Startup Generalist (Ex-Founders)

undefined ago • All levels

Job Summary

Job Description

Zams aims to turn every company into an AI company by providing on-demand data science talent and groundbreaking internal tools. They are a small, agile team focused on high-impact work with flexible hours. They seek a Generalist Operator, ideally an ex-founder or early startup hire, who thrives in ambiguity, takes extreme ownership, and can turn chaos into clarity. This role involves working directly with founders on high-leverage opportunities, building systems, launching products, and shaping company strategy.
Must have:
  • Thinks like an owner, not an employee. Sees problems and acts without waiting for direction.
  • Identify high-leverage problems and take full ownership to solve them
  • Work closely with the founders to make decisions, test hypotheses, and move quickly
  • Strong Communicator → Can talk to customers, sales, and engineering and get all of them aligned
  • Build lightweight processes, frameworks, and playbooks that help the team scale
  • Be a thought partner on product, hiring, and company strategy
  • Bring structure and momentum to ambiguous projects or undefined roles
Good to have:
  • You've built something from scratch — ideally as a founder or an early hire at a startup
  • You have a “see it, solve it” mentality and don’t wait for permission to act
  • You’re highly structured in how you think, but comfortable executing in messy environments
  • You know how to communicate clearly, navigate ambiguity, and pull signal from noise
  • You care about outcomes more than optics, and default to ownership over delegation
Perks:
  • Health Care Plan
  • Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
  • Work Equipment
  • Stock Option Plan
  • Training & Development

Job Details

Description

Data Science problems are everywhere, but the talent is not. At Zams, our vision is to turn every company into an AI company. We do this by providing businesses with access to world class, on-demand data science talent that helps them solve real business problems. On the back end, we empower data scientists with a set of internal groundbreaking tools to help them deliver results in minutes, not months.

We’re a small, scrappy group of people with a strong bent toward failing fast, bias for action and attention to detail. We’re focused on doing the best work of our lives and believe in having a healthy separation of work and play. We keep working hours flexible and are building a team with most of us located in San Francisco, CA and others working remotely around the world.

Zams is backed by some of the top venture capital firms in the US, and you’ll be on the ground floor of a fast-growing company with a big mission.

About You

Startups are hard. But what makes them work is simple: extreme ownership, bias for action, and people who know how to turn chaos into clarity. That’s who we’re looking for.

We believe the best people often don’t fit neatly into a job title — they’ve started companies, worn every hat, and thrive when given too much responsibility and not enough instruction. That’s the kind of energy we’re hiring for.

As a Generalist Operator (we’ll come up with a better title together), you’ll plug into the highest-leverage opportunities across the company — from building internal systems to launching new products or tackling existential strategy questions. You’ll work directly with the founding team, operate independently, and help shape the company as it grows.

Here are some of the qualities we look for in a perfect hire:

  • You've built something from scratch — ideally as a founder or an early hire at a startup
  • You have a “see it, solve it” mentality and don’t wait for permission to act
  • You’re highly structured in how you think, but comfortable executing in messy environments
  • You know how to communicate clearly, navigate ambiguity, and pull signal from noise
  • You care about outcomes more than optics, and default to ownership over delegation

Responsibilities:

  • Thinks like an owner, not an employee. Sees problems and acts without waiting for direction.
  • Identify high-leverage problems and take full ownership to solve them
  • Work closely with the founders to make decisions, test hypotheses, and move quickly
  • Strong Communicator → Can talk to customers, sales, and engineering and get all of them aligned
  • Build lightweight processes, frameworks, and playbooks that help the team scale
  • Be a thought partner on product, hiring, and company strategy
  • Bring structure and momentum to ambiguous projects or undefined roles

Requirements

  • Demonstrated track record of ownership: you’ve driven projects from idea to impact
  • Deep curiosity and learning velocity — you pick things up fast
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Comfort navigating across teams (product, eng, ops, sales)
  • You thrive in fast-paced environments with limited structure
  • Ability to work out of our San Francisco office 5 days per week

Why This Role?

  • You’ll be on the ground floor of something big
  • You’ll get massive ownership from day one
  • You’ll work with a high-caliber team who cares deeply
  • There’s no ceiling here — just runways

Benefits

  • Health Care Plan
  • Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
  • Work Equipment
  • Stock Option Plan
  • Training & Development

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About The Company

Zams is an enterprise platform to build AI agents that automate back-office work. Backed by top Silicon Valley investors like B Capital Group, UTEC, TMV, Sequoia Scouts and Facebook. Trusted by hundreds of businesses worldwide.

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