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Startup Operator, Optimization Team
PL Job Board
Full-time
Remote
Posted on Feb 19, 2025
About Protocol Labs
Protocol Labs is an innovation network of more than 600 teams, projects, and movements, focused on R&D and deploying network protocols. Our teams are purpose-aligned and share a common mission: To drive breakthroughs in computing to push humanity forward. For us, decentralization is more than just a rallying cry; it’s an operational ethos and a belief system baked into the products we develop. Network members have been responsible for creating and building many of the core primitives that power the decentralized web: IPFS, IPLD, Filecoin, libp2p, and more. Even more, our focus goes beyond web3 protocols and spans a wide range of technologies, including neurotech, AI, virtual reality, and more. For more information on Protocol Labs and our focus areas, please watch Juan Benet’s talk from PL Summit 2023 and the 2024 PL Summit Video (Remote Update).
About Polaris
As an innovation network rooted in a culture of collaboration, Protocol Labs requires a fresh approach to advancing emerging technologies. Polaris builds the infrastructure that enables Protocol Labs teams, projects, and movements, and members to flourish. Our key focus areas include digital human rights, upgrading economies and governance systems, safe AI, and neurotech. We create the programs, tools, and events that connect, strengthen, and build the teams that drive breakthroughs in computing to push humanity forward. We manage network membership and track data to continuously gauge the growth and state of maturity of Protocol Labs across a number of critical pillars, and manage the Protocol Labs brand and strategic marketing initiatives. At the core of everything Polaris does, is the Protocol Labs mission and the desire to progress innovation.
About the Optimization Team
The Optimization team focuses on fine-tuning the key levers, incentives, and structures that help Protocol Labs operate at its highest potential. Our mission is to ensure that Protocol Labs functions as effectively and efficiently as possible, enabling our teams and contributors to maximize their impact.
We work on a variety of strategic initiatives, including PL Alignment Asset, PL Mentorship, and PL Membership, among others. These programs are designed to align incentives, foster growth, and strengthen our network of contributors.
Helpful Notes:
- We work in 3-6 month sprints. Our projects and priorities are fluid and we expect them to shift with emerging needs from PL.
- The Optimization team members share most of the work that we’re assigned, and jump in to help one another out often. We don’t work in silos.
- Juan Benet is the Polaris CEO. Victoria is the Polaris COO. Stef manages the Optimization team, but is on LOA until July. Victoria is temporarily managing this team in her absence. Upon Stef’s return, this SO hire will report directly to Stef.
About the Role - Startup Operator
As a Startup Operator, you’ll be joining a highly dynamic and fast-moving team that thrives on problem-solving, experimentation, and operational excellence. You’ll be critical in designing, executing, and iterating on high-impact programs that drive alignment, engagement, and innovation across Protocol Labs. This role blends strategic program ownership with hands-on execution, requiring a balance of operational excellence, stakeholder management, and data-driven decision-making. Here are some of the initiatives you may work on + the key skills we’re looking for:
PL Alignment Asset Initiative:
You may play a key role in the design, execution, and continuous refinement of the Alignment Asset distribution framework. You could be responsible for shaping distribution strategy and implementation, ensuring that incentive structures are aligned with Protocol Labs’ objectives, and iterating on allocation models based on real-time feedback and performance data. Your work would directly impact how Protocol Labs optimizes and scales its incentive systems.
Additionally, you could oversee the ongoing maintainership of the distribution process, ensuring seamless month-to-month execution. This includes managing allocation cycles, coordinating with key stakeholders, and ensuring compliance with eligibility criteria. A crucial part of this role will also involve facilitating and managing the feedback forum, engaging with contributors to gather insights, address questions, and iterate on program design based on community input. Your contributions will help shape an evolving incentive mechanism that drives collaboration and long-term value creation across Protocol Labs.
PL Membership Initiative:
You may be responsible for the strategy, build, implementation, iteration, and maintainership of PL Membership, a structured engagement model designed to align, activate, and retain contributors within Protocol Labs. You could lead the development of a tiered membership system, ensuring that contributors receive appropriate incentives, benefits, and engagement opportunities based on their impact. This includes defining eligibility criteria, refining contribution tracking mechanisms, and optimizing automation to ensure scalable and transparent participation across the ecosystem.
In this role, you would also oversee membership program operations, ensuring smooth onboarding, retention, and continuous program refinement. You would analyze engagement trends, participation data, and member feedback to iterate on the framework, enhance incentives, and minimize administrative overhead through automation. Additionally, you would drive cross-functional collaboration with key stakeholders to ensure alignment with Protocol Labs’ strategic priorities, ensuring that the membership model remains adaptive, effective, and value-driven.
