Strategic Project Lead

About the job Strategic Project Lead

Strategic Project Lead

Location:

New York, NY (Onsite - 5 days per week)
Compensation: $200,000 - $300,000 base salary

Employment Type:

Full-Time
Visa Sponsorship:
Not available

Hire Now Staffing is partnering with a fast-growing AI startup to identify seasoned and skilled Strategic Project Leads to help scale and optimize its data operations. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role built for operators who thrive in ambiguity, move quickly, and enjoy building systems that scale under real-world constraints.

As a Strategic Project Lead (SPL), you will own the end-to-end production of reinforcement learning (RL) training data-from customer specifications through final delivery. Your work will directly influence data quality, operational efficiency, revenue, and margins, placing you at the core of the company's growth engine.

Candidates must meet the required experience and operational expectations outlined below to be considered for interview.

The Opportunity

This role sits at the intersection of operations, data, and AI development. Strategic Project Leads are trusted to make high-stakes decisions daily balancing quality, speed, and scalability while navigating evolving systems and incomplete information.

This is not a strategy-only position. You will be deeply involved in execution, people management, and process design, with accountability for outcomes from day one.

What You'll Do

To be considered, candidates must demonstrate the ability to perform the following responsibilities:

• Own complex, end-to-end data pipelines, from customer requirements through final production and delivery
• Translate customer specifications into clear operational plans and execution frameworks
• Identify bottlenecks and implement automation and workflow improvements to increase throughput and data quality
• Balance quality, velocity, and cost in high-pressure production environments
• Partner closely with engineering, product, and leadership during periods of rapid growth
• Recruit, manage, and deploy high-skill talent across multiple AI data projects
• Monitor performance, quality metrics, and timelines; make real-time adjustments as needed
• Take full accountability for project outcomes, including delivery timelines and output quality

Required Qualifications (Must-Haves)

Candidates must meet all of the following to be considered:

• 2-8 years of experience working with data annotation, human data generation, or human-in-the-loop data pipelines
• Hands-on operations experience managing both people and processes (not strategy-only roles)
• Proven ability to operate in fast-moving, ambiguous environments
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach
• Willingness to work onsite, five days per week, in New York City

Preferred Qualifications (Strongly Emphasized)

Candidates meeting these criteria will receive priority consideration.

• Background from a top-tier academic institution or a top company with strong external signaling
• Experience owning production workflows at scale in high-growth environments
• Technical fluency with tools such as SQL, Python, or similar
• Experience training, coaching, and managing fast-moving teams
• Prior exposure to AI or human data platforms (e.g., Scale, Mercor, Surge, Handshake, Snorkel)
• Experience as a founding team member, founder, or early high-impact contributor
• Ability to communicate complex operational concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders
• Strong judgment under pressure and comfort making tradeoffs quickly

Who Thrives in This Role

You'll be a strong fit if you:

• Want meaningful ownership and accountability
• Enjoy solving hard, ambiguous problems without a playbook
• Prefer building systems over maintaining them
• Are energized by intense, high-impact work
• Are excited to contribute directly to the advancement of agentic AI
• Want to work in person with a driven, execution-focused team in a Union Square-based office

Why This Role Stands Out

• Direct impact on AI training quality, scalability, and business outcomes
• High autonomy with leadership visibility
• Opportunity to build foundational systems in a rapidly scaling AI company
• Competitive compensation aligned with ownership and impact
• Immersion in the frontier of applied AI and data operations

Hire Now Staffing Disclaimer

Hire Now Staffing is acting as a direct placement partner for this role. All candidate information is handled confidentially and evaluated against defined requirements.
This job description outlines the general scope of responsibilities and qualifications. Duties may evolve based on client needs and practice demands. Only candidates meeting core qualifications will be considered for interview.