Cartesia
About Cartesia
Our mission is to build the next generation of AI: ubiquitous, interactive intelligence that runs wherever you are. Today, not even the best models can continuously process and reason over a year-long stream of audio, video and text—1B text tokens, 10B audio tokens and 1T video tokens—let alone do this on-device. We're pioneering the model architectures that will make this possible. Our founding team met as PhDs at the Stanford AI Lab, where we invented State Space Models or SSMs, a new primitive for training efficient, large-scale foundation models. Our team combines deep expertise in model innovation and systems engineering paired with a design-minded product engineering team to build and ship cutting edge models and experiences. We're funded by leading investors at Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, along with Factory, Conviction, A Star, General Catalyst, SV Angel, Databricks and others. We're fortunate to have the support of many amazing advisors, and 90+ angels across many industries, including the world's foremost experts in AI. Cartesia is seeking an entrepreneurial
Product Operations Lead
to spearhead data collection and evaluation initiatives that directly power our voice AI models. You'll work closely with our GTM, engineering and research teams to design, build, and scale evaluation frameworks and data collection systems that push the boundaries of what's possible with voice AI technology. This is a highly strategic, 0-to-1 role designed for someone with strong analytical foundations who thrives at the intersection of product strategy and operations. You'll be responsible for creating novel evaluation methodologies, building scalable vendor and contractor systems from scratch, and solving complex operational challenges that directly improve our voice AI model performance and customer outcomes. What You'll Do
Product Strategy & Customer-Facing Evaluations Own the strategy and roadmap for evaluation systems that demonstrate voice AI model performance on customer-specific use cases
Define and align on key evaluation metrics that capture model quality and customer impact
When customers have specific phrases or scenarios they care about, rapidly spin up evaluation systems to test performance and identify improvement opportunities
Build strong relationships with customers to understand their evaluation needs and translate them into concrete technical requirements
Lead cross-functional workstreams across GTM, Engineering, and Research to design evaluation frameworks that scale
Vendor & Data Operations Systematically identify, evaluate, and build relationships with data vendors to secure high-quality voice datasets that meet technical requirements and budget constraints
Negotiate contracts and manage ongoing vendor relationships to ensure consistent quality and delivery
Create repeatable playbooks for vendor evaluation, onboarding, and performance management
Use data to guide decision making, diagnose vendor issues, and measure performance across the supply chain
Contractor Network & Team Building Design and implement systems to hire, onboard, and manage contractors for data collection, annotation, and evaluation tasks
Scale our contractor network to improve quality and reduce costs while maintaining high standards
Create high-conversion onboarding experiences and incentive systems that attract and retain top-quality contractors
Build screening workflows that identify, evaluate, and onboard only the best contributors
Cross-functional Partnership & Execution Partner closely with engineering and research teams to ensure evaluation systems integrate seamlessly with training pipelines and model development
Spot failure points early—whether in sourcing, quality, or process—and take ownership of fixing them
Use metrics to track performance, prioritize work, and make decisions about where to invest and what to build next
Know when to move fast and when to slow down for alignment, with a bias for rapid prototyping and iteration
What You'll Bring
4+ years of professional experience:
Ideally 2+ years at a top-tier consulting, investment banking, or private equity firm
and
2+ years at a technical company or in product/operations roles
Systems thinking
- able to spot leverage points in complex processes, evaluate second and third order effects, and resolve bottlenecks effectively
Product intuition
- able to walk into a room with engineers and stakeholders and walk out with the right technical and business decisions
Proven ability to design and prioritize metrics
that balance technical rigor with customer value
High-Impact Self-Starter
- comfortable operating with minimal guidance and thriving with full ownership over ambiguous, cross-functional workstreams
Strong negotiation & relationship building
- proven ability to build vendor relationships, negotiate contracts, and manage external partners effectively
Customer obsession
- excited about building evaluation systems that demonstrate real value to customers and solve their specific problems
Exceptional problem-solving skills
- excel at taking complex, undefined problems 0 to 1, structuring solutions, and driving decisions with data
Excitement for Voice AI
- genuinely curious about the future of voice technology and energized by what we're building
Nice-to-Haves
Technical foundation - CS, Engineering, or similar background; SQL experience
Experience working with AI/ML models, evaluation frameworks, or data annotation projects
Background in operations at technical startups, particularly those involving data or AI
Experience with audio/speech data or voice technology
Track record scaling contractor networks or vendor relationships
Understanding of machine learning workflows and training data requirements
Our culture We’re an in-person team based out of San Francisco. We love being in the office, hanging out together and learning from each other everyday. We ship fast. All of our work is novel and cutting edge, and execution speed is paramount. We have a high bar, and we don’t sacrifice quality and design along the way. We support each other. We have an open and inclusive culture that’s focused on giving everyone the resources they need to succeed. Our perks Lunch, dinner and snacks at the office Fully covered medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees 401(k) ️ Relocation and immigration support Your own personal Yoshi