PL Community Building Initiative:
You may lead the strategy, build, implementation, iteration, and maintainership of PL Community Building Initiative, fostering collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and long-term engagement within Protocol Labs. You would be responsible for designing and executing structured mentorship and community-building programs, ensuring that contributors and founders have access to peer learning, professional development, and targeted support. This includes shaping program models, developing automated tracking mechanisms, and optimizing engagement strategies to reduce knowledge silos and enhance cross-PL collaboration.
In this role, you would oversee the end-to-end execution of mentorship and community initiatives, managing participant matching, structured programming, feedback loops, and continuous iteration to ensure impact and scalability. You would work closely with key stakeholders to align community growth efforts with PL’s broader strategic priorities, ensuring that mentorship and collaboration are integrated into the core fabric of Protocol Labs. By implementing data-driven engagement strategies and automation tools, you would play a critical role in strengthening Protocol Labs’ network, fostering innovation, and driving long-term ecosystem resilience.
PL Infra Advisors Initiative:
You may take ownership of the PL Infra Advisors Initiative, ensuring the successful strategy, execution, and iteration of this high-impact advisory program. You would be responsible for identifying, structuring, and managing a tiered network of advisors who provide critical expertise and strategic guidance to Protocol Labs and its Infrastructure teams. This includes overseeing advisor selection, engagement, incentive alignment, and service offerings to maximize the value of advisory contributions.
Your role would encompass driving project timelines, coordinating with key stakeholders, and leading outreach efforts to build and maintain a robust advisory network. Additionally, you would ensure alignment with project goals, including developing advisor tiers, maintaining the advisor directory, formalizing engagement strategies, and implementing incentive mechanisms through the Alignment Asset framework. You would also lead the creation of communication materials and outreach strategies, ensuring advisors are effectively onboarded and actively contributing to Protocol Labs’ long-term success.
Other Possible Initiatives:
PL Data Collection + Benchmarking: Gathering data on compensation, leveling, etc and sharing back key compensation-benchmarking insights and analysis.
PL Leveling: Publishing leveling ladders and helping individual network teams level their talent.
PL Content Creation + Publishing: Developing resources for PL founders that will support them at each stage of their business (performance assessment programming, guide to running a performance review process, new-hire checklists, onboarding workflows, etc).
Must-Have Skills:
Project Management
- Drive projects from conception to completion with a clear focus on timelines, deliverables, and outcomes.
- Ensure alignment across stakeholders and maintain accountability for results.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Work seamlessly across internal teams, including network programs, marketing, and product.
- Serve as a bridge between teams to ensure consistent communication, coordination and alignment with organizational goals and KPIs.
- Act as a trusted partner and point of contact for external stakeholders.
Multi-Domain Expertise
- Contribute to initiatives across various domains.
- Quickly adapt to new challenges and step into roles where support is needed.
Flexibility and Agility
- Adapt to changing priorities and evolving business needs with a proactive and positive approach.
- Identify and seize opportunities for improvement, innovation, or growth as they arise.
KPI / OKR Management
- Understand and work within a framework of PL KPIs and OKRs to measure success and guide decision-making.
- Use data-driven insights to refine strategies and ensure alignment with key performance metrics.
Data Analysis & Insights
- Analyze and interpret key performance metrics to assess the effectiveness of initiatives and optimize engagement strategies.
- Leverage data to drive strategic decision-making, ensuring programs align with Protocol Labs’ objectives.
Tool Proficiency & Reporting
- Comfort with basic data tools (e.g., spreadsheets, dashboards, Airtable, or similar) to track participation, retention, and incentive outcomes.
- Build lightweight reporting frameworks to provide visibility into program performance and impact.
Metrics-Driven Decision Making
- Use a data-driven approach to iterate on program design and measure success through clear KPIs.
- Develop and refine strategies based on quantitative and qualitative insights, ensuring continuous improvement and accountability.
What Success Looks Like in This Role:
- You successfully own and scale programs and products that drive measurable impact across Protocol Labs.
- You establish clear program and product goals, iterate based on data and feedback, and create long-term sustainability.
- You act as a strategic leader and problem solver, helping shape how Polaris optimizes and supports the broader network.
If you’re excited about optimizing organizations for peak performance and working on high-impact initiatives, we’d love to hear from you!
PL Job Board is an equal opportunity employer.