Head of Operations

Vella; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 100,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading home services firm is seeking an experienced operations manager to oversee day-to-day operations across Dallas and Austin. This role demands strong leadership, multi-market experience, and the ability to leverage AI in optimizing processes. Candidates should have over 5 years of operational experience in the service industry, focusing on improving reliability and efficiency. If you're eager to build a category-defining company and thrive in a fast-paced environment, we want to hear from you.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in operations within service marketplace/field ops.
• Experience managing operations with multi-market teams.
• Comfortable making data-informed decisions.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day multi-market operations across Dallas and Austin.
• Manage Operations Managers for high standards and fast execution.
• Ensure reliability and efficiency in operations through AI.

Skills

5+ years in operations

Multi-market experience

Data-driven decision making

Provider/contractor management

AI-native mindset

Job description

Compensation: $100k–$200k base + meaningful upside (bonus/equity)

Reports to: COO

ABOUT VELLA

Vella is building the execution layer for home services, starting with cleaning.

We make work inside the home deterministic by defining duration and execution—replacing arrival windows, variable scope, and "it depends" with certainty.

Our advantage compounds: the reliability system is learned through real in-home execution and encoded into software. The result is a service customers trust, and a data advantage competitors can't shortcut.

HOW WE WORK

Everyone at Vella operates inside a custom built AI-native operating system. AI handles briefings, task management, and synthesis. You bring judgment, leadership, and speed.

We move fast and we work hard. Expect long hours, nights, and weekends. If you're optimizing for work-life balance, this isn't the place for you. If you want to build a category-defining company, you'll love it here.

THE ROLE

You own the operational machine that makes Vella predictable across Dallas and Austin.

Our moat is execution control — your job is to keep it tight as we scale and build the playbook for future markets. You'll lead Operations Managers in each market, own reliability and efficiency, and use AI as infrastructure to move faster than a traditional ops org.

WHAT YOU'LL OWN (FIRST 45 DAYS)

You're not starting from zero. Vella already has operating rhythms, dashboards, and an AI-augmented OS. You take the controls immediately.

• Days 1–3: Run the full ops cadence end-to-end across both markets. Publish a one-page baseline (duration variance, provider reliability, quality failures, scheduling efficiency, top failure modes). Deliver a 45-day attack plan.
• By Day 10: Fix the top 2 recurring operational failures. Install daily ops pulse + weekly deep dive cadence. Stand up AI-leveraged reporting, anomaly detection, and SOP update loops.
• By Day 21: Show measurable improvement in at least one core reliability driver — or deliver a clear blocker diagnosis + plan. Ship 2 high-impact process changes tied to measurable lift.
• By Day 45: Deliver Ops Control System v1 (enforcement model, exception SOPs, escalation ladder) + Market Ops Playbook v1 (how we run and scale a market without quality collapse). Demonstrate net improvement vs baseline.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own day-to-day multi-market operations (Dallas + Austin)
• Manage Operations Managers; drive high standards + fast execution
• Protect the moat: duration accuracy, workflow compliance, real-time enforcement
• Own provider reliability, scheduling efficiency, and capacity planning
• Build SOPs that actually get followed; turn learning into playbooks
• Use AI agents to automate reporting, anomaly detection, and operational analysis

MUST-HAVES

• 5+ years in operations (service marketplace / field ops strongly preferred)
• Multi-market experience with direct reports
• Comfortable making decisions from data and dashboards
• Experience managing provider/contractor networks or field teams
• AI-native mindset: you already use AI to increase speed and quality — documentation, reporting automation, ops analysis, forecasting.

NICE-TO-HAVES

• Built AI-assisted SOPs or agent workflows from scratch

Vella is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate candidates based on capability and mindset, not pedigree.