Talent, Strategic Projects Associate

Decagon; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits

Life Insurance and Disability Benefits

Retirement Plan (e.g., 401K)

Parental Leave

Fertility and family building benefits

Wellness stipend

Daily lunches and snacks

Flexible vacation policy

Job summary

Decagon in San Francisco is seeking a Talent, Strategic Projects Associate to build systems from zero to one and tackle our most strategic recruiting bets.

You’ll work with teammates to map workflows, design scalable tools, and drive executive searches from sourcing to handoffs, delivering repeatable programs with clear ownership.

This role emphasizes curiosity about AI, strong research and writing, and comfort with ambiguity as you expand Decagon's leadership team.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of experience in executive search, recruiting operations, consulting, program management, or similar environment.
• Track record of building tools, systems, or programs from scratch and helping others use them successfully.
• Experience turning loosely defined problems into practical solutions, from initial test through rollout and handoff.
• Hands‑on curiosity about AI and a habit of experimenting with it to solve real problems.
• Strong research, writing, and organizational skills, with dependable follow-through.
• Comfort with ambiguity, openness to feedback, and a desire to take on increasing ownership.

Responsibilities

• Work directly with teammates to understand workflows, identify friction, and prioritize problems worth solving.
• Build AI tools, automations, and systems from zero to one, testing early versions with the team and improving them based on feedback.
• Own ambiguous projects from problem definition through execution, aligning stakeholders and keeping work moving.
• Turn successful experiments into repeatable programs, with clear documentation, ownership, and handoffs.
• Design and lead team-wide enablement sessions, helping teammates build confidence with new tools and apply them in their daily work.
• Research companies and leadership teams, identify executive talent, and turn findings into clear, actionable briefs.

Skills

Executive search

Recruiting operations

Program management

AI curiosity

Research skills

Job description

About Decagon

Decagon is the leading conversational AI platform empowering every brand to deliver concierge customer experiences.

Our technology enables industry-defining enterprises like Avis Budget Group, Block’s Cash App and Square, Chime, Oura Health, and Hunter Douglas to deploy AI agents that power personalized, deeply satisfying interactions across voice, chat, email, SMS, and every other channel.

We’re building a future where customer experiences are being redefined from support tickets and hold music to faster resolutions, richer conversations, and deeper relationships. We’re proud to be backed by world-class investors who share that vision, including a16z, Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, Coatue, and Index Ventures, along with many others.

We’re an in-office company, driven by a shared commitment to excellence and velocity. Our values — Just Get It Done, Invent What Customers Want, Winner’s Mindset, and The Polymath Principle — shape how we work and grow as a team.

About the Team

Decagon’s Talent team partners directly with company leadership to shape org design, define what success looks like, and hire the people who will shape our future. We’re Gen AI-native and constantly pushing the boundaries of how Talent teams operate—moving fast, solving hard problems, and building a world-class organization.

Within Talent, our Executive Talent & Strategic Projects function helps build Decagon’s leadership team and develops new tools, programs, and ways of working that make our Talent organization more effective.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Talent, Strategic Projects Associate to build systems from zero to one and take on some of recruiting’s biggest, most ambiguous bets.

You’ll work alongside teammates to understand how they work, uncover problems, and identify practical solutions. From sourcing and candidate engagement to interview coordination and approvals, you’ll define the problem, ship the smallest testable version, and turn what works into a repeatable program with a clear owner before moving to the next challenge.

You’ll also lead team-wide enablement sessions that help teammates put new tools and workflows into practice, and support executive searches through research and talent identification.

In this role, you will

• Work directly with teammates to understand their workflows, identify friction, and prioritize problems worth solving
• Build AI tools, automations, and systems from zero to one, testing early versions with the team and improving them based on feedback
• Own ambiguous projects from problem definition through execution, aligning stakeholders and keeping work moving
• Turn successful experiments into repeatable programs, with clear documentation, ownership, and handoffs
• Design and lead team-wide enablement sessions, helping teammates build confidence with new tools and apply them in their daily work
• Research companies and leadership teams, identify executive talent, and turn findings into clear, actionable briefs

Your background looks something like this

• 2–5 years of experience in executive search, recruiting operations, consulting, program management, or a similar environment
• A track record of building tools, systems, or programs from scratch and helping others use them successfully
• Experience turning loosely defined problems into practical solutions, from an initial test through rollout and handoff
• Hands‑on curiosity about AI and a habit of experimenting with it to solve real problems
• Strong research, writing, and organizational skills, with dependable follow-through
• Comfort with ambiguity, openness to feedback, and a desire to take on increasing ownership

Compensation

$120k – $180k + equity

Benefits

We proudly offer the following benefits for our full-time employees:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits for you and your family
• Life Insurance and Disability Benefits
• Retirement Plan (e.g., 401K, pension)
• Parental Leave
• Fertility and family building benefits through Carrot
• Monthly stipend to support your wellness, lifestyle, and work-life balance
• Daily lunches and snacks in the office to keep you at your best
• Take what you need vacation policy (subject to local requirements; UK employees receive 25 days of statutory leave)

These benefits are described in more detail in Decagon’s policies, may vary by location, and can change at any time according to applicable compensation and benefits plans.