COO Jobs in California
COO jobs in California represent one of the most active executive markets in the country, concentrated in technology, healthcare, biotech, and venture-backed consumer brands, with openings ranging from early-career operational leaders to senior executives overseeing thousands of employees. The heaviest hiring is in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, where companies like Salesforce, Kaiser Permanente, and Qualcomm maintain deep operational leadership teams. The most in-demand specialties are scaling operations for high-growth startups, healthcare system administration, and supply chain optimization. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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The Senior Executive Assistant is a trusted member of the Executive Office who enables the Chief Operating Officer for Keck Medicine of USC and Chief Executive Officer for Keck Medical Center to lead effectively across a complex academic health enterprise. Working in close partnership with the Chief of Staff, this role manages and executes the flow of time, information, decisions, and relationships surrounding the executive office. The Senior Executive Assistant anticipates needs, exercises sound judgment on behalf of executive leadership, and ensures that priorities move from discussion to disciplined follow-through. Additionally, this position operates with a high degree of independence, discretion, and institutional awareness and serves as a primary point of coordination among health system and medical center leaders, medical staff and faculty leadership, university partners, board and committee participants, community and external stakeholders, and other executive offices.
Essential Duties
- Executive partnership and priority management: Serve as the principal partner to the COO and CEO and provide high-level support to the Chief of Staff, aligning daily activity with enterprise priorities and commitments. Manage a highly complex, dynamic executive calendar as a strategic resource; assess urgency, purpose, participants, preparation needs, travel time, and downstream consequences when accepting, sequencing, or redirecting requests. Anticipate conflicts and emerging needs, recommend solutions, and independently resolve routine issues while escalating matters that require executive or Chief of Staff judgment. Protect executive focus and access while maintaining a responsive, service-oriented experience for internal and external stakeholders. Maintain continuity during rapidly changing operational circumstances, including time-sensitive clinical, regulatory, workforce, or reputational matters.
- Executive communications and decision support: Review, triage, and track incoming requests and correspondence; identify required action, gather context, route appropriately, and ensure timely closure. Prepare leaders for meetings by project managing and confirming objectives, participants, background materials, decisions required, and outstanding commitments. Capture decisions, commitments, and action items from executive meetings; maintain reliable follow-up systems and prompt accountable owners without requiring routine direction. Handle confidential and sensitive information involving strategy, operations, personnel, medical staff, legal matters, compliance, quality, patient matters, and governance with exceptional discretion.
- Executive office operations and governance support: Coordinate executive leadership meetings, operating reviews, including schedules, agendas, materials, logistics, minutes when assigned, and follow-through. Establish and continuously improve executive-office workflows, protocols, records, and information-management practices to increase reliability, responsiveness, and efficiency. Coordinate complex travel, itineraries, security or protocol needs when applicable, and expense reconciliation in accordance with organizational policy. Partner with the Chief of Staff to maintain an integrated cadence of executive priorities, recurring meetings, key milestones, and institutional events. Use sound judgment to represent the Executive Office in routine interactions and to communicate decisions or direction within delegated authority.
- Enterprise relationships and coordination: Coordinate / partner closely with executive assistants and administrative leaders across the enterprise to align calendars, leadership forums, protocols, and coverage; serve as a resource and model for executive-support practices. Undertake special projects for the COO and CEO or Chief of Staff that require research, coordination, discretion, and disciplined execution.
- Must be able to uphold the following core capabilities: Executive Judgment: Understands organizational context, weighs competing priorities and interests, and makes sound decisions within delegated authority. Anticipation: Proactively identifies needs, risks, dependencies, and preparation requirements before they become urgent. Enterprise Perspective: Connects work across clinical, operational, academic, and administrative functions to support organizational objectives. Influence Without Authority: Secures information, action, and alignment through credibility, diplomacy, collaboration, and follow-through. Composure and Adaptability: Maintains professionalism, accuracy, and discretion while navigating interruptions, ambiguity, and shifting priorities. Operational Rigor: Establishes reliable processes, tracks commitments, closes communication loops, and consistently delivers high-quality work. Relationship Stewardship: Builds trust with executive leaders and diverse stakeholders while appropriately managing access, communications, and sensitive matters. Digital Fluency: Leverages technology and collaboration tools to enhance executive office efficiency, information accessibility, and workflow transparency.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
- Req Bachelor’s Degree
- Req 7 years Progressively responsible executive administrative or executive-office experience, including at least three years directly supporting a C-suite officer, president, chief executive, or comparably senior executive in a large, complex organization.
- Req Experience working in a hospital, health system, academic medical center, or closely integrated healthcare delivery organization.
- Req Substantial prior experience in a hospital or health system and a record of successfully supporting C-suite or comparably senior executives.
