Strategic Project Lead

Mercor Alabaster

$120K — $200K *
Business Services
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of experience in operational roles, particularly in consulting, finance, or startups.
  • Strong analytical skills to effectively diagnose and optimize processes.
  • Excellent communication abilities, especially in customer-facing scenarios.
  • Experience managing complex, multi-million dollar projects with tight deadlines.
  • A hands-on mindset geared towards gritty problem solving and process improvement.

Responsibilities

  • Drive the execution of high-stakes projects with substantial financial implications.
  • Design and oversee data pipelines from customer requirements to final outputs.
  • Identify and resolve operational bottlenecks to enhance efficiency and quality.
  • Serve as the main liaison for prominent AI research labs, ensuring their needs are met.
  • Coordinating the efforts of over 1,000 remote contributors through effective management in collaborative platforms.
  • Conduct daily sync meetings to preemptively address potential issues and maintain progress visibility.

Benefits

  • Performance incentives tied to project outcomes.
  • Opportunities for career advancement into senior roles.
  • Significant equity stake in a high-growth startup.
  • Generous wellness and lifestyle benefits including fitness club memberships and meal stipends.
Full Job Description

About the Role

Silicon Valley's leading AI companies partner with Mercor to scale high-quality data operations. As an SPL, you will:
  • Drive the tactical execution of multi-million-dollar projects.
  • Build deep client relationships with researchers at top AI labs.
  • Orchestrate the work of 1,000+ contributors.
  • Ensure flawless operational execution under demanding timelines.

This is a hands-on operations role for candidates excited by process optimization, rapid iteration, and high-intensity problem solving. We're an early-stage startup that operates with intensity. That means occasionally being responsive on weekends and always holding a high bar for output. The upside - performance incentives, career trajectory, and meaningful equity - reflects that.

Core Responsibilities

Operational Excellence
  • Design and manage end-to-end data pipelines, from customer specifications to final delivery.
  • Diagnose bottlenecks, restructure workflows, and implement solutions that improve quality, throughput, and cost-efficiency.
  • Examples include: creating incentive systems, re-sequencing workflows, refining instructions, and scaling review processes.


Customer Relationships
  • Act as the primary point of contact for leading AI labs.
  • Deliver clear, consistent reporting and proactively anticipate client needs.
  • Build long-term trust and identify opportunities for expansion.


Large-Scale Coordination
  • Manage 1,000+ distributed contributors in Slack-based workspaces.
  • Source, vet, train, and performance-manage domain experts.
  • Maintain high execution standards across all stages of production.


Quality Reporting
  • Run daily internal syncs ("war rooms") to stay ahead of issues.
  • Provide regular, transparent progress updates to customers.


What We're Looking For
  • Experience: Background in consulting, finance, startups, or other operationally intense environments.
  • Skills: Strong analytical and communication abilities; proven track record of managing complex projects.
  • Customer-Facing Experience: Comfortable working directly with high-profile clients.
  • Mindset: Excited by "gritty" process optimization and large-scale execution.


Key Facts
  • SPLs generate $10M+ in project revenue annually.
  • Customer requests are high-pressure and time-sensitive (e.g., onboarding 1,000 contributors in 3 days, delivering 10+ hours of quality data per contributor within 48 hours).
  • The role is explicitly operations-focused-not strategy, product, or GTM.


Growth Path
  • SPLs begin as individual contributors, running projects end-to-end.
  • High performers may advance to Senior SPL (SSPL) roles, managing multiple projects and teams of SPLs.


Compensation
  • Base cash comp from $120K-$200k
  • Aggressive bi-annual performance bonus structure
  • Generous equity grant vested over 4 years
  • $10K proximity bonus (if you live within 0.5 miles of our office)
  • $1.5K monthly stipend for meals
  • Free Equinox membership
  • $200 monthly laundry reimbursement
  • $200 monthly personal wellness reimbursement
  • Health, Dental, Vision insurance
  • 401(k) with company match
  • Up to $15k Relocation bonus

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