Portfolio Operations Manager

Location: New York City Area

Type: In person & remote , hybrid

About the job

Portfolio Operations Manager

Who We Are

Our thesis is simple: talent is everywhere, and opportunity isn't. We back founders the market overlooks — people with the ability to build real businesses who never got the access, network, or second look they deserved. We get in the weeds with them, partner with them, and help them grow. If that resonates with you, keep reading.

If you’ve ever felt underestimated yourself, you’ll understand the founders we work with. This role is for someone who gets energy from helping talented people succeed — not from gatekeeping or

playing politics.

About the Role

We’re looking for a hungry, versatile operator who can work across three portfolio companies that serve brick-and-mortar businesses with software and technology products. You’ll work closely alongside the founder, partnering on strategy and owning the execution and follow-through across teams.

This is a good job for x or aspiring startup founders. You’ll rotate your attention based on where you and the founder agree the biggest needs are, working directly with engineering, finance product, operations, and business development teams. You need to be equally comfortable digging into a product roadmap, following up on deliverables with a team lead, evaluating a vendor contract, or documenting a broken process and proposing a fix. You will use your expertise, management skills and AI to build systems that solve problems on a daily basis across the portfolio.

What You’ll Do

• Work across three portfolio companies, tracking operational priorities, surfacing bottlenecks, and driving follow-through on improvement plans you develop with the founder
• Own the execution of assessments and improvement projects — gather data, document findings, and collaborate with the founder on what to change and how
• Follow up with team leads and managers to ensure goals, timelines, and quality standards are being met — and flag issues early when they’re not
• Help build and maintain lightweight management systems (reporting cadences, OKRs, project tracking) that keep teams accountable
• Work directly with engineering and product teams to ensure technical execution aligns with business priorities
• Manage vendor relationships, coordinate tooling decisions, and support infrastructure investments
• Support business development and partnership efforts by ensuring operational readiness for new opportunities
• Surface talent gaps and performance issues to leadership with clear documentation and recommendations
• Partner with the founder on portfolio-wide operational priorities, keeping them informed on status, risks, and opportunities

Who You Are

• A versatile generalist with 3–5 years of experience across at least two functions (ops, product, finance, engineering, or business development)
• Hungry — you’re willing to earn your way into higher compensation by delivering results first, not negotiating upfront for a package you haven’t proven you deserve yet
• Someone who has worked at startups or small/mid-size companies where you wore multiple hats — not just owned a narrow lane at a big company
• You also genuinely enjoy managing people — you’re not just tolerating the people side to stay close to the product, you actually like building teams and helping individuals grow
• Organized and reliable — you track dozens of moving pieces across different teams without dropping balls
• A fast learner who can get up to speed on a new business, team, or problem quickly and start contributing within days
• Comfortable with ambiguity and context-switching between very different businesses and team dynamics
• A bias toward action — you’d rather ship an 80% solution today than a perfect one next quarter
• Direct and honest communicator who isn’t afraid to deliver bad news upward or push back on a team that’s off track
• Already working with the best AI tools available today and genuinely excited about what’s coming next.

Nice to Have

• Developer and / or Product background — you’ve been part of the project management process professionally, even if that’s not your primary role anymore
• Finance and / or accounting background - you can organize and read a P&L and help see through the noise.
• Experience working in or with brick-and-mortar businesses — you understand the realities of physical locations, staff scheduling, and in-person customer experiences
• Experience in ops, chief of staff, or project management roles at a startup or portfolio company
• Background in SaaS, vertical software, or technology platforms serving brick-and-mortar businesses
• Experience working across multiple teams or business units simultaneously

Compensation & Structure

$70K–$130K base with large, 2x, 3x... multiplier bonuses tied directly to big results, you are ready and excited to earn your piece. There’s real growth potential here — the right person in this role will also develop into a C suite operational leader as the portfolio scales.

We’re open to starting with a 90-day engagement to validate mutual fit.

Location

Hybrid. Greater New York City Area, Manhattan and Brooklyn. You’ll come in when the work requires it — team meetings, on-site assessments, turnaround phases — and work from home when it usually doesn’t. This role is about outcomes, not hours in a seat. Again, please do not apply from across the country.