- Pref Experience supporting a health system COO, hospital or medical center CEO, president, chief of staff, or multiple interdependent C-suite leaders.
- Pref Experience in an academic health system or academic medical center, including familiarity with the relationships among healthcare delivery, medical staff and faculty leadership, education, research, and university administration.
- Pref Experience supporting boards, governing bodies, executive committees, medical staff leadership groups, or enterprise operating reviews.
- Req Demonstrated ability to work effectively in an executive and healthcare environment, maintain strict confidentiality, and collaborate with senior leaders while exercising sound judgment and professionalism in handling sensitive information.
- Req Demonstrated success managing complex executive calendars, sensitive communications, high-level meetings, travel, and competing priorities with minimal supervision.
- Req Advanced proficiency with Microsoft 365, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, and collaborative document platforms; ability to learn enterprise systems quickly.
- Req Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, professional presence, attention to detail, and judgment in interactions with senior and high-profile stakeholders.
- Req Ability to maintain strict confidentiality, recognize sensitive or high-risk matters, and act with integrity and discretion.
- Req Ability to work on site and provide schedule flexibility for early-morning, evening, or urgent executive needs as business demands require.
- Req Fire Life Safety Training (LA City) If no card upon hire, one must be obtained within 30 days of hire and maintained by renewal before expiration date. (Required within LA City only)
Keck Hospital of USC, a 343-bed acute care hospital, provides exceptional and innovative care for complex medical and surgical conditions across a wide range of specialties. The hospital’s world-renowned physicians deliver compassionate, customized, patient-centered care and treat the most acutely ill patients with highly innovative techniques and treatment plans. As a leading academic medical center, hundreds of clinical trials are currently taking place at Keck Hospital and its affiliated research institutions, giving patients access to novel and promising therapies that are generally not available elsewhere. Every day at Keck Hospital, physicians, nurses and staff go beyond the science of exceptional medicine to bring patients breakthroughs in the art of caring. Join this world-class team providing highly specialized care, up-to-the-minute research, and innovative clinical trials. The annual base salary range for this position is $99,507.00 - $147,000.00. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.
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Where California roles are concentrated, by current openings.
COO Job Market in California
A snapshot from current California openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring



Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Healthcare & Medical Services
- Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
- Retail
- Insurance
What California Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in COO jobs across California.
- Bachelor's degree in business administration, operations, or a related field required
- Ten or more years of progressive leadership experience in operations or a related function
- Demonstrated experience scaling teams and processes inside a California-based high-growth organization
- Proficiency with enterprise resource planning systems and operational performance metrics
- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills across finance, product, and people teams
- MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred by most mid-to-large California employers
COO Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a coo in California?
Becoming a coo in California typically starts with a bachelor's degree in business, operations, or a closely related field, followed by progressive leadership roles in operations, finance, or product management. California employers, particularly in technology and healthcare, strongly favor candidates who have an MBA from an accredited institution. There is no state-issued license specific to the coo role, but healthcare sector coos working within licensed facilities must understand California Department of Public Health compliance requirements.
Which companies hire coos in California?
Employers hiring coos in California right now include Gilead Sciences, Kaiser Permanente, and Stanford University, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. California's concentration of venture-backed technology firms, large integrated health systems, and global consumer brands makes it one of the broadest markets for operational leadership roles in the country.
Which California cities have the most coo jobs?
San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego account for the largest share of coo openings in California. San Francisco leads because of its density of technology and fintech headquarters, Los Angeles draws demand from media, healthcare, and consumer brands, and San Diego's biotech and defense sectors generate consistent need for operational leaders across mid-size and enterprise organizations.
Are there remote coo jobs in California?
Yes, though they are less common than in purely analytical roles because coos are typically expected to be present for cross-functional decision-making and culture leadership. About 67% of coo openings tied to California are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, with the fully remote roles most often found in software and SaaS companies that operate distributed teams. Strategic and board-facing responsibilities are most likely to be performed remotely.
How can I get hired as a coo in California with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is building operational leadership experience through director or VP-level roles in functions like finance, product, or people operations before stepping into a coo position. Large California health systems such as Kaiser Permanente and Dignity Health run administrative fellowship programs that prepare candidates for executive operational roles. Technology companies in the Bay Area frequently promote from within, making head of operations or chief of staff roles natural stepping stones. Earning an MBA from a California business school also accelerates the timeline significantly.
Where can I find and apply to coo jobs in California?
You can find and apply to coo jobs in California on Migrate Mate, which lists current California openings updated regularly. Search the available roles, find the ones that match your background and target market, and apply directly to the employers posting them.
See All 451+ COO Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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