Strategy & Operations Associate

Hostie AI, Inc.; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Hostie AI, Inc. is seeking a strategic operations professional to drive GTM execution, market analysis, and cross-functional growth initiatives for a remote-first startup in the hospitality tech space.

You will partner with leadership to shape company priorities, build scalable processes, and support fundraising efforts, while maintaining a focus on data-driven decision making and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• 2–5+ years in strategy & operations or business operations, preferably in high-growth tech/startup.
• Background from top consulting, investment banking, or strong business school foundation.
• Analytically sharp, capable of building models and interpreting data.

Responsibilities

• Build and iterate GTM playbooks: messaging, positioning, and scalable launch processes.
• Run competitive analysis and market research to inform positioning and messaging.
• Partner with sales and customer success on expansion strategies and growth.
• Own preparation for quarterly board meetings with metrics and narrative for the CEO.
• Field investor requests and support fundraising initiatives and investor communications.
• Create business cases for new initiatives, partnerships, or investments.
• Partner with Leadership on priorities, initiatives, and planning cycles.
• Identify operational gaps and drive process improvements as we scale.
• Maintain dashboards and KPI frameworks to track performance.
• Support financial forecasting, modeling, and headcount planning.

Skills

Strategy & ops experience

Startup/tech background

Analytical modeling

End-to-end ownership

Curiosity & grit

Ambiguity tolerance

Communication & writing

AI tools fluency

Education

Top consulting / investment banking / business school

Job description

Hostie is your restaurant's Virtual Concierge, making sure every call, text, or question gets answered in your voice. Behind the scenes, we handle guest communication, reservations, events, and takeout automatically, all in one place. Hostie takes care of the noise so your staff can focus on the service.

Restaurants across North America use Hostie to ensure no guest goes unanswered while giving their teams more time to focus on hospitality.

Hostie integrates with platforms like OpenTable, Toast, and SevenRooms and is backed by Gradient Ventures (Google's AI fund), Obvious Ventures (founded by Ev Williams), and leading hospitality investors.

What You'll Do:

• Build and iterate GTM playbooks - messaging, positioning, and launch processes that scale as we identify new product opportunities, new verticals, and new markets.
• Run competitive analysis and market research to inform how we build our positioning and messaging.
• Partner closely with sales and customer success to develop and test expansion and growth strategies.
• Own preparation for quarterly board meetings - pulling together materials, metrics, and narrative in partnership with the CEO.
• Field ad hoc investor requests and reports and support fundraising initiatives and investor communications as needed.
• Build business cases for new initiatives, partnerships, or investments.

Business & Finance Operations

• Partner with Leadership on company priorities, strategic initiatives, and planning cycles.
• Identify operational gaps and help drive process improvements wherever something is manual, inconsistent, or breaking as we scale.
• Build and maintain operational metrics, dashboards, and KPI frameworks to track business performance.
• Support financial forecasting and modeling - helping build and maintain the models Leadership uses to plan headcount, revenue, and spend.
• Support billing reconciliation and help keep accounts payable running cleanly as we scale.

We're Looking For:

• 2-5+ years of experience in strategy & operations or business operations, ideally in a high-growth tech or startup environment
• Background from top consulting, investment banking, or a strong business school foundation
• Analytically sharp instincts - you can build a model, read the data yourself, and don't wait for someone else to distill it
• A track record of owning something end-to-end, from strategy through execution, not just advising on it
• Exceptional curiosity and grit - you dig until you actually understand the problem
• Comfort operating in ambiguity - no one is handing you a playbook here
• Strong communication and writing ability - you can write a memo for the CEO and hold your own on a call with a merchant or investor
• A bias toward action and ownership - you'd rather test the hypothesis than write the memo about testing it
• Fluency with AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or similar) as part of how you actually work day to day - to move faster, not just polish emails

Why Join Us:

• You’ll gain direct exposure to the core functions of building a venture-backed startup: company strategy, GTM execution, operations, fundraising, and strategic partnerships - working alongside the CEO and Leadership Team from an early stage.
• A fast-growing market, and a chance to make a real impact: The restaurant technology space is expanding quickly, driven by rising demand for digital operations, reservations, and guest experience tools - and restaurants are under more pressure than ever to modernize. You’ll join a lean, high-growth team where your work directly shapes how restaurants run better and where individual contributions have outsized impact on the business and the success of the customers we support.
• Collaborative environment: You’ll receive support and guidance from experienced colleagues and managers, helping you learn, grow, and achieve your personal/professional goals.

What Else You Need to Know:

• The yearly total cash compensation for this role is $115k - $130k. Actual compensation will be determined on an individual basis and will vary depending on location, experience, skills, and qualifications. Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package - full-time positions are also eligible for equity awards and benefits.
• Hostie is a remote-first company. Our HQ is in San Francisco, CA but our team is fully distributed with no onsite requirements.