Sign up to access all features of our service.
  • Job search
  • Favorites
  • Create a CV
    New
  • Salaries
  • Subscriptions

Strategic Projects Lead

$300k
Full-time

MJL Recruiting & Consulting


On-site 5 days a week in San Francisco, CA

Total Cash Compensation: Up to $300K

No visa sponsorship

Company builds the training data and evaluation infrastructure that frontier AI labs use to improve their models. They work with all five of the world's leading AI labs to design high-signal datasets and run rigorous evaluations that go beyond static benchmarks.

One of the fastest-growing companies in their YC batch. $30M raised at a $300M valuation, backed by Y Combinator, BoxGroup, Lightspeed, Warburg Pincus, Silver Lake, and Index Ventures, with investors from Google DeepMind and Meta GenAI senior leadership. Founding team from Jane Street, Meta, Citadel Securities, Google, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Berkeley AI Research (BAIR), and Stanford AI Lab (SAIL).

About the Role

Company is seeking exceptional technical candidates to work directly with the founding team on high-priority projects spanning AI research, product development, and engineering infrastructure. One week you might be scoping a dataset generation pipeline for a frontier lab. The next you are managing a team of ML engineers through a quality control system, or interfacing directly with a research team at Anthropic or OpenAI.

The role sits at the intersection of technical execution and strategic leadership. You will own initiatives end-to-end from requirements through delivery, managing teams of experts across software engineering, data science, and machine learning. This is a founding role with significant equity upside and direct access to the people shaping the future of AI.

What You'll Own

  • 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 technical experts across software engineering, data science, and machine learning on high-priority campaigns
  • Build technical infrastructure and tooling to support dataset generation, quality control, and delivery pipelines
  • Drive technical and operational initiatives end-to-end: scoping requirements, building solutions, and managing technical experts through to delivery
  • Interface directly with engineering and research teams at leading frontier AI labs
  • Support the founding team on high-priority technical projects and operational initiatives
  • Context-switch rapidly between technical execution and strategic work as priorities shift

Required Qualifications

  • Strong technical background: CS degree, engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated ability to ship technical projects
  • Eagerness to manage teams of experts for technical human data campaigns
  • Intense work ethic, agency, and drive with a competitive track record of exceptional achievement
  • Proficiency in Python and comfort writing production-quality code
  • Experience with data pipelines, APIs, or ML and AI tooling
  • Passion for AI and demonstrated interest in frontier AI research
  • Strong leadership experience and communication skills, both written and verbal
  • Ability to context-switch rapidly between technical and strategic work

Preferred Qualifications

  • Background in software engineering, ML engineering, AI research, or computer science
  • Experience at a top tech company, FAANG, frontier AI lab, or quantitative trading firm
  • Prior startup experience or founding experience
  • Willingness to work long hours and weekends when projects demand it

#LI-onsite
Vacancy posted 1 day ago
Similar jobs that could be interesting for youBased on the Strategic Projects Lead in San Francisco, CA vacancy
  •  ...Strategic Projects Lead San Francisco, CA About Us Metriport is an open-source data intelligence platform that helps healthcare organizations access and exchange patient data in real-time. We integrate with all major US healthcare IT systems and tap into comprehensive... 
    Suggested
    Work at office
    Work from home
    Relocation
    Flexible hours
    Night shift

    Metriport

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago
  • $90k - $180k

     ...Strategic Project Lead Menlo Park, California Workstream is a mission-driven company building the all-in-one HR, payroll, and hiring platform for managing the hourly workforce. There are 2.7 billion hourly workers, making up 80% of the global workforce, but this... 
    Suggested
    Hourly pay
    Full time
    Work at office
    Local area
    Flexible hours

    Workstream

    San Francisco, CA
    3 days ago
  •  ...0s of opportunities from the world's most innovative organizations. We work with leading enterprises and are backed by top investors. About the role: We're looking for a strategic project lead to partner directly with the CEO to shape and scale the company’s core function... 
    Suggested
    Work at office
    Relocation package

    Terac

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago
  •  ...center of how the marketplace scales. Paraform’s customer base is growing rapidly (hundreds of new customers a month!), and Strategic Project Leads ( SPLs ) are Paraform’s essential operators—connecting the work of sales, supply, engineering, and operations to deliver... 
    Suggested

