AI-Native Founder's Associate

Reports to: CEOCompensation: $140,000 - $180,000 base + substantial equity (targeting 7-figure annual comp through upside)Location: San Francisco (Jackson Square) - onsite, high-collaboration role
About Aonic
We're building the modern, healthy Pepsi Co: a next-generation functional nutrition company making vibrant wellness effortless for millions of Americans through scientifically advanced, delicious products.

Our ambition is extreme.
By 2026, our goal is to grow the business 20 , reach $40M ARR, and be profitable with a lean team of 10 people.We believe the next generation of category-defining companies will be built by small teams with extreme leverage, powered by AI, automation, and exceptional people.
The Role
As our AI-Native Founder's Associate, you will work directly with the CEO on the highest-impact problems across operations, growth, and finance.
You are not a coordinator. You are not an observer. ou are a force multiplier.
Your job is to take ambiguous, high-stakes problems and turn them into structured analyses, decisions, and execution-often by building AI-powered systems and workflows yourself.
This role is intentionally broad and demanding.
It is designed for someone early in their career who wants maximum learning, responsibility, and exposure in the shortest possible time.
What You'll Work On
Operations & Execution

• Support and improve day-to-day operations across fulfillment, customer experience, supply chain coordination, and internal workflows.
• Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies and help design AI-driven solutions to remove them.
• Own specific operational projects end-to-end, from problem definition to execution.

Growth Enablement

• Support growth initiatives across marketing, experimentation, and performance tracking.
• Build AI-assisted workflows for reporting, analysis, and execution.
• Help translate growth objectives into operational and financial implications.

Finance & Business Intelligence

• Support financial analysis, forecasting, and unit economics.
• Build and maintain models, dashboards, and AI-powered reporting tools.
• Help leadership make decisions based on contribution margin and real economics, not vanity metrics.

AI, Automation & Systems

• Leverage AI, automation, and low-code tools to improve speed and quality of execution across all functions.
• Build internal tools, scripts, and workflows that reduce manual work.
• Continuously look for opportunities to replace effort with systems.

Special Projects

• Tackle high-priority, ad-hoc projects directly with the CEO.
• Move fluidly between strategy and execution depending on what the business needs.
• Be comfortable owning problems that do not come with instructions.

Hard Requirements
To be successful in this role, all of the following must be true:

• Degree from a top-tier university in engineering, science, math, business, or a related field.
• Candidates with a business background must have self-taught at least light forms of coding and demonstrate technical fluency.
• AI-native mindset, with hands-on experience using AI tools, automation platforms, and low-code solutions to drive real outcomes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability, with comfort working across operations, growth, and finance.
• Genuine interest in solving real-world business problems, including those involving physical operations such as production, supply chain, warehousing, delivery, and customer experience.
• Extremely hungry and ambitious, actively seeking responsibility and steep growth.
• Strong work ethic and intensity, comfortable operating in an environment closer to 8-7 than 9-5.

The Profile We're Looking For
This role requires a rare mix of traits:

• Book-smart:
  Strong academic foundation and structured thinking.
• Street-smart:
  Practical judgment, prioritization, and commercial intuition.
• People-smart:
  Able to work across functions without ego and communicate clearly.
• AI-native:
  Naturally reaches for AI and automation as a first instinct.
• High-agency:
  Sees problems, takes ownership, and executes without waiting.

Why Join Aonic?
Direct Founder ExposureYou will work side-by-side with the CEO on real decisions that shape the company.
Unmatched Learning VelocityThis role compresses years of experience into months.
Real Responsibility EarlyYou will own projects that matter, not shadow them.
Elite, Small TeamYou will work with a tight group of highly driven operators in a no-bureaucracy environment.
Modern StackWe invest in the best AI and automation tools and expect you to use them aggressively.
Meaningful UpsideThis role is designed as a launchpad into senior leadership roles over time.

Compensation The base pay range for this role is $120,000 - $140,000 per year.

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