Manager, Strategic Programs
About Handshake AI
Handshake is building the career network for the AI economy. Our three-sided marketplace connects 18 million students and alumni, 1,500+ academic institutions across the U.S. and Europe, and 1 million employers to power how the next generation explores careers, builds skills, and gets hired.
Handshake AI is a human data labeling business that leverages the scale of the largest early career network. We work directly with the world’s leading AI research labs to build a new generation of human data products. From PhDs in physics to undergrads fluent in LLMs, Handshake AI is the trusted partner for domain-specific data and evaluation at scale.
This is a unique opportunity to join a fast-growing team shaping the future of AI through better data, better tools, and better systems-for experts, by experts.
Now’s a great time to join Handshake. Here’s why:
Leading the AI Career Revolution: Be part of the team redefining work in the AI economy for millions worldwide.
Proven Market Demand: Deep employer partnerships across Fortune 500s and the world’s leading AI research labs.
World-Class Team: Leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, just to name a few.
Capitalized & Scaling: $3.5B valuation from top investors including Kleiner Perkins, True Ventures, Notable Capital, and more.
About the Role
The Operator Enablement team ensures our Strategic Project Leads (SPLs) can run their projects successfully, meet customer demand, and deliver high quality data. As a Manager of Strategic Programs on this team, you will build and own the systems, tooling, and processes that SPLs depend on, from their first week at Handshake through running projects at scale.
Your primary focus will be scaling our central quality control program - the processes and systems that give us a reliable, calibrated quality read on every dataset before it reaches a customer. You will start as an individual contributor with clear room to grow your scope and build a team underneath you as the work expands.
Core to the role:
Grow from 10s to 100s of quality auditors and from 100s to 1000s of auditing hours per week, without sacrificing calibration or reliability
Augment auditing workflows with state-of-the-art LLM tools and prompt engineering best practices, increasing the efficiency of these workflows by 10x
Embed quality processes into the broader Delivery organization, working cross-functionally with project leads to ensure consistent adherence
Beyond quality, you could also work on:
Build the onboarding experience that ramps dozens of new SPLs to full productivity every month
Develop agentic operator tooling that makes SPLs roughly 10x more efficient at running their projects
Launch an Emerging Talent program that identifies, trains, and recruits top students to join our Strategic Projects team as new grad SPLs straight out of college
Desired Capabilities
4+ years of experience in roles such as forward-deployed or solutions engineering, strategy and operations, or technical program management
A technical degree in a STEM field such as engineering, computer science, the physical sciences, statistics or analytics, or economics
Highly technical, with the ability to deploy cutting edge AI tools across complex operational workflows
Process oriented, with a track record of building and scaling efficient operational processes
Entrepreneurial, comfortable taking ambiguous problems and driving them to a clear result
A strong communicator who can bring in stakeholders, align them, and inspire people to deliver results
Willing and able to build and lead a team as the scope of the role grows
Extra Credit
Founded or helped start a company
Worked in engineering, product, or operations at an early-stage, fast-growing startup
A track record of solving messy operational or highly cross-functional problems
Experience with quality management or operational excellence practices from other industries (e.g., manufacturing, logistics, healthcare)
Exposure to structured process-improvement thinking (like Lean, Six Sigma, or similar frameworks)
Perks
Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported-and thrive at work and in life.
The below benefits are for full-time US employees.
Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, wellness stipend
Growth: Learning stipend, ongoing development
Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses
Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.