AfterQuery — Strategic Projects Associate

davidjoseph-co; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Competitive base salary

On-site in San Francisco

Job summary

AfterQuery is seeking an early-career Strategic Projects Associate in San Francisco to work directly with the founding team on high-impact initiatives. You will support client execution, operations, and cross-functional projects across product, research, and strategy, gaining deep exposure to startup operations and frontier AI workflows.

Ideal candidates are new grads to ~2 years of experience with strong communication skills and a genuine passion for AI.

Qualifications

• Must have strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in high-intensity environments or startups is a plus.
• Excitement about AI and frontier labs is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Partner with frontier AI labs to build next-generation datasets.
• Manage cross-functional teams across finance, software engineering, and legal.
• Create and execute sales memos and develop data samples.
• Support Strategic Projects Leads in operational initiatives.
• Drive execution on cross-functional projects in product, research, and operations.

Skills

Strong written and verbalcommunication

Willing to work 6 days a week

New grad to 2 years experience

Excited about AI

Education

Technical major (CS, EE, ML, math, physics)

Tools

Claude Code

Microsoft Office

Job description

AfterQuery — Strategic Projects Associate

Type: Full-time | On-site | San Francisco, CACompensation: $80,000–$110,000 base + up to 100% of base as bonus + meaningful equityHiring count: 1Visa sponsorship: None availableReports to: Strategic Projects Leads (SPLs) — no named individual provided on the role page

About AfterQuery

AfterQuery is a research lab investigating the boundaries and capabilities of artificial intelligence through novel datasets and experimentation. Its customers are the frontier model labs — AfterQuery serves all of the frontier AI labs. It was one of the fastest-growing companies in its YC batch and is on track to be one of the fastest-growing YC companies of all time.

Founded: 2025 | Team size: 11–50 | Total funding: not disclosedBacking: Y Combinator, BoxGroup, ex-partners from Lightspeed and Index Ventures, and senior leaders at Google DeepMind and Meta GenAI. Founding team backgrounds span Jane Street, Meta, Citadel Securities, Google, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Silver Lake, Berkeley AI Research (BAIR), and Stanford AI Laboratory (SAIL).Industry: Consumer Tech (per Contrario card) / AI research & dataWebsite: afterquery.comOffice: San Francisco

Why Candidates Should Join

• Founder proximity & 01 exposure: Work directly with the founding team; learn how a company is built from 0 to 1 with direct mentorship.
• Frontier-AI network: Network with frontier AI researchers, builders, and investors, with the frontier labs themselves as customers.
• Comp + fast track: Competitive base + up to 100% of base as bonus + meaningful equity; high performers can become SPLs in ~1 year.
• IB/consulting alternative: A high-ownership alternative to entry-level investment banking and consulting roles.

Intake Call Summary

• Not provided on the role page.

The Role

AfterQuery is hiring highly driven early-career operators as Strategic Projects Associates — new grads through ~2 years of experience who thrive in fast-paced, high-intensity environments and want significant ownership early. Associates work closely with Strategic Projects Leads (SPLs) supporting client execution, operational initiatives, and cross-functional projects, gaining deep exposure to startup operations, AI workflows, and customer strategy.

What You'll Be Doing

• Partner with frontier AI labs alongside SPLs to build next-generation datasets that push the boundaries of AI
• Manage teams of experts across professional domains like finance, software engineering, and law
• Create and execute sales memos and develop data samples
• Support SPLs and the broader team across operational initiatives
• Drive execution on cross-functional projects in product, research, and operations

Tech stack: AI tools (e.g. Claude Code), Microsoft Office

Requirements

• New grad to 2 years experience
• High-intensity background: top internships or startup
• Willing to work 6 days a week
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Excited about AI and frontier labs
• SF in-person

Green Flags

• Technical skills with AI tools like Claude Code
• Top-company internship pedigree (FAANG, frontier AI lab, quantitative trading firm) showing they have already operated in high-intensity environments
• Prior startup or founding-team experience demonstrating real ownership and execution under ambiguity
• Self-evidence of grinder mentality: shipped side projects, ran a business in school, competed at a high level, or comparable
• Technical major (CS, EE, ML, math, physics) or demonstrated technical fluency even without a degree
• Excited about the AI mission and frontier AI labs as customers, not just chasing the AI job market

Red Flags

• Looking for a structured rotational program, banking-track, or consulting-track entry-level role with predictable scope
• Will not work 6 days a week or pushes back on extreme-ownership intensity expectations
• Multiple under-6-month tenures already on a short resume without context
• Needs AI knowledge but won't learn rapidly; expects to be trained vs. self-directed pickup
• Pure generalist background with no high-intensity adjacency (no top internship, no startup, no competitive activity)

Role Details

Salary$80,000–$110,000EquityCompetitive / meaningful (percentage not disclosed)On-site policy Fully in-person, San Francisco; 6 days/week Visa sponsorship None available Employment type Full-time Location San Francisco, CA

Screening Questions

• Not provided on the role page.

Interview Process

Stage 1 — Initial ScreenStage 2 — Behavioral ScreenStage 3 — Live Case StudyStage 4 — Work TrialStage 5 — ReferencesStage 6 — Offer ExtendedStage 7 — Candidate Hired — Candidate accepts and starts.

Ideal Companies & Backgrounds

• Not provided on the role page. (Green Flags name FAANG, frontier AI labs, and quantitative trading firms as the pedigree signal.)