Strategic Projects Lead

Location: San Francisco (on-site, M-F plus a half-day or remote on Sundays)

Compensation

Base salary of $130,000 to $150,000, plus equity and bonus. Annual target compensation of $220,000-$300,000.

About our client

Our client is a San Francisco AI research lab building novel datasets and running experiments to map the limits and capabilities of today's leading models. The leading frontier foundation model labs are customers. The company recently closed a $30M Series A at a roughly $300M valuation. Earlier backers include Y Combinator and BoxGroup, alongside ex-partners from Lightspeed and Index Ventures and senior leaders at Google DeepMind and Meta GenAI.

Role overview

The Strategic Projects Lead will work directly with the founding team on high-priority projects spanning product development, research, and operations. This is an early-hire role with broad scope across the company, suited to a high-ownership operator who wants to be in the room on the most consequential decisions.

Key responsibilities

• Work closely with the world's leading AI labs to generate next-generation datasets that push the boundaries of AI, directly generating revenue for the company
• Manage teams of experts across a wide variety of domains, including finance, software engineering, and the sciences
• Collaborate with internal teams to develop groundbreaking AI research
• Drive initiatives across the company as an early hire
• Support the team across various operational initiatives

Required qualifications

• 2+ years of experience at a top investment bank, top private equity firm, MBB (McKinsey, Bain, BCG) consulting firm
• Degree from a top-tier university
• Track record in a client-facing, high-ownership role
• Strong communication and client management skills
• High agency with proven ability to own projects end-to-end
• Intense work ethic, drive, and competitive nature with a track record of demonstrated past success
• Strong leadership experience
• Passion for AI and interest in entrepreneurship
• Willing to work 60+ hours per week when needed
• Willing to work 5 days a week (M-F) on-site in the SF office, plus a half-day or remote on Sundays

ExitOpp is a 3rd party recruiter contracted to help identify talent for this role.