Solutions Engineer Strategy & Operations Lead

WHO WE ARE Serval http://serval.com is an AI-native automation platform transforming how enterprises operate. We build intelligent agents that understand real-world workflows and execute them end-to-end — replacing manual processes and rigid legacy systems with adaptive, learning software. Founded in early 2024, Serval is already trusted by companies like Fox, Notion, Perplexity, Vercel, and Brex to automate high-volume, high-friction operational work across their organizations. At the core of Serval is an agentic AI platform that turns natural language into production-grade workflows. Our agents don’t just respond to requests — they reason, take action across systems, and continuously improve with usage. What began with operational use cases has quickly evolved into a horizontal AI automation layer used across IT, HR, Finance, Security, Legal, and Engineering. Our mission is to eliminate repetitive, manual work across the enterprise and give teams leverage through intelligent automation. Long term, we’re building the universal AI operations layer — a system of agents that sits across business functions and runs the workflows that keep modern companies moving. We’re backed by leading investors including Sequoia Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Meritech, First Round, General Catalyst, Elad Gil, and others. ABOUT THE ROLE This is the first dedicated Strategy & Operations hire for the Solutions Engineering org at Serval and is a critical priority for the go-to-market team. You will lead strategy and operations for SE leadership: the person who helps run the technical side of the business day to day and makes the SE team measurably more productive. Solutions Engineering is a critical function to improve our deal conversions and this role will come in to help build this organization from 0 to 1. You will identify the strategic levers needed to accelerate technical wins and pilot conversion, drive the execution to get there, and spot and address the gaps months before they materialize. WHAT YOU'LL DO SET STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND DRIVE EXECUTION - Partner with SE leadership to identify the highest-leverage growth levers (coverage model, SE-to-AE ratio, specialization vs. generalist, sales cycle engagement model - Work with SE leadership to refine our hiring model and org structure to be maximally effective in the GTM - Drive pilot and POC forecasting excellence: accurate, defensible, and called early, at the SE, segment, and company level - Implement a scalable operating cadence (pilot reviews, technical win reviews, demo standards, scoping and qualification checkpoints, business reviews) and drive the follow-through - Scope and lead strategic initiatives end to end, from thesis through rollout to measured result IMPROVE WORKFLOWS AND PROCESS - Find friction in the technical selling motion and remove it: scoping, demo prep, environment setup, integration reviews, security questionnaires, handoffs to deployment teams, anything costing SEs time they should spend with customers - Codify the technical discovery and scoping methodology, pilot success criteria, and technical qualification standards so the motion is repeatable as we hire - Ensure we have a worldclass SE content and asset layer: demo environments, reusable use-case libraries, pilot templates, integration playbooks, technical battlecards, etc. - Improve our GTM systems and data architecture (Salesforce and the surrounding stack) so technical activity, pilot health, and outcomes are captured reliably and reporting is trustworthy - Drive adoption of AI wherever possible. Look for places Serval itself should be doing this work. We automate other companies' operational drag, and we should be our own best customer FOSTER DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING - Build the analytics that explain technical performance: demo-to-pilot-to-close conversion, technical win rate, time to technical win, pilot cycle time, use-case mix, integration complexity, SE capacity and utilization, ramp, and the leading indicators behind them - Diagnose current and future gaps, then design and drive fixes. This role is measured on outcomes changed, not dashboards shipped - Ensure there is a clear link to Product and Engineering: turn pilot outcomes, loss reasons, and recurring technical blockers into a prioritized, evidence-backed feedback signal - Partner with Finance, Embedded Sales Strategy & Operations, and Central RevOps on SE capacity planning, coverage design, and headcount modeling - Build the tools that help SEs understand and run their own book of technical work WHAT YOU'LL BRING - 6-8+ years of experience, with a strong background in Strategy & Operations, Revenue Operations, or Business Operations at a high-growth B2B software company. Consulting, banking, PE, or corporate strategy backgrounds desired and experience with Solutions Engineering teams a plus. - Demonstrated experience driving open-ended initiatives from strategy through execution - Strong analytical horsepower: you can structure an ambiguous question, pull the data yourself, spot the insights, and land on a recommendation. Excel or Sheets mastery required, SQL and BI tooling preferred - Sufficient technical fluency to earn credibility with SEs and customer technical stakeholders: you can follow an integration conversation, understand where a pilot is stuck, and tell a real blocker from a solvable one - Comfort and credibility working with senior GTM leadership through individual SEs, as well as a variety of cross-functional stakeholders across Sales, Product, and Engineering - Knowledge of Salesforce and the GTM tech stack (Gong, Outreach or Amplemarket, Clay, etc.) a plus - Judgment about what matters. The hardest skill here is knowing which competing initiatives actually move the business forward - Comfort with ambiguity and a bias to build. There is no playbook yet. You are writing it - Bonus points: experience scaling a pre-sales org from single-digit to nine-figure ARR, enterprise displacement and technical evaluation motions, innovation with AI to drive productivity - Must be willing and able to work onsite five days per week in San Francisco, CA WHAT WE OFFER - Impact: Be a key player in shaping the success of our product and company. - Growth: Build a fundamentally new AI product offering with the support of our experienced team and investors. Grow rapidly with the company. - Culture: Join a culture that values innovation, ownership, accountability, and fun.