Business Operations Generalist

ABOUT AFTERQUERY AfterQuery https://www.afterquery.com/ is an applied research lab curating data solutions for foundation model development. We serve every frontier AI lab with the mission of delivering the best data to power the best models. In doing so, we can make expertise that once took a lifetime to build available to anyone who needs it. Our customers are the ones building the foundation models themselves and our work sits directly in the loop of how those systems improve. This is a rare opportunity to join a company at a defining moment in AI. Forbes reported that we could be YC's fastest unicorn, reportedly raising at a $3.2 billion valuation. We're based in San Francisco and backed by leading investors including Altos Ventures, BoxGroup, and Y Combinator and angels from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta Superintelligence Labs, and Microsoft AI. WHY APPLY Massive Opportunity: Forbes reported that we could be YC's fastest unicorn, reportedly raising at a $3.2 billion valuation, and we're not slowing down. Founding Impact: You will own and architect core infrastructure systems that power our platform from the ground up. Equity & Growth: Competitive salary and meaningful equity. As we scale, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the engineering organization and lead major technical initiatives. Strong Team: Our founding team has experience from Citadel Securities, Meta, Google, Silver Lake, and Morgan Stanley — work alongside world-class engineers and researchers. OVERVIEW AfterQuery is hiring a Business Operations Generalist to work directly with the CEO and the internal Operations team as we scale. You will be a key part of the operational backbone of the company — tackling special projects across the business as they arise and building capabilities that don't yet have a home. You are a utility player: sharp, resourceful, and equally comfortable doing qualitative research, quantitative modeling, and hands-on execution. No task is out of scope. Your job is not to flag problems — it's to diagnose them, build the analysis, and deliver a recommendation that moves the business. Other times, it's to tackle issues before they become problems. You won't inherit a playbook. You will build one from the ground up, then hand it off and move to the next thing. This is an in-person role in San Francisco, moving at the speed of the company. RESPONSIBILITIES - Take ownership of founder- and leadership- assigned special projects from kickoff through delivery, driving decision-making, owning cross-functional initiatives, building operating cadences, and monitoring core business metrics. - Build new operational capabilities from scratch: billing and revenue operations infrastructure, business development support, and other functions we stand up as we scale. - Gather qualitative and quantitative data, synthesize what you find, and develop actionable recommendations. - Assist with business development activities including research, outreach support, deal tracking, and preparing materials for founder-led conversations. - Support recruiting end-to-end (sourcing, top-of-funnel outreach, interview coordination, work trials, candidate relationships, and external recruiter management) so hiring moves quickly and without gaps. - Support the company's administrative infrastructure: financials (payroll, expense tracking, vendor payments, invoicing), real estate and lease management, office setup, and any other operational foundations that keep the business running smoothly. - Identify operational inefficiencies, model the tradeoffs, and propose prioritized solutions with clear implementation plans. - Serve as connective tissue across the organization by communicating clearly, following through, and closing the loop. - Build for durability, not just delivery. Stand something up, pressure-test it, document it, and hand it off cleanly so that it keeps working after you've moved on to the next problem. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS - 1–4 years of experience at a top investment bank, consulting firm, private equity firm, or in a highly analytical strategy or operations role. - Demonstrated ability to build from the ground up. You've operated in environments where the process didn't exist, and you created it. - A genuine utility player: equally comfortable building a financial model, drafting a customer email, and mapping an operational workflow — and you don't think any of it is beneath you. - High agency, low ego. You don't wait to be told what to do — you identify the gap, propose the solution, and execute. If something is broken, you fix it without being asked. - Strong analytical instincts: you default to quantitative analysis and pair it with qualitative judgment. You turn ambiguous problems into specific, data-backed recommendations. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Prior experience at an early-stage startup, especially in an operator or Chief of Staff-adjacent capacity. - Technical fluency: ability to engage credibly with engineering and research teams. - Exposure to AI, data, or tech-adjacent industries, either from prior work or genuine intellectual interest in the space. - Experience standing up customer-facing programs, billing systems, or revenue operations from zero. - Experience across multiple functions: operations, strategy, finance, go-to-market, product, or recruiting. COMPANY BENEFITS (FOR ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES): - Health Insurance: Medical, Vision, Dental - 401(k) with Employer Match - Daily Meals: Daily UberEats Stipend - Monthly Wellness Stipend We are an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. Employment decisions are made without regard to legally protected characteristics under applicable federal, state, or local law. We comply with applicable pay transparency requirements and provide compensation ranges based on the position, qualifications, experience, and other relevant factors. Reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs, as required by law. This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed and is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, or working conditions associated with the position. We reserve the right to modify this job description as business needs change.