Business Operations Manager, Marketing and Communications

Perplexity; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Perplexity in San Francisco seeks a Business Operations Manager to build the operating system that keeps a busy marketing team moving fast and in lockstep.

You will own the tool stack, run the operating rhythm, manage agencies and vendors, and partner with Legal and Finance so contracts never become a bottleneck. You’ll create internal tools and dashboards, ensure clear communication, and connect teams to prevent dropped threads as the company scales.

Qualifications

• 4-7 years in marketing operations, business operations, or a similar systems-and-process role.
• Built tools, automations, or dashboards; AI tools are part of your work.
• Strong analytical instincts; able to turn inputs into trusted numbers.
• Experience managing agencies, contractors, or vendor relationships and working with Legal/Finance on contracts.
• Exceptionally organized and relational; good with stakeholders.
• Clear, direct communicator who briefs executives and writes process docs.
• Experience partnering with senior executives and operating in ambiguity.
• Able to learn fast and adapt tools in a high-growth environment.

Responsibilities

• Own the marketing and comms tool stack: evaluate, procure, onboard, provision access, train the team, and retire what we've outgrown
• Build and maintain internal tools such as calendars, intake forms, dashboards, trackers, and automations, and keep them reliable as more people depend on them
• Run the team's operating rhythm: priorities, launch and campaign calendars, planning cycles, and cross-functional handoffs that carry work from idea to launch
• Manage agencies, contractors, and vendors from selection and onboarding through scopes, invoices, renewals, and performance
• Keep contracts and procurement moving with Legal and Finance so agreements never become the bottleneck
• Be the connective tissue across the team: know who's working on what, spot dependencies early, and keep people aligned without adding meetings
• Act as a thought partner and triage point to leadership: keep them informed, spot problems early, propose solutions, and see them through
• Add rigor without slowing anyone down, knowing the difference between process that helps and process that's overhead

Skills

Marketing operations

Business operations

Data analytics

Vendor management

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive communication

Process improvement

AI tools experience

Job description

Perplexity is scaling at a pace few companies experience, and the Communications and Marketing team is growing with it. We're hiring a Business Operations Manager to build and run the operating system underneath, so an incredibly busy team can move fast and stay in lockstep. That means keeping the wheels turning: the tool stack, agencies and vendors, budgets, contracts, and the dashboards leadership relies on. It also means building what doesn't exist yet, and making sure everyone knows what's happening and nothing gets dropped. Half builder, half connective tissue. If you like turning ideas into things people use every day, this role is for you.

What You'll Do

• Own the marketing and comms tool stack: evaluate, procure, onboard, provision access, train the team, and retire what we've outgrown
• Build and maintain internal tools such as calendars, intake forms, dashboards, trackers, and automations, and keep them reliable as more people depend on them
• Run the team's operating rhythm: priorities, launch and campaign calendars, planning cycles, and the cross-functional handoffs that carry work from idea to launch without dropped threads
• Manage agencies, contractors, and vendors from selection and onboarding through scopes, invoices, renewals, and performance
• Keep contracts and procurement moving with Legal and Finance so agreements never become the bottleneck
• Be the connective tissue across the team: know who's working on what, spot dependencies early, and keep people aligned without adding meetings
• Act as a thought partner and triage point to leadership: keep them informed, spot problems early, know when to escape, propose solutions, and see them through
• Add rigor without slowing anyone down, knowing the difference between process that helps and process that's overhead

What You Bring

• 4-7 years in marketing operations, business operations, or a similar systems-and-process role, ideally in a fast-growing technology company
• You build things. You've stood up tools, automations, or dashboards yourself, and AI tools are already part of how you work
• Strong analytical instincts, able to turn messy inputs into numbers leadership can trust
• Experience managing agency, contractor, or vendor relationships and working with Legal and Finance on contracts and procurement
• Exceptionally organized and genuinely relational. People like working with you, tell you things early, and trust you with what's really going on
• A clear, direct communicator who can brief an executive, run a cross-functional meeting, and write a process doc people actually follow
• Demonstrated experience working closely with and as a trusted partner to senior executives
• Comfortable in ambiguity and thinks in scale, building things that hold up when the team, budget, or number of launches doubles
• No specific tool stack required. You've operated marketing or comms systems in a high-growth environment and can pick ours up fast

Compensation Range: $135K - $180K