Managing Director (STATION Austin)

Austin, Texas, United States

Leadership Team reporting to SVP Operations

Full-time, in office

STATION Austin is a newly launched nonprofit organization to help entrepreneurs change the world through technology using Capital Factory’s proven playbook developed over the past 15 years. Located in the heart of downtown Austin, STATION Austin already serves as the center of gravity for founders, investors, technologists, and public-sector leaders shaping the future of frontier innovation.

We are hiring a Managing Director to build and lead this organization as it emerges from Capital Factory. As the senior leader, you will execute the strategy, nurture the culture, and ensure operational excellence across membership, programming, partnerships, events, and revenue. You will represent STATION Austin publicly, steward high-impact relationships, and deliver world-class experiences that strengthen Austin’s role as a global innovation hub.

This is a builder role for a leader who combines executive presence, operational discipline, fundraising strength, and deep passion for Texas and technology.

What you will do…

Organizational Leadership & Strategy

• Lead a 30-person organization across membership, programming, events, partnerships, and operations with clear goals, accountability, and performance management.
• Own the annual strategic plan and OKRs, including budget development, resourcing, and quarterly execution reviews.
• Establish operating rhythms, reporting systems, and dashboards to ensure transparency and measurable impact.

Membership & Community Experience

• Design and continuously improve a high-value membership experience rooted in curated introductions, mentorship, and measurable member outcomes.
• Ensure members join for access and stay for community, trust, and results.

Signature Events & Platform Growth

• Oversee delivery of STATION Austin’s cornerstone events, including Fed Supernova, CF House during SXSW, Health Supernova, and Austin Tech Week.
• Ensure each event achieves sponsor ROI, high attendee satisfaction, operational excellence, and national visibility.

Partnerships & Ecosystem Leadership

• Build and steward executive-level relationships across government, industry, academia, and venture capital.
• Recruit high-quality startups, investors, mentors, and corporate partners into the STATION community.
• Serve as the public face of STATION Austin through media, speaking engagements, and official delegations.

Fundraising & Revenue

• Co-lead revenue strategy with the Grants Manager across grants, sponsorships, memberships, and earned revenue.
• Build and manage a qualified fundraising pipeline with clear forecasting and reporting.
• Secure major unrestricted grants and multi-year partnership commitments.

You'll know you're successful if....

• You secure at least $2.5M in unrestricted grant funding within your first 12 months.
• You grow paid membership by 10% year-over-year while maintaining strong member satisfaction and retention.
• You increase event attendance, ticket sales, and venue revenue by 20% year-over-year while maintaining high sponsor renewal rates.
• You facilitate at least three U.S. Cabinet or Congressional visits, three international head-of-state or equivalent visits, and five Tier 1 frontier-tech VC visits annually.
• You build and retain a high-performing team with low regrettable attrition and strong internal engagement scores.

About you…

• You have executive-level leadership experience (e.g., Managing Director, Executive Director, GM, VP) leading cross-functional teams and managing meaningful budgets.
• You have experience operating within Texas’ technology, innovation, or government ecosystem.
• You are an experienced fundraiser and relationship-builder, comfortable asking for and closing large commitments.
• You can navigate complex stakeholder environments across government, academia, venture, and corporate sectors.
• You are a strong public communicator with executive presence.
• You are highly organized, metrics-driven, and comfortable managing multiple priorities simultaneously.
• You thrive in high-visibility, high-pressure environments and adapt quickly when circumstances change.
• You are outgoing and comfortable building trust quickly with a wide range of personalities.
• You document decisions, maintain organized systems, and leverage technology—including AI tools—to improve efficiency.

About our team...

• We have a passion for startups and technology. 
• We are transparent and we over-communicate.
• We have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• We communicate when we are not able to meet a deadline and suggest a solution.
• We are professional and presentable and greet everyone cheerfully. We’re ready to deal with an immature student, a pushy salesperson, top VC’s, a fortune 500 CEO, and even the President of the United States.
• We are excited to work in downtown Austin and have reliable transportation.
• We have a quiet place where we can work remotely with fast internet. 
• We are security aware. We have a passcode on our computers and phones and use a password manager.
• We are able to efficiently use the Google suite of productivity tools (Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides).
• We are available to work during SXSW (Spring Break), DREAMCON (one week long staff summits twice a year), and Austin Tech Week.
• We get to Inbox Zero every day.

• 4 weeks paid time off (one week is between Christmas and New Year’s) 
• Personal health, vision and dental insurance paid 100% by STATION Austin
• Additional benefits such as 401k program (50% company matching), life insurance, short & long term disability and and employee assistance program
• Parental leave including 10 weeks paid leave for birthing parents and 4 weeks paid leave for non-birthing parents
• $1,000 personal innovation budget on your first year anniversary and then an additional $500 each anniversary thereafter
• Coworking membership at STATION AUSTIN with garage parking space, metro pass, or rideshare credits and access to the onsite gym
• A priceless network

About STATION Austin

STATION Austin is the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas.  Thousands of entrepreneurs, programmers, and designers gather day and night, in-person and online for meetups, classes, and coworking. With boots on the ground in Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Washington, DC., STATION meets the best entrepreneurs outside of Silicon Valley and introduces them to their first investors, employees, mentors, and customers.