Strategic Project Lead

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 market has been heavily underserved by technology and deserves better. Workstream has been purpose-built for the hourly workforce from day one so that these businesses and their employees can thrive.

Our customers include leading brands from multiple sectors, including Burger King, Carl's Jr./Hardee's, IHOP, KFC, and Culvers. We are a high growth series B company and quickly expanding our product portfolio to deliver on our vision. We are backed by legendary VCs and industry experts like Founders Fund, BOND, and Coatue.

In addition to our core business, Workstream is home to a small, fast-moving Robotics team focused on advancing the next generation of artificial intelligence and robotics. We partner with a leading AI and robotics company to produce high-quality, large-scale egocentric (first-person) video datasets that help train advanced AI models.

Our Robotics team develops scalable data collection and annotation pipelines that enable the efficient creation of high-quality training datasets, helping AI systems better understand human actions, environments, and everyday interactions. We're also building a new category of connected hardware designed to operate reliably throughout the day in thousands of homes and businesses. By combining cutting-edge data collection, automation, and hardware innovation, this team is helping shape the future of intelligent systems and real-world AI applications.

Grow With Us

We are looking for a highly driven, analytical, and execution-focused Strategic Projects Lead (SPL) to own and deliver high-impact, cross-functional initiatives across Workstream. In this role, you will act as a force multiplier for the business—leading complex, ambiguous projects that directly impact revenue growth, operational efficiency, and customer outcomes. You will work closely with senior leadership and cross-functional teams across product, sales, operations, and customer success to drive initiatives from concept through execution. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in fast-paced environments, enjoys solving complex problems with incomplete information, and takes full ownership of outcomes. You will be expected to move quickly, make high-quality decisions, and drive measurable business impact at scale.

This is a full-time role requiring presence 5 days per week in our San Francisco or Menlo Park office.

Day In The Life

• Managing a network of hundreds to thousands of people to collect video data and to engage and motivate workforce
• Own the end-to-end development of video data platform, from initial concept through scaled execution
• Design and build systems for collecting, organizing, labeling, and managing thousands of hours of video data
• Lead large-scale operational initiatives, including process design, implementation, and optimization across teams
• Partner closely with senior leadership to identify strategic opportunities and translate them into actionable plans
• Drive alignment across product, engineering, sales, and operations to ensure successful delivery of key initiatives
• Analyze data to identify bottlenecks, optimize workflows, and inform decision-making
• Build and refine scalable systems, processes, and playbooks to support company growth
• Manage timelines, resources, and stakeholders to deliver projects on schedule and at a high level of quality
• Communicate progress, insights, and recommendations clearly to executive stakeholders
• Step into ambiguous problem spaces and define structure, goals, and execution plans

Who You Are

• 4-8 years of experience in operations, strategy, product, consulting, finance, or a high-growth startup environment
• Proven track record of owning and executing complex, cross-functional initiatives with measurable business impact
• Strong systems thinking and ability to design scalable processes from scratch
• Ability to move quickly and make decisions with incomplete or evolving information
• Strong analytical skills and comfort working with data to drive decisions
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including working with senior external partners
• High ownership mindset with end-to-end accountability
• Curiosity and ability to quickly ramp in technical domains such as AI, data platforms, or robotics
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and building in a 0→1 environment
• Proven track record of owning and delivering complex, cross-functional initiatives with measurable business outcomes

Nice To Have

• Experience managing large, distributed workforces or marketplaces
• Exposure to AI data, model evaluation, or technical services delivery
• Background in investment banking, private equity, or management consulting

What We Offer

• A mission-driven and value-based company dedicated to empower deskless workers and local businesses
• An early employee opportunity at a Series B hyper-growth startup; work with the founding team and industry veterans to accelerate your career
• Competitive salary and equity
• Comprehensive health coverage: medical, dental, and vision. We pay 95% of your premiums for our employees and 85% for dependents
• 401K Plan
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Learning/development stipend
• Flexible PTO

Salary Range

In compliance with the California Pay Transparency Law, the base salary range for this role is between $90,000 to $180,000 base in San Francisco and Menlo Park. This range is not inclusive of our discretionary bonus or equity package. When determining a candidate's compensation, we consider a number of factors including skillset, experience, job scope, and current market data.