DataDrone builds 0-1 SaaS products and the team that ships them. No bosses, no managers — the playbook manages, the copilot tracks. Every role owns a small, defined space with extreme accountability. The product is expanding — new markets, new business types, new segments. Every expansion is a project: cross-functional, time-bound, and high-stakes. We need someone who owns the launch coordination so the permanent team can focus on running the business while the new market comes online.
What You'll Do
You will own launch execution. When the product enters a new market or adds a new business type, you coordinate the cross-functional effort: product changes, localization, GTM content, sales adjustments, compliance, payment processing, onboarding updates. You don't do each function's work — you track it, align it, surface blockers, and make sure launch day goes clean. Then you hand everything to the permanent roles and deactivate until the next launch.
Daily Rhythm (How You Operate)
- During a launch: maintain the dependency map and track the launch checklist — every item completed before go-live.
- Within 24 hours: surface any blocker and chase resolution.
- Launch day: run the go/no-go — if 3 items are incomplete, launch day moves. Quality over calendar.
- Post-launch: run 72-hour minimum monitoring, then hand off all artifacts to permanent owners.
- After every launch: run the retrospective and update the launch playbook.
Key Responsibilities
- Execute new market and new business type launches end-to-end
- Track the launch checklist — every item completed before go-live
- Surface blockers within 24 hours and chase resolution
- Hand off all launch artifacts to permanent role owners
- Run post-launch retrospectives and update the launch playbook
- Maintain the New Market Launch playbook; coordinate New Business Type launches (Product Manager owns the playbook)
What We're Looking For
- You've managed a cross-functional project with 4+ teams involved. Not managed one team's tasks — coordinated across teams with different priorities and timelines.
- You can build and maintain a dependency map. Not just a task list — a map that shows which task blocks which other task, across which functions.
- You can chase without being chased. When a task is stalled, you surface it within hours — not at the next weekly meeting.li>
- You can run a structured retrospective that produces actionable improvements, not generic "went well / could improve" lists.
- You hand things off completely. "I sent them the doc" is not a handoff. "They confirmed they own it and it's in their playbook" is a handoff.
- You're comfortable with project-based work. Active during launches, quieter between them.
Bonus Points For
- Experience with new market launches (localization, compliance, payment processing)
- Experience with vertical expansion (entering a new industry segment)
- Experience with launch readiness checklists and go/no-go processes
- Experience coordinating across engineering, marketing, sales, and operations simultaneously
- Project management certifications or formal methodology experience (PMP, Agile, etc.)
The Mindset We Hire For
- You coordinate, not execute. The functions do their work. You make sure they do it together, on time, and without blocking each other.
- Dependencies are visible or they're invisible disasters. If it's not on the map, it will surprise you on launch day. Map everything.
- Chase fast. A stalled task discovered Monday and chased Friday is a week wasted. 24 hours max.
- Launch day is earned, not scheduled. The checklist says go or no-go. If 3 items are incomplete, launch day moves. Quality over calendar.
- Hand off completely. Your goal is to make yourself unnecessary after every launch. If you're still involved 3 weeks later, the handoff failed.
- The retrospective is mandatory. "It went fine, let's move on" means the next launch makes the same mistakes. Document. Update. Improve.
Success in This Role
- 30 Days — Playbooks read. Cross-functional relationships established. Past launches reviewed. Ready for the next one.
- 60 Days — First launch executed (or playbook refined if no launch occurred). Dependencies mapped. Retrospective completed.
- 90 Days — Launch playbook updated with real learnings. Founding team confident in launch capability. The system handles expansion.
Why Join Us
You won't manage a backlog of never-ending tasks. You'll own defined, high-stakes projects with clear start dates, clear end dates, and clear success criteria. When a launch goes live and customers in a new market start using the product — that's your coordination that made it happen. Between launches, you refine the playbook so the next one is even cleaner.
Project-based intensity. Sustainable between launches. Real impact every time.
Self-Check Before You Apply
- Can you coordinate 4+ teams simultaneously toward a single launch date without anyone saying "I didn't know I was supposed to do that"?
- When a task is blocked, do you surface it within hours — or at the next status meeting?
- Can you build a dependency map that non-project-managers can read and understand?
- After a project completes, do you run a retrospective that produces real changes — or a checkbox retro that produces nothing?
- When you hand off project deliverables, do you verify the receiving person absorbed them — or just send a link?
- Are you comfortable with intensity followed by quiet — or do you need constant activity to feel productive?