Founder Associate

Location

New York

Full time

On-site

Business Operations

• NYC | SF: $110K – $200K Offers Equity

Valon builds an AI‑native operating system for regulated finance, starting with mortgage servicing. The company focuses on delivering high margins and improving customer experience while operating its own mortgage servicing business managing over $110B in loans. ValonOS provides a unified platform that enables AI agents to automate and continuously improve operations in regulated industries.

We are hiring a Founder Associate to work directly with Valon’s COO and executive team on the highest‑leverage problems facing the company. This generalist seat is for someone with uncommon judgment, high agency, and the ability to context‑switch across a wide range of problem types in a single week.

The role is designed for someone early in their career who wants to compress a decade of operating experience into a few years by working at the center of gravity of a fast‑scaling company.

• Own critical cross‑functional projects end‑to‑end — scoping, stakeholder alignment, execution, and delivery across client deployments, internal operations, pricing, AI enablement, and other high‑impact areas.
• Be the COO’s force multiplier — synthesize information across teams, prepare materials for executive and board‑level decisions, and flag problems before they become crises.
• Build new functions from 0 to 1 — design processes, teams, and systems that do not yet exist.
• Use AI as a default tool — regularly use agentic coding tools to automate workflows, analyze data, and move at an impossible pace without AI fluency.
• Navigate ambiguity with confidence — work with context, constraints, and trust, without detailed briefs or clear swim lanes.

• 0–8 years of experience — preferably from a top consulting firm, high‑growth startup, early‑stage CoS role, or rotational program; evidence of exceptional output and high agency is key.
• Generalist by nature — picks up new domains quickly, whether mortgage servicing economics, AI deployment strategy, or organizational design.
• High agency and low ego — volunteers for unglamorous work, ships imperfect solutions today rather than perfecting them next month.
• Strong written communicator — writes crisp one‑pages, persuasive messages, or detailed process documents with equal fluency.
• AI‑native — uses AI tools daily to amplify work and thinks in terms of automation.
• Based in New York — hybrid role requiring in‑person presence.

• People who need clearly defined roles and responsibilities to feel comfortable.
• Candidates who are strong analytically but struggle to execute and ship.
• Anyone who views AI as a novelty rather than a core working tool.
• People who optimize for individual credit over team outcomes.

• Competitive salary + meaningful equity (Series C stage).
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Commuter benefits.
• Flexible PTO.
• 12 weeks paid parental leave.
• Quarterly team events.

Valon is an equal‑opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. Valon makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

Compensation Range: $110K - $200K