Manager of R&D Strategy & Operations

Join Handshake, a leading company in AI development. As the Manager of R&D Strategy & Operations, you will play a crucial role in extending our S&O function into the frontier of AI. You will work at the intersection of scalable reinforcement learning environments, systematic quality frameworks for training frontier models, and large-scale coding projects. This is not a program management role, but a force multiplier that will have a significant impact on our R&D operations.

• Deploy to the highest-priority initiatives across R&D, build the operating structure for each sprint, and hand off when it's self-sustaining.
• Build trusted relationships with engineering and product leads; be informed enough to push back and credible enough to be heard.
• Identify process and tooling friction across R&D and own the playbooks to fix it, including agentification of manual workflows.
• Proven track record deploying across complex, multi-team organizations and building operating systems that outlast their involvement
• AI-fluent operator who uses the latest tools and is excited to build the agentification playbook for others
• 6–8+ years 6 to 8 years in strategy & operations, chief of staff, or a hybrid role in a fast-moving R&D driven environment
• High judgment under ambiguity: goes to where the problem is, not where the job description points
• Strategic range to move fluidly between a technical AI research environment and a consumer marketplace without losing effectiveness
• Executive presence to operate alongside senior leaders and push back when something is at risk
• Relationship-builder who earns trust quickly across engineering, product, and design stakeholders