Strategic Operations Lead: Cross-Functional Impact

River AI Inc.; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-site in Palo Alto

Equity

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

River AI Inc. is seeking a high-agency operator to work across research, engineering, product, hardware, and GTM.

You will drive alignment on high-priority initiatives, remove friction, and establish clear operating rhythms to move ideas to execution. The role requires exceptional problem-solving, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to translate complexity into actionable plans while leveraging AI tools to accelerate research and decision-making.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in operations, strategy, or chief-of-staff/consulting roles with high ownership.
• Experience in fast-growing tech environments and cross-functional coordination.
• Strong problem-solving, judgment, and ability to turn ambiguity into action.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with the ability to distill complexity.

Responsibilities

• Partner with founders on top-priority problems and initiatives.
• Translate ambiguity into concrete actions and execution plans.
• Build connectivity across research, engineering, product, hardware, and GTM.
• Establish lightweight operating mechanisms to improve decisions and speed.
• Provide clear analysis, sound judgment, and actionable recommendations.

Skills

Operations leadership

Strategy experience

Program management

Cross-functional collaboration

High ownership

Executive-facing communication

Ambiguity navigation

Data-driven decision making

AI tools fluency

Tools

LLMs

Agents

AI tooling

Job description

River AI Inc. is seeking a high-agency operator to work across research, engineering, product, hardware, and GTM.

You will drive alignment on high-priority initiatives, remove friction, and establish clear operating rhythms to move ideas to execution. The role requires exceptional problem-solving, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to translate complexity into actionable plans while leveraging AI tools to accelerate research and decision-making.