Strategy & Ops - MeritFirst

About Merit First

At Merit First, we’re on a mission to revolutionize how companies identify and evaluate talent, regardless of background. By rejecting outdated, unreliable proxies for capability and embracing objective, merit-based assessments, we are rebuilding the meritocratic infrastructure of opportunity from the ground up.

You’ll work directly with the CEO on critical initiatives spanning product, growth, and operations. From digging into product metrics and triaging customer issues, to launching growth experiments and tightening internal ops - you’ll do whatever it takes to keep the pace high. You’ll also act as a forward-deployed partner, parachuting into key customer accounts to ensure smooth rollouts, uncover product opportunities, and close feedback loops fast.

This is a high-ownership role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves quickly, and wants exposure to building and scaling a business from the ground up.

• Own problems end-to-end: jump into customer issues, internal gaps, or growth ideas; define the problem, clarify the goal, and execute a solution

• Act as a forward-deployed partner: work directly with strategic customers to support onboarding, uncover pain points, gather insights, and accelerate outcomes

• Drive insight and action: analyze product and funnel metrics, generate hypotheses, and run lightweight experiments to validate impact

• Build internal leverage: design processes, automate repetitive tasks, and improve systems across support, onboarding, hiring, and reporting

• Keep us fast and focused: ruthlessly prioritize, communicate clearly, and unblock teammates across functions

• Demonstrated success thriving in intense, ambiguous environments (start‑ups, consulting, banking, PE, biz‑ops, or equivalent “figure‑it‑out” roles).

• Strong analytical toolkit - comfortable with Excel/Sheets, SQL, and basic BI dashboards; able to turn data into clear narratives and action plans.

• AI-native:
  You use AI tools daily to analyze data, explore new ideas, automate workflows, and accelerate decision-making, moving from problem to execution with speed and minimal oversight.

• Bias for action: you identify the 80/20, make the call, and ship.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication; equally persuasive in investor memos and customer emails.

• Ownership mentality: no task too small, no problem someone else’s.

• Autonomy
  : rapid growth with outsized ownership and scope

• Meritocracy
  :
  We focus on real capabilities, not credentials. You’ll be assessed based on your skills and ability to execute, not the name of your school or employer.

• Innovation
  :
  Work on cutting-edge projects that challenge the status quo and empower people to succeed.

• Backed by the best
  :
  We’re funded by 8VC and Slow Ventures, with support from world-class builders like Joe Lonsdale and Sam Lessin who’ve helped scale some of the most influential tech companies of the last decade.

If you're looking to be part of a team that prioritizes capability over credentials and wants to make a real difference, we encourage you to apply. Let’s build something that matters.