AI-Native Founder's Associate

ABOUT THE ROLE

This is a core operator role working directly with the CEO of a fast-growing e-commerce company, tackling the highest-impact problems across operations, growth, and finance. Designed as a genuine launchpad into senior leadership, this position gives you end-to-end ownership in a low-bureaucracy environment where your work has immediate, measurable impact.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Partner with the CEO to turn ambiguous, high-stakes problems into structured analyses, decisions, and execution plans.
• Support day-to-day operations spanning fulfillment, customer experience, supply chain coordination, and internal workflows.
• Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, then design and build AI-driven solutions to eliminate them.
• Use AI tools to scan the market for new products and ingredients, converting signals into a prioritized sourcing pipeline.
• Build automated supplier discovery, qualification, and outreach workflows that operate at scale.
• Design AI-assisted negotiation workflows covering pricing, minimum order quantities, and contract terms from first contact to signature.
• Support growth initiatives across marketing, experimentation, and performance tracking.
• Develop financial models, dashboards, and reporting tools grounded in real unit economics.
• Leverage automation and low-code tools to replace manual effort with scalable systems across all business functions.
• Own high-priority ad-hoc projects and move fluidly between strategy and hands-on execution.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Degree from a strong university in engineering, science, math, business, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience building AI-powered systems, automation workflows, or low-code solutions with measurable business outcomes.
• Proficiency with automation platforms and AI tooling (e.g., Make, Zapier, n8n, or equivalent API-driven workflows).
• Experience building financial models, dashboards, or BI tools for forecasting, unit economics, or performance analysis.
• Background in operational analysis, process optimization, or supply chain workflows across fulfillment, sourcing, or logistics.
• Technical fluency — self-taught coding ability is expected for business-background candidates; engineering/science candidates should demonstrate applied AI/automation experience.
• Experience conducting market research, supplier discovery, or vendor evaluation and negotiation.
• Demonstrated ability to own projects end-to-end, from problem definition through execution and outcome measurement.
• High agency, strong work ethic, and comfort with intensity in a fast-paced startup environment.
• Bonus: experience in e-commerce, DTC, or membership models; familiarity with consumer products or functional nutrition; content creation or community storytelling skills.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Salary range: $120,000–$160,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

LOCATION

On-site, five days per week in San Francisco, CA. This is a high-collaboration role that requires full-time in-office presence.