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Our mission is to build the next generation of AI: ubiquitous, interactive intelligence that runs wherever you are. Today, not even the best models can continuously process and reason over a year-long stream of audio, video and text—1B text tokens, 10B audio tokens and 1T video tokens—let alone do this on-device. We're pioneering the model architectures that will make this possible. Our founding team met as PhDs at the Stanford AI Lab, where we invented State Space Models or SSMs, a new primitive for training efficient, large-scale foundation models. Our team combines deep expertise in model innovation and systems engineering paired with a design-minded product engineering team to build and ship cutting edge models and experiences. We're funded by leading investors at Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, along with Factory, Conviction, A Star, General Catalyst, SV Angel, Databricks and others. We're fortunate to have the support of many amazing advisors, and 90+ angels across many industries, including the world's foremost experts in AI. Cartesia is seeking an entrepreneurial
Product Operations Lead
to spearhead data collection and evaluation initiatives that directly power our voice AI models. You'll work closely with our GTM, engineering and research teams to design, build, and scale evaluation frameworks and data collection systems that push the boundaries of what's possible with voice AI technology. This is a highly strategic, 0-to-1 role designed for someone with strong analytical foundations who thrives at the intersection of product strategy and operations. You'll be responsible for creating novel evaluation methodologies, building scalable vendor and contractor systems from scratch, and solving complex operational challenges that directly improve our voice AI model performance and customer outcomes. What You'll Do
Product Strategy & Customer-Facing Evaluations Own the strategy and roadmap for evaluation systems that demonstrate voice AI model performance on customer-specific use cases
Define and align on key evaluation metrics that capture model quality and customer impact
When customers have specific phrases or scenarios they care about, rapidly spin up evaluation systems to test performance and identify improvement opportunities
Build strong relationships with customers to understand their evaluation needs and translate them into concrete technical requirements
Lead cross-functional workstreams across GTM, Engineering, and Research to design evaluation frameworks that scale
Vendor & Data Operations Systematically identify, evaluate, and build relationships with data vendors to secure high-quality voice datasets that meet technical requirements and budget constraints
Negotiate contracts and manage ongoing vendor relationships to ensure consistent quality and delivery
Create repeatable playbooks for vendor evaluation, onboarding, and performance management
Use data to guide decision making, diagnose vendor issues, and measure performance across the supply chain
Contractor Network & Team Building Design and implement systems to hire, onboard, and manage contractors for data collection, annotation, and evaluation tasks
Scale our contractor network to improve quality and reduce costs while maintaining high standards
Create high-conversion onboarding experiences and incentive systems that attract and retain top-quality contractors
Build screening workflows that identify, evaluate, and onboard only the best contributors
Cross-functional Partnership & Execution Partner closely with engineering and research teams to ensure evaluation systems integrate seamlessly with training pipelines and model development
Spot failure points early—whether in sourcing, quality, or process—and take ownership of fixing them
Use metrics to track performance, prioritize work, and make decisions about where to invest and what to build next
Know when to move fast and when to slow down for alignment, with a bias for rapid prototyping and iteration
What You'll Bring
4+ years of professional experience:
Ideally 2+ years at a top-tier consulting, investment banking, or private equity firm
and
2+ years at a technical company or in product/operations roles
Systems thinking
- able to spot leverage points in complex processes, evaluate second and third order effects, and resolve bottlenecks effectively
Product intuition
- able to walk into a room with engineers and stakeholders and walk out with the right technical and business decisions
Proven ability to design and prioritize metrics
that balance technical rigor with customer value
High-Impact Self-Starter
- comfortable operating with minimal guidance and thriving with full ownership over ambiguous, cross-functional workstreams
Strong negotiation & relationship building
- proven ability to build vendor relationships, negotiate contracts, and manage external partners effectively
Customer obsession
- excited about building evaluation systems that demonstrate real value to customers and solve their specific problems
Exceptional problem-solving skills
- excel at taking complex, undefined problems 0 to 1, structuring solutions, and driving decisions with data
Excitement for Voice AI
- genuinely curious about the future of voice technology and energized by what we're building
Nice-to-Haves
Technical foundation - CS, Engineering, or similar background; SQL experience
Experience working with AI/ML models, evaluation frameworks, or data annotation projects
Background in operations at technical startups, particularly those involving data or AI
Experience with audio/speech data or voice technology
Track record scaling contractor networks or vendor relationships
Understanding of machine learning workflows and training data requirements
Our culture We’re an in-person team based out of San Francisco. We love being in the office, hanging out together and learning from each other everyday. We ship fast. All of our work is novel and cutting edge, and execution speed is paramount. We have a high bar, and we don’t sacrifice quality and design along the way. We support each other. We have an open and inclusive culture that’s focused on giving everyone the resources they need to succeed. Our perks Lunch, dinner and snacks at the office Fully covered medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees 401(k) ️ Relocation and immigration support Your own personal Yoshi
#J-18808-Ljbffr