Strategic Projects Associate, Handshake
$100-115k
+ Equity + Bonus
5 days a week in office
The career platform for Gen Z
Be an early applicant
The career platform for Gen Z
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$100-115k
+ Equity + Bonus
5 days a week in office
1001+ employees
Company mission
To democratize access to opportunity and ensure any student can build a great career no matter who they know, where they live or what school they attend.
Role
Who you are
- A recent graduate (or graduating soon) with a strong academic record
- You’ve completed internships in tech, consulting, banking, financial services, or startups
- A strategic thinker with strong analytical and organizational skills
- A self-starter who thrives in fast-moving environments and enjoys building from the ground up
- An excellent communicator who can work effectively across teams and with external partners
- Proficient in productivity tools such as Google Sheets or Excel, Google Docs, and Google Drive for organizing and sharing information
- Strong written and verbal communication skills across channels such as email, Slack, and virtual meetings
- Bonus: You majored in a STEM field (a degree in engineering or computer science is ideal) or have exposure to technical concepts (e.g., data, software, or AI)
- Curiosity about AI and emerging technologies (maybe you’re already a ChatGPT power user!)
- High agency and a bias toward action — you take ownership and move things forward
- Ability to learn complex concepts quickly and think critically under pressure
- A thoughtful, data-driven decision maker who’s comfortable navigating ambiguity
What the job involves
- Handshake is expanding into cutting-edge AI research and development. We're building a world-class network of expert Fellows — including PhDs, researchers, and specialists — who drive forward the next generation of AI through domain-specific applications, model evaluations, and specialized research
- Our work is deeply rooted in Human Data — high-quality, human-labeled datasets that power the development and evaluation of frontier models. We partner with the world’s leading AI labs on their most ambitious research, helping shape the future of artificial intelligence
- We're looking for several highly motivated Strategic Projects Associates to join our team and support high-impact initiatives across product, operations, and customer success. This is a unique opportunity for a recent graduate to dive into strategic work, gain hands-on experience across teams, and grow in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment
- This will be at our San Francisco location and this team is traditionally in the office five days a week
- Lead execution of high-visibility, high-impact customer data collection pipelines, ensuring steady progress and measurable outcomes
- Translate customer needs into well-structured data sets that enhance model performance and align with strategic objectives
- Develop and optimize infrastructure for data pipelines to ensure quality, scalability, and operational efficiency
- Support and manage globally distributed teams of expert LLM contributors through training, coaching, and hands-on guidance
- Design and implement analytics to inform decision-making and improve pipeline and team performance
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Engineering, Product, Operations, and Go-to-Market teams to solve complex challenges that accelerate advancements in leading LLMs
- You'll get to work on meaningful AI projects that impact real-world applications
- You’ll be part of a small, dynamic team where your ideas and work matter from day one
- You’ll gain exposure to multiple business functions and grow into a high-impact operator
- You’ll work directly with leaders in AI, tech, and data strategy
Our take
The three founders of Handshake established their company in an attempt to eliminate inequality and make the student hiring landscape fairer. The Handshake platform acts as a LinkedIn for college students, pairing students from every walk of life with more than 650K employers, including the entire Fortune 500, which includes Google and Nike.
The graduate recruitment platform is open to any student with a valid @.edu email address, with more than 17M active users from thousands of colleges and universities. With a student-first philosophy, the company generates revenue from both universities and employers rather than students.
Valued at $3.5B, Handshake has gained traction in a competitive market, although it has strong competition from recruiting giants LinkedIn and Indeed. It stands out, however, by helping students build new relationships and skills, rather than simply making connections to people they already know.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
2% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Jan 2022
$200m
SERIES F
May 2021
$80m
SERIES E
Total funding: $434m
Company benefits
- Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical , dental, and vision coverage
- Fertility and family forming: Through a partnership, Handshake offers comprehensive family benefits, including infertility treatments and a $15K stipend, to its employees.
- LGTBQ+ coverage: All medical plans cover transgender services.
- Mental health: Discounts on a variety of wellness apps and an Employee Assistance Program with access to five free counseling sessions.
- Tax savings: Tax-advantaged benefits to save money on healthcare, dependent care, and other expenses.
- Learning & development: Employees are provided with an annual stipend to use towards professional development, career development workshops, manager trainings, and 1-on-1 coaching through external partnerships
- Community leader support: Employee Resource Group leaders are compensated with a quarterly bonus for the high-impact work the role requires
- Parental leave: Leaves of 16 weeks for birth-giving parents and 10 weeks for non-birth-giving parents; the policy applies to adoptions as well. Handshake also partners to provide one-on-one coaching on preparing for leave and coming back from leave
- Flexible time off: No accrued time off or waiting period to take vacation. Two paid flexible holiday days off to observe holidays that closely align with religious, cultural, and personal needs
- Sabbatical: Paid six-week sabbatical to recharge and reset beginning at six years of continuous, full-time employment, and every four years thereafter
- Volunteer time off: Two days off for social and civil activism, volunteer work, and/or any related activities, including attending and participating in protests
- Life & disability insurance: Essential benefits and automatic coverage with basic life insurance, plus short-term and long-term disability coverage.
- 401k match: Dollar-for-dollar match up to 1% of pay, with a max of $1,200 per year.
Company HQ
Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Garrett Lord
(Co-Founder & CEO)Majored in Computer Science at Michigan Technological University. Interned at Palantir Technologies before co-founding Handshake in 2012.
Ben Christensen
(Co-Founder)Graduated from Michigan Technological University with a degree in Computer Networking & Systems Administration. Interned at Target and worked as a Developer at Up and Running Software. Was part of Arbor Networks' ASERT Security Research team.
Scott Ringwelski
(Co-Founder)Attained a degree in Computer Software Engineering from Michigan Technological University. Co-founded Handshake in 2012.
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