How Jen Li Went from Interior Design to Scaling a Silicon Startup
Jen Li is often considered a jack of all trades at Rivos, and for good reason. As Chief of Staff, she oversees everything from HR and immigration to company-wide operations, events, and executive leadership support. She plays a vital role on the leadership team, keeping everything aligned and forward-looking.
Jen doesn’t have a conventional tech resume since her career began in a very different world: interior design. After earning her degree in Architecture from the University of Southern California in 2010, she served as the Vice President of Design and Development at Najarian Furniture Company for nearly three years. In this role, she honed her skills in running a department, staying highly organized, and executing on creative vision.
After relocating to a new city, Jen’s expertise in design seamlessly translated into operations and branding roles in tech. She transitioned into administrative and operational work with Google’s indoor maps team as a contractor for a few months. Jen joined Google full-time in 2014, where she had an extensive background in events and worked her way up to Executive Business Partner on the Chrome OS team. She supported the VP of Chrome OS and worked closely with future Rivos founders Puneet Kumar and Mark Hayter. While Jen valued the experience, she felt like she needed a change after nearly eight years at Google. “I thrive when I’m challenging myself, and I reached a point where I had capped out,” she explained.
When Puneet and Mark established Rivos in May 2021, Jen kept in touch and followed their journey. After the company received seed funding about four months in, they needed someone to help scale quickly. However, the leap from a big tech company to an early-stage startup isn’t easy. “I went through a lot of emotions,” Jen shared. “There was definitely some risk, but I realized the experience and growth I’d gain at Rivos far outweighs what I would’ve left behind.”
At Rivos, Jen had to adjust to fewer resources, more ambiguity, and building systems from the ground up. “You have to do everything yourself at a startup, which is daunting but it’s also what makes the job fun,” she said. What else keeps her excited to come into work everyday? The potential for where the company can go and Jen’s role in their leadership. “Rivos has a very strong team and really good leaders, so this could be an amazing opportunity if we execute on the technology,” she shared. Jen describes the company’s culture as a melting pot, where people from vastly different backgrounds come together with a shared goal to better the company and build something that lasts.
Both in and out of the office, Jen enjoys having a good time with people. She loves cooking, playing board games with her husband, and golfing with her family. As a self-proclaimed foodie, Jen appreciates fine dining and a good glass of wine.