership
• A role for someone who wants to "grow out of admin"
• A role for someone who needs coaching, reassurance, or hand-holding
• A role for someone who wants visibility, credit, or a personal platform

This role is for someone who gets deep satisfaction from elite support, takes pride in operational excellence, and sees their executive's effectiveness as their primary output.

If you are looking for your next role after this one, do not apply.

If you are looking to become the best EA you can possibly be, please keep reading.

Core Responsibilities:

Executive Leverage & Anticipation

• Anticipate needs before they are expressed
• Prepare context, materials, and decisions in advance
• Track all open loops and follow-ups without reminders
• Act independently within clear intent (escalate only when truly required)

Calendar, Time & Energy Management

• Treat the CEO's calendar as a strategic asset
• Aggressively prioritize, decline, and reschedule meetings
• Build intentional buffers and protect deep work
• Say "no" on the CEO's behalf without hesitation
• Design days, weeks, and travel for effectiveness and sustainability

Communication & Information Management

• Manage inbox, messages, and requests with precision
• Summarize complex threads into concise, decision-ready briefs
• Provide full situational awareness without irrelevant detail
• Draft communications on behalf of the CEO as needed
• Maintain discretion and confidentiality at all times

Administrative Excellence (Non-Negotiable)

• Handle all administrative work with pride and precision
• Manage logistics, scheduling, travel, expenses, and preparation
• Maintain flawless attention to detail
• Execute without ego or complaint
• NOTE: If you believe certain tasks are "beneath" you, this role is not a fit.

Stakeholder Interface

• Be direct, concise, and unfiltered with the CEO
• Be diplomatic, polished, and emotionally intelligent with the leadership team and external stakeholders
• Navigate high-expectation, high-status environments with confidence and calm
• Represent the CEO with taste, discretion, and professionalism

Operating Style (Read Carefully)

You will thrive here if you:

• Prefer clarity over consensus
• Like being micro-informed and working with leaders who expect the same
• Communicate concisely without monologues or filler
• Do not need emotional support to do excellent work
• Take pride in being invisible but indispensable

You will not thrive here if you:

• Want mentorship toward a different role
• Need frequent affirmation
• Prefer ambiguous expectations
• Resist structure, standards, or accountability
• Want to "eventually do something else"

What Success Looks Like

• The CEO's time, energy, and attention are protected and intentionally deployed
• Decisions move faster because context is always prepared in advance
  The calendar reflects strategy, not noise
• Details never slip
• The CEO is fully informed without being overwhelmed
• The leadership team experiences clarity, professionalism, and calm in every interaction involving you

Must Have 

• Significant experience as an EA to the CEO in a high-growth (~50% YoY) company at least ~$50M revenue
• Experience operating in complex, high-expectation environments
• Experience working with high-end talent and brand
• Demonstrated ability to operate at speed without dropping details
• High IQ and high EQ
• Excellent Google Workspace knowledge
• Outstanding organization and time management skills
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills
• Exceptional negotiation and interpersonal skills to collaborate with stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
• Discretion and confidentiality
• Must enjoy travel, events, and socializing with diverse people

Nice-to-Have 

• Experience as an EA to the CEO at a professional services or tech company
• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Management, or related field. 

Must Be

• In-person, full-time with CEO in Tampa, FL
• Able to travel up to 20%
• Able to go to after hours networking events
• Able to pass a background check
• Calm under pressure
• Self-directed and low-maintenance
• Comfortable making decisions within clear boundaries
• Energized by support, not resentful of it

Salary 

The annual salary range for this role as it is posted is $90,000 - $120,000 regardless of final candidate location within the United States. The final job level and annual salary will be determined based on the education, qualification, knowledge, skills, ability, and experience of the final candidate(s), and calibrated against relevant market data and internal team equity.

Benefits 

• Flexible schedule in a 100% distributed workforce 
• Premium Insurance: We cover up to 100% of the employee premium and up to 80% of the combined dependent premium on our base health plan, depending on pay band. We also cover 100% of the premium for employee and dependent Dental and Vision as well as employee premiums for Life and Disability coverage.
• Retirement: 401k match at 10% gross pay.
• Paid time off (PTO): 4 weeks combined accrued vacation and sick leave, 11 Federal holidays, your birthday, jury duty, and bereavement.
• Education & Training: Accrued budget of up to $3,500 per year for classes, travel, events, and materials.
• Home Office and Merch: We offer $750 per year for home office technology and equipment as well as $100 per year for Rise8 merch from our Swag Store.
• Wellness Budget: To encourage and support a well-rounded healthy lifestyle, we cover 100% reimbursement on a variety of wellness activities and products, up to $500 per calendar year. 
• Rise8 is part of the Life Time Corporate Partner program. In lieu of your $500 annual wellness benefit, you can instead get a $75 monthly credit towards a Life Time membership ($900 annual benefit).
• Equipment: We offer a MacBook Pro

How to Apply (Intentional Filter)

Along with your resume, include a short note answering one question:

Why do you choose executive support as your career, and what do you find fulfilling about it?

Generic applications will not be reviewed.

Final Note

This role is for someone who wants to be exceptional at support, not adjacent to power.

If that excites you, we want to hear from you.

All of Rise8's work in this area is with Federal Government customers that require our employees involved with their projects be U.S. citizens. As such, this role requires U.S. citizenship. If hired, you would also be required to go through a background investigation.

Rise8 is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that will consider you for this role regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetics, age, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.