Founder Associate

Clera; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Visa sponsorship available

Job summary

Clera in San Francisco, CA, is seeking a 0 to 1 operator to join the founding team of an AI-powered talent marketplace. You will span product, growth, ops, and partnerships, owning initiatives that push the company forward and shape a category-defining platform in recruitment.

Based on the early-stage nature, you’ll move fast, think strategically, and translate feedback into clear product priorities, with on-site collaboration and direct exposure to founders.

Qualifications

• 1–3 years of relevant experience in a cross-functional or operator role.
• Prior experience in early-stage startups or founder-support roles is a strong plus.
• Comfort with fast pace and ambiguity while maintaining high standards.
• Motivation to take ownership and drive outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead founder-priority projects spanning new market initiatives, strategy, and hands-on execution.
• Own the candidate experience and conversion funnel, improving quality and outcomes end-to-end.
• Design and build scalable operational processes that keep pace with rapid growth.
• Support go-to-market efforts including messaging experiments and partnership development.
• Translate real-world candidate and company feedback into clear, actionable product priorities.
• Drive high-leverage, ambiguous projects from kickoff to completion with minimal oversight.

Skills

Cross-functional

Ownership mindset

Founder Associate

Ambiguity tolerance

Job description

About The Role

This is a true 0 to 1 operator seat working directly alongside the founding team of a pre-seed AI-powered talent marketplace. You\'ll move across product, growth, operations, and partnerships — owning whatever drives the company forward fastest and helping shape the foundation of a category-defining platform in the recruitment space.

About The Role

This is a true 0 to 1 operator seat working directly alongside the founding team of a pre-seed AI-powered talent marketplace. You\'ll move across product, growth, operations, and partnerships — owning whatever drives the company forward fastest and helping shape the foundation of a category-defining platform in the recruitment space.

What You\'ll Do

• Lead founder-priority projects spanning new market initiatives, strategy, and hands-on execution.


• Own the candidate experience and conversion funnel, improving quality and outcomes end-to-end.


• Design and build scalable operational processes that keep pace with rapid growth.


• Support go-to-market efforts including messaging experiments and partnership development.


• Translate real-world candidate and company feedback into clear, actionable product priorities.


• Drive high-leverage, ambiguous projects from kickoff to completion with minimal oversight.

What We\'re Looking For

• Approximately 1–3 years of relevant professional experience in a cross-functional or operator role; recent graduates without work experience and senior enterprise profiles are not the right fit.


• Prior experience as a Founder Associate, Chief of Staff, or comparable early-stage startup operator is a strong plus.


• Comfortable working at high speed, maintaining sharp thinking and high standards in ambiguous environments.


• Motivated by real ownership — driving outcomes, not just supporting others.


• Experience working across functions (product, growth, ops, or partnerships) in a fast-moving startup context.


• Background from a high-performance professional environment (e.g. top-tier consulting, operations, or early-stage startups) is a calibration signal.


• Aspires to a fast track toward founding, general management, or an early executive role.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary range: $90,000 – $120,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is available.

Location

On-site in San Francisco, California. This role requires living and working in-person with the founding team; it is fully non-remote.