Founder Associate
About the Role
This is a true 0→1 operator seat working directly alongside the founding team of a pre-seed AI-powered talent marketplace. You'll move across product, growth, operations, and partnerships - owning whatever drives the company forward fastest and helping shape the foundation of a category-defining platform in the recruitment space.
What You'll Do
Lead founder-priority projects spanning new market initiatives, strategy, and hands-on execution.
Own the candidate experience and conversion funnel, improving quality and outcomes end-to-end.
Design and build scalable operational processes that keep pace with rapid growth.
Support go-to-market efforts including messaging experiments and partnership development.
Translate real-world candidate and company feedback into clear, actionable product priorities.
Drive high-leverage, ambiguous projects from kickoff to completion with minimal oversight.
What We're Looking For
Approximately 1-3 years of relevant professional experience in a cross-functional or operator role; recent graduates without work experience and senior enterprise profiles are not the right fit.
Prior experience as a Founder Associate, Chief of Staff, or comparable early-stage startup operator is a strong plus.
Comfortable working at high speed, maintaining sharp thinking and high standards in ambiguous environments.
Motivated by real ownership - driving outcomes, not just supporting others.
Experience working across functions (product, growth, ops, or partnerships) in a fast-moving startup context.
Background from a high-performance professional environment (e.g. top-tier consulting, operations, or early-stage startups) is a calibration signal.
Aspires to a fast track toward founding, general management, or an early executive role.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary range: $90,000 - $120,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is available.
Location
On-site in San Francisco, California. This role requires living and working in-person with the founding team; it is fully non-remote.