Freelance AI Data Project Manager (NYC / LA - On-Site)

Company Intro At Toloka AI we create data that powers leading GenAI models and innovations. We work with frontier labs, big tech, renowned AI startups, enterprises and non-profit research organizations worldwide. We use a combination of Experts + Crowd + Tech Platform to teach AI models to reason and evaluate their efficacy and safety. We have experts in more than 50 different domains—from doctors and lawyers to physicists and engineers—and boast one of the most diverse global crowds, representing over 100 countries and speaking 40+ languages. We are a well-funded startup with an enviable portfolio of clients including Anthropic, Amazon, Microsoft, poolside, Recraft, and Shopify. Recently, we secured strategic investment led by Bezos Expeditions with participation from Mikhail Parakhin, CTO of Shopify and board advisor to leading GenAI companies, who now serves as our Chairman of the Board. Our remote-first team is globally distributed around the world: USA, UK, the Netherlands, Serbia, and more. We are headquartered in Amsterdam. About position We're seeking a Freelance AI Data Project Manager based in New York City or Los Angeles to join Delivery team and help build, drive, and maintain solutions for our clients. Joining us in this role means you will lead a virtual cross-functional team managing successful project implementation. This involves both client communication and internal coordination. The team consists of talented engineers of different kinds, supply managers and other departments on an ‘as needed’ basis. This is a key role for us to ensure we deliver the best possible experience for our clients and enable us to constantly grow our business. Example Projects • SFT (supervised fine tuning) data generation pipeline producing thousands of prompts and completions weekly across several languages and domains of knowledge; • Evaluation pipeline helping to estimate LLMs’ responses quality and reaching a throughput of hundred thousands weekly; • A red-teaming project helping to collect malicious prompts of different kinds to ensure models’ safety. Key Responsibilities • Take ultimate ownership for all delivery team projects, including data quality, delivery timelines, unit economics and overall transparency for stakeholders; • Lead a cross-functional delivery team ensuring projects are on track, any issues and risks are highlighted and resolved proactively; • Own operations of the delivery team: including internal and external communication, activities planning, posting summaries and status updates, conducting retros etc.; • Drive and motivate the team, seek out change to increase the organization’s efficiency; • Help roll out improvements to the delivery team focussing on increased adoption and providing feedback for further improvements. Qualifications • Experience leading technical cross-functional teams; • Experience managing complex projects including discovery, decomposition, scope planning, implementation and adoption; • Client facing experience; • Being generally agile, able to switch quickly to new domains and subjects; • Consulting, Tech, Competitors background is a big plus; • Good understanding of LLMs and their life cycle in particular; • Experience in data generation; • Experience and proactiveness in suggesting process changes is appreciated; • Proven experience in the AI space, including working with clients and managing teams or projects at scale. What we can offer • Full-time independent contractor engagement (B2B) through the Ontop contractor platform, working via your own company or business entity; • On-site role based in either Los Angeles or New York City (40 hours per week), with periodic travel across the city and surrounding areas to meet with clients. All business travel expenses are covered by the company; • Work at the leading edge of AI development, alongside a dedicated and dynamic team of experts; • Projects with customers that are AI industry leaders and well-known household names; • Friendly community. [Important Notice] Scam Alert Regarding Fake Job Postings It has come to our attention that an individual or group is fraudulently impersonating Toloka to post fake jobs and solicit personal information from applicants.Please be aware: • Official Communication: Our recruiting team will only contact you from an official "toloka.ai" email address. We will NEVER use Gmail, Yahoo, Tolokainc, toloka.inc, or other personal or seemingly business email accounts. • Our Process: We will never ask for your bank account details, credit card number, or any fees as part of the application or interview process. • Official Listings: All legitimate job openings are posted on our official careers page: https://toloka.ai/careers#job-list What to do: If you see a suspicious job posting or have been contacted by someone you suspect is a scammer, please do not provide any personal information. Instead, report the incident to us directly at security@toloka.ai and report the profile/post to LinkedIn.We are taking this matter very seriously and are working with the appropriate parties to resolve it. Thank you for your vigilance! To learn how we collect, use, disclose, and store personal data, check out our Privacy Notice.