Advocate
Head of Technical Operations – Advocate
Advocate, San Francisco, California, United States, 94199
About Advocate
Advocate is redefining how people access and manage benefits. We combine compassionate claimant representation with advanced technology to simplify and accelerate the SSDI and SSI process — and our long‑term vision is to build the benefits infrastructure that supports individuals across multiple federal and state programs.
The Role We’re seeking a Head of Technical Operations to serve as the connective tissue between our technology platform and our operations teams. You’ll ensure that our systems, automations, and data infrastructure power a seamless user experience — for both claimants and our internal teams. You’ll partner closely with the Head of Operations, aligning technology with business strategy, ensuring systems scale efficiently, and supporting operational success through smart, reliable, and automated processes. You’ll also work directly with the CTO to define and execute the roadmap that connects our product and service layers. This role blends strategic thinking with hands‑on execution. You should enjoy diving into details, troubleshooting issues, and building systematic, scalable solutions that reduce complexity and make every part of our operations smoother.
Responsibilities
Bridge Technology and Operations
Serve as the technical counterpart to the Head of Operations, translating operational goals into technical systems and data workflows
Collaborate across teams to ensure Salesforce, our internal platform, and other tools operate cohesively and transparently
Develop business rules and process logic that create clean, traceable workflows between humans and AI systems
Drive Automation and User Experience
Oversee the technical aspect of communications platforms and automations that ensure every claimant interaction feels seamless, timely, and human
Partner with Operations to map and automate core workflows, improving speed, accuracy, and user satisfaction
Help build systems that enable proactive communication, follow‑up, and escalation handling across channels (email, text, chat)
Ensure Data Integrity and Insight
Maintain a disciplined data model and ensure all data flows through well‑defined, auditable interfaces
Implement dashboards and monitoring tools to track performance, identify bottlenecks, and support decision‑making
Enable data‑driven insights for the operations team through clear metrics, alerts, and reporting infrastructure
Troubleshoot and Systematize
Roll up your sleeves to diagnose and resolve technical and operational issues as they arise
Develop systematic fixes and document playbooks to prevent recurrence and promote consistent execution
Partner with engineering to prioritize and deliver sustainable, elegant solutions rather than one‑off patches
Design for the Future
Collaborate with leadership to envision and implement an end‑to‑end automated operations system that’s robust, simple, and scalable
Continuously look for ways to improve efficiency and reduce manual work through thoughtful design and automation
Ensure all systems reflect a deep understanding of Advocate’s operational model, data dependencies, and user journey
About You
You have a strong background in engineering, technical program management, and operations systems design
You understand how to make technology serve the business, not the other way around
You’re comfortable integrating systems like Salesforce, AI‑driven tools, and workflow automation platforms
You’re equally happy writing specs, mapping data flows, or jumping in to troubleshoot an issue in real time
You take a long‑term view — aiming for elegant, maintainable systems that scale with growth
You’re collaborative, curious, and committed to improving how people access the benefits they deserve
Technical Environment
Event‑driven architectures (Kafka/Kinesis/EventBridge)
Multi‑tier data platforms (Aurora, DynamoDB, OpenSearch, S3)
Orchestration (Temporal, Step Functions, custom engines)
Real‑time processing (Flink/Kinesis Analytics)
Container orchestration (ECS/EKS)
Infrastructure as Code (CDK/Terraform)
AI/ML pipelines throughout
Salesforce configuration and development, Salesforce Apex Programming
Vendor technology setup, operations / configuration: ZenDesk, Ring Central, Customer IO
This is a hybrid role requiring travel about six times a year for in‑person working sessions, primarily on the West Coast (with flexibility as needed).
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
Seniority Level Not Applicable
Employment Type Full‑time
Job Function Other
Industries Technology, Information and Internet
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The Role We’re seeking a Head of Technical Operations to serve as the connective tissue between our technology platform and our operations teams. You’ll ensure that our systems, automations, and data infrastructure power a seamless user experience — for both claimants and our internal teams. You’ll partner closely with the Head of Operations, aligning technology with business strategy, ensuring systems scale efficiently, and supporting operational success through smart, reliable, and automated processes. You’ll also work directly with the CTO to define and execute the roadmap that connects our product and service layers. This role blends strategic thinking with hands‑on execution. You should enjoy diving into details, troubleshooting issues, and building systematic, scalable solutions that reduce complexity and make every part of our operations smoother.
Responsibilities
Bridge Technology and Operations
Serve as the technical counterpart to the Head of Operations, translating operational goals into technical systems and data workflows
Collaborate across teams to ensure Salesforce, our internal platform, and other tools operate cohesively and transparently
Develop business rules and process logic that create clean, traceable workflows between humans and AI systems
Drive Automation and User Experience
Oversee the technical aspect of communications platforms and automations that ensure every claimant interaction feels seamless, timely, and human
Partner with Operations to map and automate core workflows, improving speed, accuracy, and user satisfaction
Help build systems that enable proactive communication, follow‑up, and escalation handling across channels (email, text, chat)
Ensure Data Integrity and Insight
Maintain a disciplined data model and ensure all data flows through well‑defined, auditable interfaces
Implement dashboards and monitoring tools to track performance, identify bottlenecks, and support decision‑making
Enable data‑driven insights for the operations team through clear metrics, alerts, and reporting infrastructure
Troubleshoot and Systematize
Roll up your sleeves to diagnose and resolve technical and operational issues as they arise
Develop systematic fixes and document playbooks to prevent recurrence and promote consistent execution
Partner with engineering to prioritize and deliver sustainable, elegant solutions rather than one‑off patches
Design for the Future
Collaborate with leadership to envision and implement an end‑to‑end automated operations system that’s robust, simple, and scalable
Continuously look for ways to improve efficiency and reduce manual work through thoughtful design and automation
Ensure all systems reflect a deep understanding of Advocate’s operational model, data dependencies, and user journey
About You
You have a strong background in engineering, technical program management, and operations systems design
You understand how to make technology serve the business, not the other way around
You’re comfortable integrating systems like Salesforce, AI‑driven tools, and workflow automation platforms
You’re equally happy writing specs, mapping data flows, or jumping in to troubleshoot an issue in real time
You take a long‑term view — aiming for elegant, maintainable systems that scale with growth
You’re collaborative, curious, and committed to improving how people access the benefits they deserve
Technical Environment
Event‑driven architectures (Kafka/Kinesis/EventBridge)
Multi‑tier data platforms (Aurora, DynamoDB, OpenSearch, S3)
Orchestration (Temporal, Step Functions, custom engines)
Real‑time processing (Flink/Kinesis Analytics)
Container orchestration (ECS/EKS)
Infrastructure as Code (CDK/Terraform)
AI/ML pipelines throughout
Salesforce configuration and development, Salesforce Apex Programming
Vendor technology setup, operations / configuration: ZenDesk, Ring Central, Customer IO
This is a hybrid role requiring travel about six times a year for in‑person working sessions, primarily on the West Coast (with flexibility as needed).
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
Seniority Level Not Applicable
Employment Type Full‑time
Job Function Other
Industries Technology, Information and Internet
#J-18808-Ljbffr