Founding Strategic Projects Lead

Founding Strategic Projects Lead (Finance) Palo Alto / Menlo Park, CA · On-site · Full-time Compensation: $130,000–$175,000 base + uncapped OTE + competitive equity About the Company An early-stage data company building premium, high-margin reinforcement-learning-model (RLM) datasets for frontier AI labs. Recently raised from a top-tier venture firm. The team is small (7–8 people), with each Strategic Projects Lead carrying significant personal ARR ownership and uncapped commission upside. Average contract value is ~$2M. Founded 2025 · 7–8 people · Industry: AI Tools The Role Own the end-to-end delivery of frontier AI lab finance projects. The work keeps your financial-modeling skills sharp — not on real-world transactions, but building RLM training data based on financial models (LBOs, comparables). The take-home is a difficult, unstructured Excel modeling exercise that filters heavily for fit. What you'll be doing Quality control on task creation for Frontier AI Lab data projects Train other team members on task creation and quality standards Brainstorm product ideas to distribute products into the real world and to source proprietary data Negotiate partnerships with enterprises to access their data Carry $20–30M of personal ARR ownership across customer projects Tech stack: Excel-based financial modeling (LBOs, comparables) Requirements 2-5 years IB or PE Excel modeling + LBOs High grit, creative problem-solving Palo Alto / Menlo Park, 5 days in-person Weekends optional, team in office Green Flags Top investment bank (Goldman, Morgan Stanley, JPM, Evercore, Centerview, Lazard, Moelis, comparable) or top PE firm (KKR, Blackstone, Apollo, Carlyle, comparable) with 2+ years tenure Boutique PE firm with strong reputation and demonstrated impact Strong school + strong bank combination Demonstrated grit: side projects, competitive academic achievements, athletics, or other high-intensity backgrounds Excitement about uncapped commission and willingness to grind for maximum upside Red Flags No IB or PE experience. Hard exclude. Banking is non-negotiable. Bad bank + bad school combination. 5+ years experience positioning for senior or VP-level title. Hard exclude: not a fit for early-stage execution role. Doesn't care about money or wants 9-to-5 culture. The founder is direct: "if you don't care about money the role is probably not for you." Cannot or unwilling to work 5 days in-person at Palo Alto / Menlo Park office. Why Join Uncapped commission structure — uncommon in this space Extreme ownership: each Lead personally carries $20–30M of ARR Founding seat reporting directly to the Founder Lunch or dinner in office, health insurance, Bay Club or Equinox membership Details Location: Palo Alto / Menlo Park, CA Work policy: 5 days in person; weekends optional Compensation: $130,000–$175,000 base + uncapped OTE + competitive equity Visa sponsorship: None available Employment type: Full-time #J-18808-Ljbffr David Joseph & Company