Business Operations Manager
Goodfire
CA$175,000 - CA$300,000 / year
Need a reasonable accommodation to apply or interview? Contact us.
JobMinglr uses automated technology to recommend jobs based on profile information and job preferences. Match Score does not determine eligibility for a position, prevent a user from viewing or applying to a job, or make hiring decisions on behalf of an employer.
Description
About Goodfire
Goodfire is an AI interpretability research lab. We build interpretability agents and infrastructure to understand, monitor, and align AI models.
We believe that AI is the most consequential technology of our time. Yet AI models are trained by trial and error today, with limited understanding of what drives their behavior. Our goal is to advance the research and technology needed to fully understand and align AI so humanity can trust superintelligence.
Goodfire is a public benefit corporation founded by researchers who helped pioneer the field of interpretability at OpenAI and Google DeepMind. We are headquartered in San Francisco and have raised over $200M from leading investors including Lightspeed, Menlo, and B Capital.
About the role
We’re hiring a Business Operations Manager to own the operational machinery at Goodfire. This is a hands-on role where you will be expected to own any operational problem from 0 to 1. You’ll need a strong technical background to deeply immerse yourself in our business and the generalist adaptability to pick up anything and turn it into a solved problem. If you don’t have direct expertise in machine learning or interpretability you’ll be expected to develop a working understanding quickly.
Your work will split between recurring tasks that keep the business running (customer contracts, recruiting initiatives, immigration logistics, and vendor negotiation) and strategic projects that push the company forward. You will ensure there is near-zero administrative overhead for the broader team, even if this requires thankless hours of invisible work on your end. You’ll be staffed against whatever matters most and be expected to deliver.
Who you are
- An experienced operator who’s been through rapid scaling before. You know what breaks when companies grow fast and how to pre-empt issues.
- Detail-oriented and fast-paced. You can move extremely quickly without letting anything slip.
- Exceptional communication and organizational skills. You can translate between technical and non-technical teams effortlessly.
What you’ll bring
Required experience
- 4-6+ years of experience in operations, business operations, or a generalist role at an early-stage startup.
- Technical background strongly preferred. CS degree, engineering experience, or demonstrated fluency from working in technical environments.
Our values
Goodfire is looking for individuals who embody our values and share our deep commitment to making interpretability accessible. We are building a team first and foremost.
Put mission and team first
All we do is in service of our mission. We trust each other, deeply care about the success of the organization, and choose to put our team above ourselves.
Improve constantly
We are constantly looking to improve every piece of the business. We proactively critique ourselves and others in a kind and thoughtful way that translates to practical improvements in the organization. We are pragmatic and consistently implement the obvious fixes that work.
Take ownership and initiative
There are no bystanders here. We proactively identify problems and take full responsibility over getting a strong result. We are self-driven, own our mistakes, and feel deep responsibility over what we’re building.
Action today
We have a small amount of time to do something incredibly hard and meaningful. The pace and intensity of the organization is high. If we can take action today or tomorrow, we will choose to do it today.
Where we work
We are hiring for this position in our San Francisco HQ. We are in person 5 days a week, with one company-wide remote week per month.
What we offer
This role offers market competitive salary, equity, and competitive benefits.
The expected salary range for this position is $175,000 - $300,000 USD
Most importantly, you'll have the opportunity to join a vital mission at an important point in its trajectory — we are developing groundbreaking technology with a world-class team on the critical path to ensuring a safe and beneficial future for humanity. If you want to do your life’s work with us, even if you believe you do not meet every single requirement, apply now.
Benefits
- $300,000 USD Most importantly, you'll have the opportunity to join a vital mission at an important point in its trajectory
- we are developing groundbreaking technology with a world-class team on the critical path to ensuring a safe and beneficial future for humanity. If you want to do your life’s work with us, even if you believe you do not meet every single requirement,
About this role
Goodfire is an AI interpretability research lab backed by over $200M in funding, and they're looking for a Business Operations Manager to build out the operational infrastructure as the company scales. This is a hands-on role where you'll own problems end-to-end—everything from customer contracts and recruiting to vendor negotiation and immigration logistics—while also driving strategic projects that move the company forward. The work demands someone who can handle both the recurring operational machinery that keeps things running and the unexpected fires that come with rapid growth, all while keeping administrative overhead near zero for the research and engineering teams.
You'll need 4-6+ years in operations or a generalist role at an early-stage startup, ideally with a technical background—a CS degree, engineering experience, or demonstrated fluency in technical environments. The role requires exceptional communication skills to translate between technical and non-technical teams, obsessive attention to detail, and the ability to move fast without letting anything slip. If you don't have direct ML or interpretability expertise, you'll be expected to develop a working understanding quickly by immersing yourself in the business.
This is a full-time, in-person role in San Francisco (5 days a week with one remote week monthly) with a salary range of $175K–$300K, equity, and competitive benefits. The pace is intense and the mission is consequential—this is for someone who thrives in high-velocity environments and wants to contribute to work on AI safety and alignment at a critical moment.
This role's local market on JobMinglr
Pay for this role
$175,000 to $300,000 per year
That is the employer's posted range, and where you land in it is usually decided in one conversation. Before that conversation, run the numbers: analyze an offer for this role.
Before you apply, worth reading
How JobMinglr reads this job
Every listing here is scored against your profile before you apply: skills overlap, experience level, location and work arrangement, each weighted and explained. You see the score and the reasons, not just a list. How the matching works.