Public Affairs and Communications Strategist

About Arondite

Arondite enables organisations to wield autonomy, data and AI at scale. We equip operators with the foundational software to orchestrate their mix of platforms and capabilities, and then take mission-critical decisions faster than their adversaries.

We exist to ensure the UK and its allies out-think, out-pace and out-adapt those who seek to threaten our values and way of life. Our technology is designed for deployment in the world’s most austere environments, and is relied upon by the world’s most demanding operators. We deploy alongside them, bringing our technical expertise wherever it is needed.

You will join Arondite at a pivotal moment in the company’s journey. We are ambitious, building for the long-term and backed by globally renowned investors including Index Ventures (Anthropic, Wiz, Figma, Revolut). Our company is being built by exceptional engineers - people who find high-impact and technically challenging work engaging and exciting, and who consistently deliver outsized impact. You will collaborate with other brilliant minds to solve some of the world’s hardest and most important problems.

You will have ownership and autonomy from Day One. There is no corporate ladder at Arondite. We hire the best people and give them extremely high levels of autonomy; the sky is the limit for an individual with the right ambition.

If you are motivated by our mission and if you want to be part of our growing team, then we want to hear from you.

About the role

This is an important and high-impact role, joining as the second hire in our Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs function. You will combine strategic counsel with hands-on delivery across ministerial and government engagement, external content generation and strategic campaign planning. As a Public Affairs & Communications Strategist you will operate across a range of work streams with equal rigour, moving fluidly between briefing work one week and media or content work the next. The mix will shift constantly, and that is by design; what stays constant is the standard you bring to each strand, without needing to be told which one takes priority that week. As our growth accelerates, we want someone who actively looks for where they can have the most impact, and defines the scope of their role to make that impact.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Write the materials that drive policy engagement: fact sheets, briefing notes, parliamentary submissions, consultation responses.
• Draft external communications content (op-eds, speeches, stakeholder letters, event materials) and contribute to messaging and narrative development.
• Contribute to strategic multi-stakeholder forward planning. Ensure public affairs and communications function is aligned with evolving business needs on a weekly and monthly basis, while ensuring rigorous focus on long-term strategic priorities.
• Day-to-day co-ordination with Arondite's retained government affairs agency.
• Build and maintain relationships with ministerial offices, special advisers, civil servants and parliamentary stakeholders.
• Work with our engineers and product teams to develop the fluency to explain Arondite's capabilities credibly to government and public audiences.
• Support general media relations, thought leadership and physical event activity where required
• Keep multiple workstreams moving: managing approvals with customer stakeholders, track deadlines, and making sure nothing falls through the gaps.

Requirements

You should have:

• Political instincts and a solid working knowledge of Westminster: who matters, how decisions get made, and the drum beats that a minister’s office actually cares about.
• Writing that is clear, concise and persuasive: the ability to produce a strong briefing paragraph, a technical factsheet or a tight Q&A response under pressure.
• A bias for getting things done: you spot what needs to happen and make it happen, without waiting to be told. And if you think we’re making the wrong choice, you are comfortable speaking up.
• Genuine interest in defence and national security technology: not necessarily as a formal background, but as a subject you want to understand.

Ideally, you would also have:

• Curiosity about emerging approaches to communication and engagement, and an appetite for rapid iteration and experimentation.
• Comfort with technical subject matter: you are not expected to understand the engineering, but you should be willing to go deep enough to communicate it credibly.
• Experience managing an external agency or acting as the day-to-day client contact on a government affairs/communications brief.

Note: We want Arondite to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. We don’t expect everyone to have experience across each of these areas. Please apply even if you only partially fulfil this list. This is especially important for this role: we anticipate candidates will have more experience in either Public Affairs or Communications.

Right to Work

We require that all candidates have an existing Right to Work in the UK at the time of application.

Security clearance

We believe in working closely with defence customers. As a result, this role is likely to require you to hold a clearance or be willing to undergo UK security vetting to Security Check (SC) or above. This normally requires having continuous residency in the UK for at least 5 years.

Office vs hybrid working

We are focused on building a positive, collaborative engineering-driven culture. We therefore believe in making the office a friendly, comfortable and fun place to be, and we try to work from the office where possible. Of course, there are times when it makes sense for you to work from home and that's OK. You may also need to travel to visit customers, depending on your role. But in general you should only apply to join Arondite if you're excited to come into the office and work in person by default.

Application process

Generally, our interview process is comprised of the following stages:

1. CV submission with initial questions
2. Introductory Teams call (30-45 mins)
3. In-person panel interview + problem solving session (90 mins)
4. Final interview with one of Arondite’s Founders (30 mins)

Benefits

• Highly competitive base salary
• Generous equity in EMI share options in a well-funded and growing startup
• 7% employer pension contribution
• Free meals in the office every day
• Private health and dental insurance, with opt-in cover for dependents
• Cycle to work scheme
• Relocation support
• Access to any resources, equipment and training that you need to do your job in a world-class way