Founding Head of Operations (Palo Alto)

Location

Palo Alto

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

Hybrid

Department

Operations

About us

We're living through a fundamental shift in how people discover, evaluate, and purchase products. The next generation doesn't respond to traditional marketingthey build relationships with brands through authentic social interactions, seek recommendations from communities they trust, and expect personalized experiences that feel human, not corporate.

At Nectar Social , we're building the AI-native social operating system that enables this new era of commerce. We believe every social interaction should deepen the relationship between brands and their communities while creating genuine value for both sides.

Founded by ex-Meta product and engineering leaders, we've recently raised $10.6M in funding co-led by GV (Google Ventures) and True Ventures . We're building the future of social commercewhere community, conversation, and commerce converge.

The Role

Were hiring a Founding Head of Operations to partner directly with the CEO and leadership team to help scale our operations as we grow rapidly post-launch. Youll be the connective tissue across GTM, product, design, customer success, and internal opsensuring the business runs smoothly as we build.

This is a highly cross-functional, execution-focused role for someone who thrives on building systems, unblocking teams, and driving clarity across the organization.

What you'll be doing

• Build Internal Systems: Design and manage the operational rhythms that keep the company runningstandups, hiring pipelines, onboarding, async updates, documentation

• Drive Hiring Ops: Own recruiting coordination and processes for GTM and customer success, partnering closely with the CEO and CSMs

• Unblock Execution: Shepherd remote product/design workflows, ensuring work moves forward and cross-functional teams stay aligned

• Scale Customer Success: Partner with CSMs to operationalize onboarding, playbooks, and feedback loops

• Cross-Functional Glue: Own projects that dont cleanly sit with any one function but are critical to team momentum

What we're looking for

• Builders Mindset: You have experience operating in early-stage startups and love creating structure from ambiguity

• Strong Generalist: Comfortable moving between people ops, recruiting, GTM operations, and special projects

• Operational Range: Youve shipped internal systems, managed hiring pipelines, and handled project coordination at scale

• Stage-Fit Experience: Youve helped a startup scale from Series A through C , with firsthand experience of what high-growth operations look like at each step

• High Aptitude: You bring strong analytical thinking, structured communication, and strategic judgment. MBA preferred , and top-tier academic background (Ivy League or equivalent) is a plus

• Communication & EQ: Clear, empathetic communicator who thrives in fast-paced, high-ambiguity environments

• Bias for Action: You move quickly, take ownership, and dont wait to be told what to do

• Startup Energy: Willing to wear multiple hats, solve urgent problems, and work closely with founders and execs

Bonus points

• Experience managing or coordinating with remote design/product teams

• Experience supporting high-growth sales or customer success teams

• Familiarity with Notion, Linear, Ashby, or similar internal tooling

• Operational support for fundraising, investor updates, or strategic planning

• Experience relocating or standing up office operations for a scaling company

What we offer

• Competitive salary and meaningful equity package

• Full health, dental, and vision coverage + 401(k) matching

• High ownership role with a direct seat at the leadership table

• The opportunity to scale foundational systems in a high-growth, AI-native company

• Work from Palo Alto HQ with hybrid flexibility

• Budget for tools, training, and personal development

• A chance to shape the future of social commercealongside a tight-knit, ambitious team