Founding Campus Lead

ABOUT PLUME

Plume is a new app for meeting the people you cross paths with in real life. The barista. The girl on the train. The guy at the gym. The ones you almost said hi to.

It works simply: when two people come into close proximity, Plume captures the encounter. Women view the profiles of the men they've crossed paths with — men can't see women at all — and reveal themselves only when they choose to. The app's live map shows Heat Plumes — concentrations of compatible people nearby — so users can see where social opportunity is forming in real life.

Plume is female-founded and female-led. We are launching first in Southern California, starting in Isla Vista. We picked IV because real life happens there in a way it doesn't happen most places. The streets, the beach, the bars, the bookstore, the gym. If our app works anywhere, it works there first.

Plume's mission is to make real-life connection an actual option again, with safety and control built in by design.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Plume is hiring its first person on the ground in Isla Vista. This is the founding hire for our Southern California launch — part-time this summer, continuing into the fall.

If you're a junior, senior, or recent grad with deep IV roots and you've been waiting for the kind of role you'd actually take seriously after graduation, keep reading.

The Founding Campus Lead is the local operator for Plume's first market launch. You will own the launch on the ground — recruiting and managing a team of student ambassadors, seeding beta usage across UCSB and SBCC, running launch experiments, and gathering feedback from early users. You will work directly with the founders to shape launch strategy, social content, and growth ideas. The tone is test-test-test, not polished corporate launch.

This role is part operator, part community builder, part field strategist. The summer is part-time, with the fall continuing full-time (preferred) or part-time.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• End-to-end ownership of Plume's Isla Vista launch — recruiting beta users (Plume Insiders), building the ambassador team, and seeding usage across high-density social environments 
• Recruit, hire, train, and manage a team of paid student ambassadors across UCSB and SBCC 
• Identify high-density social zones in Isla Vista and design micro-launch moments around them — coffee shops, beach hangs, parties, gyms, classes, study sessions, campus events 
• Run launch experiments and report on performance directly to founders weekly 
• Gather feedback from women and men in the beta and translate that into product and launch insight 
• Partner with the founders on launch strategy, social content, growth ideas, and campus activation planning 
• Build a test-test-test culture on the ground — fast iteration, tight feedback loops, no polished corporate launch energy 
• Identify emerging campus trends, venues, and communities to keep Plume's local launch ahead of the curve

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Junior/Senior or recent grad from UCSB or SBCC, or someone with serious Isla Vista roots 
• Available to begin part time this summer (June through August) *we understand courseload
• Continuing into the fall semester full or part-time
• Strong interpersonal skills with comfort approaching strangers and leading peers 
• Proven track record of organizing people — clubs, events, group chats, campus communities, anything where you got others to show up 
• Deeply fluent in Instagram and TikTok, with a strong sense of what resonates online.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to operate without a playbook 
• Genuine curiosity about how people meet, attract, and connect in real life

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working in a startup or early-stage environment 
• Experience recruiting, hiring, or managing peers 
• Background in marketing, communications, community building, or campus organizing 
• Existing network across UCSB and/or SBCC student communities 
• Working knowledge of how UCSB operates behind the scenes — student orgs, event permitting, approvals, and the systems that turn ideas into actual on-campus activity
• Experience at a consumer brand or app launch

COMPENSATION

Hourly, with performance bonuses tied to user activation and ambassador hiring milestones. Strong potential for a full-time role with Plume for the right operator.

IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED

• Please email carolina@meetonplume.com with:
• A short note about why this role interests you 
• Your connection to UCSB, SBCC, or Isla Vista 
• Your resume 
• Any additional links, portfolios or anything you think would help!