Strategic Project Lead

Job Description

Job Description

Strategic Project Lead

San Francisco, CA · On-site · Full-time
Compensation: $140,000–$200,000 + meaningful equity

About the Company

An early-stage AI company building a job-matching marketplace that connects domain experts with high-paying data-training opportunities at the world's leading AI labs. The platform uses leaderboards, gamification, and progression systems to make high-quality work rewarding, with a matching engine that routes experts to the projects best suited to their skills. Recently closed a $6M seed round.

Industry: AI training data / human data operations

The Role

Own the end-to-end execution of high-stakes AI data projects for top-tier frontier AI lab clients. As the primary point of contact for leading AI labs, you'll orchestrate complex workflows, manage teams of expert contributors, and ensure every deliverable meets the highest bar for quality and efficiency. This is an operationally intensive seat balancing client relationships, team coordination, process optimization, and real-time problem solving.

What you'll be doing

• Serve as the main point of contact for top AI lab customers, building deep trust and long-term partnerships
• Translate client objectives into executable project plans
• Design and manage large-scale data pipelines from client specification through final delivery
• Recruit, vet, onboard, and manage teams of expert contributors at scale
• Mentor and develop Strategic Project Associates on your projects
• Own 2–3 projects concurrently or one marquee project at a time, managing 7–8 figure contracts per quarter

Requirements

• 3+ years in human data operations or startup operations
• Complex multi-stakeholder project management
• Direct client-facing experience
• Strong analytical mindset with a bias toward data-driven decision making
• Comfortable with ambiguity and able to structure problems from scratch

Green Flags

• Full-time SPL or equivalent at Mercor, Scale AI, or core for 3+ years. The exact archetype the team is hiring for.
• Core candidates who joined post-October 2025 Series C round. Specifically flagged by the founders as high-signal.
• Track record managing 7-8 figure contracts with frontier AI lab clients. Direct adjacency.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring junior team members or managing teams of expert contributors at scale.
• Background in data operations, engineering, CS, or technical field paired with strong client-facing skills.

Red Flags

• Contractor or annotator background. Hard exclude. Recruiters must verify full-time employment status before submitting.
• Adjacent roles only: internal ops, external ops, engagement manager, or generalist project management without SPL-equivalent scope.
• Junior or early-tenure candidates from Mercor or Scale AI. The team's experience is that the bar for senior SPL work is not consistently met by candidates with less than several years of tenure at these companies.
• New grads or candidates with 6 months to 1 year of startup experience. The team is not skewing young.
• Early-stage company tenure with high job-change frequency. Flagged as flight risk.
• Cannot or will not work 996 schedule in person in SF.

Why Join

• Own the primary relationship with frontier AI lab clients and 7–8 figure contracts
• End-to-end ownership of high-stakes projects with direct founder access
• Competitive base, quarterly performance bonuses, and meaningful early-stage equity

Details

• Location: San Francisco, CA
• Work policy: On-site, 5 days/week; 996 schedule
• Compensation: $140,000–$200,000 + equity
• Visa sponsorship: None available
• Employment type: Full-time