Strategic Project Lead

About Mercor

Mercor’s mission is to organize human intelligence for the AI economy. We build the infrastructure that enables frontier AI labs and enterprises to train, evaluate, and improve AI on real-world professional work. More than five million experts have joined our network, and we pay out over $5 million daily for their knowledge and expertise.

We built our training and evaluation infrastructure alongside the world’s leading AI labs. Now, we’re bringing those capabilities to enterprises across industries, enabling them to train, evaluate, and improve AI using their own expertise and standards. Our APEX benchmarks measure how AI performs on economically valuable work, while our enterprise evaluations and post-training capabilities turn those insights into measurable improvements across real-world workflows.

Our work sits at the intersection of frontier AI, human expertise, and real-world application. We’re solving problems few companies have encountered, with the opportunity to influence what the world’s most advanced AI systems become capable of doing. We’re looking for people who bring different perspectives, take ownership, exercise sound judgment, and hold themselves to an exceptionally high standard. You’ll have the opportunity to do consequential work alongside talented colleagues who challenge one another, collaborate openly, and share a commitment to excellence.

Mercor is profitable and recently raised a $750 million Series D at a $20 billion valuation. We work in person five days a week in San Francisco, New York, and London.

About the Role

Silicon Valley’s leading AI companies partner with Mercor to scale high-quality data operations. As an SPL, you will:

• Drive the tactical execution of multi-million-dollar projects.

• Build deep client relationships with researchers at top AI labs.

• Orchestrate the work of 1,000+ contributors.

• Ensure flawless operational execution under demanding timelines.

This is a hands-on operations role for candidates excited by process optimization, rapid iteration, and high-intensity problem solving. We're an early-stage startup that operates with intensity. That means being responsive on weekends and always holding a high bar for output. The upside — performance incentives, career trajectory, and meaningful equity — reflects that.

Core Responsibilities

Operational Excellence

• Design and manage end-to-end data pipelines, from customer specifications to final delivery.

• Diagnose bottlenecks, restructure workflows, and implement solutions that improve quality, throughput, and cost-efficiency.

• Examples include: creating incentive systems, re-sequencing workflows, refining instructions, and scaling review processes.

Customer Relationships

• Act as the primary point of contact for leading AI labs.

• Deliver clear, consistent reporting and proactively anticipate client needs.

• Build long-term trust and identify opportunities for expansion.

Large-Scale Coordination

• Manage 1,000+ distributed contributors in Slack-based workspaces.

• Source, vet, train, and performance-manage domain experts.

• Maintain high execution standards across all stages of production.

Quality Reporting

• Run daily internal syncs (“war rooms”) to stay ahead of issues.

• Provide regular, transparent progress updates to customers.

What We’re Looking For

• Experience: Background in consulting, finance, startups, or other operationally intense environments.

• Skills: Strong analytical and communication abilities; proven track record of managing complex projects.

• Customer-Facing Experience: Comfortable working directly with high-profile clients.

• Mindset: Excited by “gritty” process optimization and large-scale execution.

Key Facts

• SPLs generate $10M+ in project revenue annually.

• Customer requests are high-pressure and time-sensitive (e.g., onboarding 1,000 contributors in 3 days, delivering 10+ hours of quality data per contributor within 48 hours).

• The role is explicitly operations-focused—not strategy, product, or GTM.

Growth Path

• SPLs begin as individual contributors, running projects end-to-end.

• High performers may advance to Senior SPL (SSPL) roles, managing multiple projects and teams of SPLs.

Compensation

• Base cash comp from $120K-$200k

We consider all qualified applicants without regard to legally protected characteristics and provide reasonable accommodations upon request.

Benefits:

• Generous equity grant vested over 4 years

• Health, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) with company match

• Unlimited paid vacation and sick days

• Parental leave for birthing and non-birthing parents

• Free mental health services

• $200 monthly wellness reimbursement

• $1.5K monthly meal stipend

• $200 monthly laundry reimbursement

• Free Equinox membership

• Up to $15K relocation bonus

Mercor is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing equal opportunity to all employees and applicants. Mercor does not discriminate based on actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions and lactation), gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, disability, protected medical condition as defined by California or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, California, or local laws and ordinances. Further, Mercor prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on any combination of protected characteristics. This Policy applies to all areas of employment, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, discipline, termination, and all other privileges, terms, and conditions of employment. This Policy and the law prohibit employment discrimination against any employee or applicant based on any legally protected status.