Engagement Lead

Vaco by Highspring; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Job summary

Vaco by Highspring in New York City is seeking an Engagement/Deployment Lead to found and scale a new Future Platforms function. The role centers on taking next‑generation AI products from late-stage commitments to live, business‑impacting deployments, partnering with Product and Engineering to translate client needs into platform enhancements.

In this high-autonomy, cross-functional role, you will drive engagement success, align across executive stakeholders, and define scalable playbooks as

Qualifications

• 5-8 years of experience in management consulting, corporate strategy, product management, or founder/operator roles within high-growth startups.

Responsibilities

• Drive end-to-end customer deployments from late-stage sales handoff through launch and post-launch stabilization.
• Partner with sales leadership during late-stage discovery to scope deployments and identify expansion opportunities.
• Translate objectives into concrete requirements, workflows, success metrics, and rollout schedules; guide product trade-offs.
• Maintain multi-threaded project plans and coordinate cross-functional and external stakeholders through structured cadences.
• Oversee platform configuration, data migration, and user onboarding with product ops, engineering and training teams.
• Influence product roadmaps based on deployment learnings and client feedback.
• Turn engagement lessons into repeatable playbooks and scalable systems.

Skills

Engagement management

Cross-functional collaboration

Client-facing communications

Executive rapport building

Education

STEM degree

Job description

Role Title: Engagement Lead - Future Platforms (Enterprise AI)

Location: On-site 4-5 days/week NYC

About the Company & Team

The client is a rapidly scaling, high-growth AI organization transforming essential industries by integrating advanced autonomous AI agents into core enterprise workflows. Backed by top-tier venture capital firms and valued at several billion dollars, the company combines substantial resources with an aggressive innovation trajectory.

The Future Platforms team operates as a high-velocity incubator within the organization. Functioning with startup speed and agility while leveraging the capital, infrastructure, and market reach of an established industry leader, this group blends strategy, product, operations, and go-to-market execution. Operating with direct C-suite executive involvement, the team holds a mandate to develop next-generation AI products and take them from initial concept to market leadership.

About The Role

The client is seeking an Engagement/ Deployment Lead to found and scale a critical new function within Future Platforms: taking next-generation AI products from early customer commitments to live, business-impacting deployments.

In this high-autonomy, cross-functional role, the Engagement Lead will sit at the intersection of product, strategy, and client execution. Serving as the primary driver of engagement success, this individual will build alignment across complex enterprise stakeholder groups, guide high-stakes implementation decisions, and coordinate directly with Product and Engineering to translate real‑world client needs into shipped platform enhancements.

Because the platform is early and scaling quickly, this role involves establishing the playbooks, building scalable internal frameworks, and defining how deployments are executed at scale.

Key Responsibilities

• End-to-End Engagement Ownership: Drive customer deployments from late-stage sales handoff through launch, rollout, and post-launch stabilization, ensuring timeline execution and executive alignment.
• Pre-Sales & Expansion Support: Partner with sales leadership during late-stage discovery to scope realistic deployments, set clear operational expectations, and identify expansion opportunities.
• Discovery, Scoping & Decisioning: Translate ambiguous client objectives into concrete requirements, workflow designs, success metrics, and rollout schedules while guiding clients through product trade-offs.
• Execution & Program Leadership: Maintain multi-threaded project plans in fast-paced environments, managing cross-functional internal teams and external stakeholders through structured operating cadences.
• System Configuration & Launch Crossover: Collaborate with product operations, engineering, and training teams to oversee platform configuration, data migration, user onboarding, and operational adoption.
• Product Strategy & Roadmap Influence: Partner directly with Product and Engineering to define new platform workflows and inform the product roadmap based on deployment learnings and client feedback.
• Playbook Development: Turn engagement lessons into repeatable playbooks, templates, and scalable systems to increase deployment velocity and quality as the business grows.

Requirements & Qualifications

• 5-8 years of experience spanning management consulting, corporate strategy, product management, or founder/operator roles within high-growth, venture-backed startups.
• Strong technical grounding demonstrated by a STEM degree or equivalent technical/analytical background.
• Proven track record of independently managing complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise engagements from start to finish.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with strong business judgment, creativity, and high attention to detail in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with a natural ability to build trust and drive alignment across internal and external executives.
• Ability to work on-site in the office 4-5 days per week, with a willingness to travel approximately once per month (~3 days per trip).

Salary: $150,000-250,000 plus equity

Travel: ~1x per month (~3 days per trip)

Equal Opportunity Notice

Highspring LLC (d/b/a Vaco by Highspring) and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries ("we," "our," or "Vaco by Highspring") are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by applicable law. The company is also committed to ensuring that persons who need them are provided with reasonable accommodations; if an accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact [e-mail].

Privacy Notice

Vaco by Highspring respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.

• California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees here.
• Virginia residents may access our state specific policies here.
• Residents of all other states may access our policies here.
• Canadian residents may access our policies in English here and in French here.
• Residents of countries governed by GDPR and UK GDPR may access our policies here.

Additionally, submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. More details about Vaco by Highspring's use of AI can be found here (https://www.highspring.com/ai-use-notices/). Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco by Highspring does not know and cannot opine on if its client's use of AI products in hiring.

Pay Transparency Notice

Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:

the individual's skill sets, experience and training;

licensure and certification requirements;

office location and other geographic considerations; and

other business and organizational needs.

With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses and/or participation in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company's retirement plan (or similar retirement benefits).