Director, Central Operations

About HandshakeHandshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data.

We've grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.Why join Handshake now:Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feelPartner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world's top educational institutionsWork together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC foundersBuild a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenueAbout Handshake AIHuman data is the core infrastructure to AI advancement.

Frontier AI labs currently improve model capabilities with various data-intensive post-training techniques. We believe that data spend for AI training will increase by 3-5x in the next few years and continue for much longer as models take on new domains.

Handshake AI supports all of the frontier AI labs, working on their most complex data at the largest scale.About The RoleThe Director, Central Operations will help lead Central Ops — the team responsible for Marketplace & Allocations, Trust & Safety, Payments, and Contractor Operations at Handshake AI. Today, none of these four functions has a dedicated leader; a lean team of ~10 flexes across all of them based on wherever the most urgent need is.

This role exists to bring structure and durable leadership to that org as it scales, while staying hands-on with the highest-priority work in the moment.Reporting to the VP, Central Ops, you'll combine hands-on program leadership with people management, and, over time, take ownership of one or more of the four core functions as the team matures.

Much of the near-term work is operational build-out — automating largely manual processes in close partnership with Product and Engineering.You'll partner cross-functionally with Legal, Finance, Product, Engineering, Data Science, Delivery, Growth, and Exec Leadership to bring structure to ambiguity and elevate operational maturity across the function(s) you own.Define and own the strategy and roadmap for core Central Operations functionsBuild, lead, and develop a high-performing team, including hiring, coaching, and performance managementAnalyze performance data to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for improvementBuild and optimize processes to improve efficiency, quality, and scalabilityPartner cross-functionally to launch and iterate on operational initiativesTrack and report on key metrics, ensuring programs meet performance targetsDrive continuous improvement through structured problem-solving and experimentationYou Have6+ years of experience, ideally as a decision maker in a fast-paced work environmentPrior people management experience, with a track record of building and developing teamsStrong analytical skills, with the ability to use data to inform decisionsExperience using SQL to pull and analyze dataDemonstrated ability to manage cross-functional projects and influence senior stakeholdersComfort operating in ambiguous environments and driving clarityStrong organizational skills and attention to detailBonus points:Experience in one of Central Operations' core functions — Marketplace & Allocations, Trust & Safety, Payments, or Contractor OperationsBackground as an engineer earlier in your career before transitioning into an operating/strategy role — useful for bridging the gap when partnering closely with Product and EngineeringBackground in Business Operations, Strategy & Operations, Management Consulting, or an MBAExcellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate insights and recommendations to senior stakeholdersWe OfferHandshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported and thrive at work and in life.The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonusesExplore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.