    Paraform

    San Francisco, CA
    2 days ago
  •  ...Handshake AI supports all of the frontier AI labs, working on their most complex data at the largest scale. The Role As a Strategic Projects Lead (SPL), you will own the execution of large-scale human data programs that directly power frontier AI model training and... 
    Suggested
    Full time
    Work at office
    Remote work
    Flexible hours

    Handshake

    San Francisco, CA
    5 days ago
  • $130k - $150k

     ...Strategic Project Lead Title of Role: Strategic Project Lead Location: San Francisco, onsite Company Stage of Funding: Venture-Backed - Technology, Information and Internet Office Type: Onsite Salary: $130K-$150K Company Description We're representing... 
    For contractors
    Work at office

    Recruiting from Scratch

    San Francisco, CA
    4 days ago
  •  ...Strategic Project Lead Physical Intelligence is bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world. We are a group of engineers, scientists, roboticists, and company builders developing foundation models and learning algorithms to power the robots of today and the... 

    Physical Intelligence

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago
  •  ...Career Launch is hiring for this role and related opportunities. Career Launch is hiring candidates for Strategic Projects Lead roles and similar opportunities with fast-moving teams. This is a remote-friendly opportunity for candidates who are analytical, practical, and... 
    Remote work

    Career-Launch.net

    San Francisco, CA
    2 days ago
  •  ...to operate safely and autonomously. We work with the world's leading model labs to push the frontier of agent capabilities....  ...out the founding team. About the role As a Founding Strategic Projects Lead, you will work on some of Polymath's highest-leverage initiatives... 
    Work at office

    Polymath AI Labs

    San Francisco, CA
    5 days ago
  •  ...HHM Talent is assisting a VC backed client in their search for a Strategic Projects Lead in San Francisco, CA. About the Company This client is an AI research lab building frontier datasets and experimentation platforms that help push the capabilities of foundation models... 

    HHM Talent

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago
  • $145k - $260k

     ...on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more. Base pay range $145,000.00/yr – $260,000.00/yr Role Strategic Project Lead Compensation Base:$145,000–$260,000+ Competitive Equity Years of Experience (YOE) 2 – 8 years of experience working closely... 
    Work at office
    Immediate start

    Crossing Hurdles

    San Francisco, CA
    11 days ago
  • $150k - $250k

     ...on deploying advanced assembly and production capability for leading robotics companies and national-security-critical hardware. Basically...  ...and quality. The Role This role is for a Strategic Project Lead who thrives on turning model team requirements into production... 
    Full time
    Contract work

    Foundry Robotics Inc

    San Francisco, CA
    5 days ago
  • $150k - $250k

     ...YCombinator (S25) and raised a seed round to scale their team and support growth. Role Description Halluminate is looking to hire a Strategic Projects Lead (focused in Financial Services) to own and lead the development of frontier training gyms for finance verticals. Ideal... 
    Full time
    For contractors

    Halluminate (YC S25)

    San Francisco, CA
    4 days ago
  •  ...Location: San Francisco, CA (Hybrid - 3/4 days on-site) Morpheus are partnered with a leading AI infrastructure company at the forefront of frontier model development to find a Strategic Project Lead to join their growing operations team. This is a high-impact, senior... 
    For contractors

    Morpheus Talent Solutions

    San Francisco, CA
    4 days ago
  • $130k - $150k

     ...running experiments to map the limits and capabilities of today's leading models. Every frontier foundation model lab is a customer....  ...at Google DeepMind and Meta GenAI. Role overview The Strategic Projects Lead will work directly with the founding team on high-priority... 
    Work at office
    Remote work

    Stealth AI Startup

    San Francisco, CA
    2 days ago
  •  ...talent acquisition, connecting exceptional talent with industry‑leading organizations across IT, Engineering, Financial Services &...  ...startup. You should be comfortable owning client relationships and project execution from end-to-end, with a track record of delivering high... 

    AI Talent Now

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago
  • $300k

     ...Intelligence Research (BAIR), and Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL). Responsibilities Work closely with the world’s leading AI labs to generate next generation datasets to push the boundaries of AI to the limits, directly generating revenue for the... 

