Technical Operations Associate

AfterQuery; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity and growth opportunities

Direct mentorship from founders

Work with a top-tier team

Job summary

A leading AI research lab is seeking a Technical Operations Associate in San Francisco. This unique role combines technical and operational projects supporting frontier AI labs. The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in AI, excellent communication skills, and a collaborative mindset. Responsibilities include managing AI projects, building operational tools, and coordinating datasets. The position offers significant equity, direct exposure to founders, and a fast-track career opportunity in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Strong interest in AI and comfort using AI tools.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficient in coordinating across teams.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate dataset generation projects with AI labs.
• Build and maintain operational tools using AI.
• Manage teams across software engineering and data science.
• Create technical documentation and project briefs.
• Analyze operational metrics and build dashboards.
• Interface with technical and operational teams.
• Drive process improvements and scale operations as the company grows.
• Interface with engineering and research teams on coordination.

Skills

AI fluency

Strong communication skills

Ownership and independence

Organizational skills

Collaborative mindset

Education

Background in software engineering or computer science

Tools

Microsoft Office

Google Workspace

Scripting

Job description

• AfterQuery is seeking exceptional candidates for our Technical Operations Associate position. This is not a typical operations role – you'll work directly with our founding team on high-priority technical and operational projects that directly support our work with frontier AI labs.

Company Overview

• AfterQuery is a research lab investigating the boundaries and capabilities of artificial intelligence through novel datasets and experimentation. Our customers are the foundation model labs—we serve all of the frontier AI labs.
• We are based in San Francisco, CA, and have raised funding from top investors, including Y Combinator and BoxGroup, ex-partners from Lightspeed and Index Ventures, and senior leadership at Google DeepMind and Meta GenAI.
• Our founding team brings backgrounds from Jane Street, Meta, Citadel Securities, Google, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Silver Lake, Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research (BAIR), and Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL).

Why Apply

• Massive Opportunity. We were one of the fastest growing YC companies in our batch, and we believe we can be one of the fastest growing YC companies of all time
• Founding role. Early hire with significant equity and direct exposure to founders
• Equity & Growth. Competitive salary + meaningful equity with clear path to advancement
• Strong Team: You get to work with the best :)

The Opportunity

• Develop deep AI fluency and hands‑on technical skills working with cutting‑edge AI tools
• Build a network of frontier AI researchers, builders, and investors
• Learn how to scale a company from the ground up with direct mentorship from the founding team
• Fast‑track alternative to traditional entry‑level consulting, banking, or tech rotational programs

Responsibilities

• Partner with frontier AI labs to coordinate dataset generation projects, manage timelines, and ensure delivery excellence
• Build and maintain operational tools using AI (ChatGPT, Claude Code) and scripting to automate workflows, track metrics, and improve efficiency
• Manage teams of technical experts across domains such as software engineering, data science, and machine learning
• Create technical documentation, project briefs, and data samples for customer presentations
• Support product development by gathering technical requirements, coordinating testing, and tracking feature releases
• Analyze operational metrics and build lightweight dashboards to monitor project health and team performance
• Drive process improvements and build systems to scale operations as the company grows
• Interface with engineering and research teams on technical and operational coordination

Required Qualifications

• Strong interest in AI and technical fluency—comfortable using AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude Code, and learning new technologies quickly
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to interface with technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Extreme ownership, agency, and ability to operate independently with minimal supervision
• Ability to learn rapidly, iterate, and thrive in ambiguous environments
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Collaborative mindset with ability to coordinate across teams
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and knowledge of technical tools

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in software engineering, ML engineering, AI research, or computer science
• Full‑time or internship experience at a top tech company (FAANG, frontier AI lab) or quantitative trading firm
• Prior startup experience or founding experience
• Willingness to work long hours and weekends when projects demand it