Strategic Project Lead

Labelbox · San Francisco Bay Area · 1 mo ago

Project Management$140k–$170k/yrFull-time

About the role

The Strategic Project Lead owns the day-to-day execution of our customer data projects. The SPL runs the project on the ground — keeping throughput, delivery, and quality on track from kickoff through steady-state to final delivery. As a rule, any project with a significant number of data trainers on it needs an SPL.

Responsibilities

Run assigned projects day-to-day, owning throughput, delivery, and operational quality from kickoff through delivery; a SPL is staffed on any project with a meaningful number of data trainers.
Run each project through its gates: calibrate before scaling, ramp in stages while quality holds, and meet acceptance criteria at delivery — so quality is enforced in flight, not discovered at the end.
Set up projects and bring data trainers on using the platform tooling, configuring the right setup for different project types.
Keep Airtable accurate as the system of record — tasks and status always current — owning tracking across internal projects (fulfillment, data-trainer tracking, sheets) and external projects (glide-path templates and margin tracking).
Own project-level financials: track margin and fulfillment live, operate payment tiers, handle project billing/AR, and resolve data-trainer payment issues — flagging margin risk early and escalating margin-protecting changes to the comp structure to the Deployment Lead, who owns account-level margin.
Keep the FDE and FDR connected as the project kicks off, so technical scoping and research inputs land in the work.
Orchestrate the data-trainer workforce through Pod Leads — keeping trainers productive, paid, and organized, and using Pod-Lead first-line review as early quality signal — rather than managing hundreds of trainers directly.
Identify delivery risks early, put mitigations in place, and escalate when throughput, quality, or timelines are at risk.
Work flexibly across projects and domains as priorities shift.

What You'll Own

Your projects delivered to plan — on time, to the quality bar, and at healthy project margin.
Throughput and fulfillment against commitments.
A clean system of record (Airtable always current) and a live view of project margin.
Productive, well-run data-trainer teams via your Pod Leads.

Qualifications

Experience running operational projects or programs with many moving parts and people.
Strong organizational and tracking discipline — comfortable owning dashboards, sheets, and a system of record such as Airtable.
Operational and financial literacy: ease with throughput metrics, margin, and billing/AR.
Ability to coordinate and orchestrate multiple stakeholders — engineers, researchers, and a contingent workforce through its leads — and keep them aligned.
A bias toward action, calm under pressure, and a habit of catching problems before they become delivery issues.
Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-scaling environments where processes are still being built.
The ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously without losing attention to detail.

Nice to Have

Familiarity with AI, machine learning, data pipelines, RLHF, or data-labeling/annotation operations.
Experience managing contractor or contingent workforces.
Experience with Airtable or similar operational tooling.
Experience owning billing, margin, or financial tracking for projects.

Pay

The expected annual base salary range for United States-based candidates is $140,000 - $170,000 USD.

Benefits

Life at Labelbox includes:

Location: Join our dedicated tech hub in San Francisco
Work Style: Hybrid model with 3 days per week in office, combining collaboration and flexibility
Environment: Fast-paced and high-intensity, perfect for ambitious individuals who thrive on ownership and quick decision-making
Growth: Career advancement opportunities directly tied to your impact
Vision: Be part of building the foundation for humanity's most transformative technology

Our Vision

We believe data will remain crucial in achieving artificial general intelligence. As AI models become more sophisticated, the need for high-quality, specialized training data will only grow. Join us in developing new products and services that enable the next generation of AI breakthroughs.