Senior Associate Strategist Leadership Track

Jump is the strategy firm for future-focused leaders, advising them on high-stakes questions where the answers aren’t obvious and the consequences matter. For nearly 30 years, we’ve partnered with companies like United Airlines, Amazon, Purina, Starbucks, and Samsung to help them make clear choices about strategy, culture, and leadership.

We are a 30-person boutique firm by design. We work closely with clients in a demanding, high-standard environment that emphasizes ownership, judgment, and development.

We’re hiring Senior Associate Strategists—people with experience, judgment, and growth potential who want to take on more responsibility and develop into senior contributors at Jump over time.

Your Role: Equal Parts Strategist, Facilitator, and Coach

• Create strategy. Lead research and ethnographic interviews, analyze trends and data, and develop clear, executive-level strategic recommendations and tangible artifacts (e.g., visualizations, narratives, presentations).
• Facilitate decision-making. Design and lead working sessions and executive discussions.
• Coach leaders. Present recommendations and support leaders in pivotal moments.
• Mentor teams. Collaborate closely with teammates and help raise the quality bar as you grow.
• Contribute to Jump's growth. Support client relationships and Jump’s thought leadership over time.

How You'll Grow

Everyone who joins at this level starts as a core strategist on a client team—learning Jump’s standards and methods. After that initial period, people grow into leadership roles, project leading the client relationship and the team, or content leading —holding the bar to our standards, not just client expectations. Both roles involve real ownership and accountability.

Over time, people naturally differentiate based on their strengths. Project Leads often grow toward relationship leadership , owning senior client relationships. Content Leads often grow toward thought leadership , shaping Jump’s point of view through writing, speaking, and visible intellectual leadership.

You don’t need to know which path you’ll ultimately take. What matters is your ability to do strong work now and your capacity to learn and grow quickly.

Who You Are Now

• Have ~5–10 years of relevant experience (strategy, consulting, design, research, innovation, product, brand, or similar)
• Have depth in at least one discipline— business strategy, design/visualization, or social science. Have meaningful exposure to at least one other area and a real interest in integrating across disciplines. (We do not expect everyone to be strong in all three disciplines on day one. We do expect curiosity, learning ability, and good judgment.)
• Have experience with excellence, either through attending a top 25 national university or college (or equivalent) or through top-tier programs or work experiences
• Are comfortable working in ambiguity and raising the quality bar
• Show early signs of being able to earn trust in senior conversations through clarity, judgment, and presence

Details

• Location: San Mateo, CA (We work in person most days—typically Monday–Thursday—because close collaboration and apprenticeship matter to how we work)
• Travel: ~25% for client work and "in the field" research
• Work Authorization: Permanent U.S. work authorization required
• Compensation: Based on experience. Competitive with boutique strategy firms

WANT TO GET AHEAD? TAKE THE PREDICTIVE INDEX ASSESSMENT NOW.

ONLY CANIDATES WITH PIs WILL MOVE ON TO FIRST-ROUND INTERVIEWS.