    AfterQuery

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago
  •  ...collection and annotation — delivering the datasets that frontier AI research requires and remote workforce marketplaces can't. We own projects end-to-end, from scoping and protocol design through final delivery, running on-site and distributed expert workforces across 50+... 
    Local area
    Remote work
    Worldwide
    Shift work

    HumanSignal

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago
  • $130k - $150k

     ...labs, serving the frontier AI labs. Founded in 2025 and backed by leading investors, the company reports rapid early growth and strong...  ...Struggles with ambiguity or lacks examples of owning large, complex projects. Only interested in remote work — role is strictly in-person.... 
    Full time
    Work at office
    Remote work
    Visa sponsorship

    David Joseph & Company

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago
  • $150k - $200k

     ...Our work powers benchmarking, evaluation, and post-training for leading models and applications. Built on Contra, the professional...  ...benchmarking programs, and ongoing evaluation partnerships. Each project spans a different mix of AI labs, creative-tool companies, and... 

    Contra

    San Francisco, CA
    11 hours ago
  • $130k - $150k

     ...their models, working with the world's leading AI labs to design high-signal datasets and...  ...intersection of technical execution and strategic leadership — owning high-impact...  ...founding team on high-priority technical projects Requirements A CS degree, engineering... 
    Full time
    Weekend work

    David Joseph & Company

    San Francisco, CA
    19 days ago
  •  ...lab that produces expert-level training data for the world's leading AI labs. In under two years they have scaled to a nine-figure...  ...rapidly expanding into new domains. The Opportunity As a Strategic Project Lead on the coding track, you will own client engagements end... 
    Full time

    talentpluto

    San Francisco, CA
    29 days ago
  • $150k - $200k

     ...voice, reinforcement learning, and environment data. Backed by leading investors and one of the fastest-growing companies in its...  ...someone who wants to build. The Opportunity As the founding Strategic Project Lead, you will own delivery end to end. You will source data... 

    talentpluto

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago
  • $140k - $200k

     ...data-training opportunities at the world's leading AI labs — a marketplace for the people...  ...engine that routes experts to best-fit projects and talent tooling that measures, ranks,...  ...operations The Role The client is hiring Strategic Project Leads to own the end-to-end... 
    Full time

    David Joseph & Company

    San Francisco, CA
    5 days ago
  •  ...SuperAnnotate SuperAnnotate helps the world’s leading AI teams build responsible, next-...  ..., precise talent matching, and full project transparency ensure unmatched data quality...  ...high-value client engagements. As a Strategic Projects Lead, you’ll run the end-to-end... 
    Full time

    SuperAnnotate AI

    San Francisco, CA
    6 days ago
  • $120k - $200k

     ...Compensation: $120,000–$200,000 base + 5% commission on project margin (uncapped) + 0.5%–1.5% founding-tier equity About...  ...training data The Role The client is hiring its first Strategic Projects Lead to own delivery for frontier-lab projects end to end — working... 
    Full time
    Relocation package

    David Joseph & Company

    San Francisco, CA
    6 days ago
  •  ...growth startups. As the marketplace scales, we're seeing strong network effects emerge on both sides — and we're looking for a Strategic Project Lead to own and grow the demand side of the marketplace : the companies hiring through our platform. This is not a... 
    Relocation

    Clera

    San Francisco, CA
    4 days ago
  • $150k - $175k

     ...Special Projects Lead Harper is an AI-native commercial insurance company in San Francisco. We're not bolting AI onto insurance — we're...  ...business, with a seat in everything substantive: biz ops, growth, strategic projects, investor materials, M&A diligence, and whatever... 
    Work at office
    Immediate start
    Relocation
    Monday to Friday
    Flexible hours
    Shift work
    Early shift

    Harper General Contractors

    San Francisco, CA
    4 days ago
  •  ...to shape the next era of intelligence. The Role As a Special Projects Lead, you are the swiss army knife of Adaption. You thrive at the...  ...starting condition and a working system is the deliverable. You QB strategic initiatives, bring creative energy to unconventional problems... 
    Flexible hours

    adaption

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago
  • $140k - $160k

     ...work directly with the CEO on the hardest problems in the business—with inclusion in everything substantive: Biz ops, growth, strategic projects, investor materials, M&A diligence, and whatever else becomes urgent. The goal is for you to see every part of this business,... 
    Work at office
    Relocation
    Shift work

    Harper (YC W25)

    San Francisco, CA
    1 day ago

Do you want to receive more vacancies?

Subscribe and receive similar vacancies to Strategic Projects Lead. Be the first to apply!