---
title: 'Business Operations Associate at Harper'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/business-operations-associate-harper-san-francisco-5szjwpes0rd9'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-17'
---

# Business Operations Associate at Harper

- **Company:** Harper
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Compensation:** $110k–$140k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-04-30
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-17
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/harperinsure/f635e211-fda5-4628-a3fb-d61ef12b8052

## Job description

Business Operations Associate

Harper is an AI-native commercial insurance company in San Francisco. We're not bolting AI onto insurance — we're rebuilding the entire business as software, on a simple bet: turning expert human judgment into compute is one of the largest transitions left to make, and a trillion-dollar industry still run 90% by hand is the place to prove it. We've grown ~100x in the last year and we move at that speed — on-site, in person, long days, very high standards. Almost no one joins Harper for insurance; they join to build the company that replaces how it works.

## The role

Rebuilding a business as software only works if the business actually runs while you rebuild it. Underwriters need answers. Carriers need data. Sales needs enablement. Customers need follow-ups. Today a lot of that runs on people keeping track of things in their heads — and that breaks at ~1,000 new customers a month.

Your job is to learn the entire operation — not one slice — and turn what's in people's heads into systems that scale. One day you're chasing a stalled quote with an underwriter. The next you're building the process that makes sure no quote stalls again. The day after, you're on a customer call, then feeding what you heard into a product spec. The patterns you spot become the things engineering builds next.

No two weeks look the same, and that's the point. You'll rotate across sales enablement, underwriting operations, customer service, and carrier relations — owning real work in each, not observing. The scope is wide because the company moves fast and the problems don't respect org charts.

## What you'll do

- Run the operation. Underwriter follow-ups, carrier communications, keeping deals moving through the pipeline.
- Build systems that scale. Create the processes, workflows, and structures that make the team faster — and make manual work obsolete.
- Own relationships on both sides. Be the person who makes sure nothing falls through the cracks with customers or underwriters.
- Enable sales. Arm the team with the data, materials, and feedback loops they need to close.
- Touch the full lifecycle. Intake, onboarding, servicing, renewals — you'll see how the whole business works.
- Shape what gets built. Translate operational pain into product requirements with engineering.
- Move where it's urgent. Context-switch across functions based on what matters most this week.

## Who you are

- You've been the best at something — top of your class, captain of the team, first in your cohort — and you're looking for the next thing to pour that into.
- At every past job you ended up doing more than your title said.
- You get energy from moving fast across many problems, not sitting in one lane.
- You'd rather own a messy problem end-to-end than execute a clean task someone handed you.
- You context-switch without losing intensity, and you care about outcomes over job descriptions.

Requirements: 1–3 years in a high-pace environment (startup, consulting, banking, operations, or equivalent); strong written and verbal communication with customers, underwriters, and internal teams; comfort pulling insight from a spreadsheet and making a call; bias toward action; based in SF or willing to relocate immediately.

Nice to have: prior startup or founder experience; insurance, fintech, or regulated-industry exposure; familiarity with CRM, workflow automation, or AI-assisted tooling; background in sales, customer success, or account management.

The honest day-to-day

- It's execution, not strategy-from-a-desk. A real share of the week is follow-ups, chasing, coordination, and cleanup — the operational backbone, done well. The system-building is earned by doing the unglamorous work first.
- Ambiguity is the job, not a phase. Scope shifts week to week. If you need a fixed lane and a clean spec, you'll be uncomfortable here.
- Long days, on-site. Mon–Fri, roughly 5 AM–8 PM, in person in SF.
- The ceiling is high and real. People who are exceptional here go on to run functions, lead teams, or start companies — because they've seen how the whole business works. That's the payoff, and it's on the other side of the grind.

## Compensation & logistics

- Salary: $110,000–$140,000 + performance bonuses & equity
- Location: San Francisco, in-office. Based in SF or willing to relocate immediately.
- Schedule: Monday–Friday, in-office hours matching the rest of the company.
- Benefits: Uber commuter benefits; breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided; snacks, drinks, and coffee daily; free gym membership; health, dental, and vision insurance.

Process

- People screen — initial fit and alignment
- Lead screen — skills and culture fit
- Super day — case exercise and hands-on work with the team

To apply

Send your resume and tell us about a time you owned something messy and made it work. If you've been waiting for the opportunity that finally matches your ability, this is it.

## About Harper

## Company Overview

- **One-liner**: Harper is an AI-native commercial insurance brokerage that uses data and automation to help mid-sized businesses secure optimal coverage faster and at lower cost.
- **Entity Type**: Private startup (Y Combinator Winter 2025, raised $47 million)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Dakotah Rice (CEO) and Tushar Nair (CTO)

## Core Business

- Primary industry: Commercial insurance (Excess & Surplus lines brokerage)
- Target customers: Mid-sized businesses with complex insurance needs, spanning technology, life sciences, aerospace, construction, and consulting
- Mission: "We want to become the largest insurance brokerage in the world with the best NPS." (Source: [Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/harper))

## Products & Services

- **Harper Hub**: Proprietary AI-native platform that automates form filling, carrier matching, and client communications, cutting weeks from the traditional quoting timeline.
- **Brokerage Services**: Comprehensive commercial insurance products including General Liability, Professional Liability (tech E&O with no AI exclusions), Cyber Insurance, Commercial Auto, Commercial Property, Umbrella, and Bonds – all placed through an AI-enhanced workflow.
- **Specialty Expertise**: Deep coverage for regulated industries such as FDA‑regulated labs, aerospace contractors, and security guard firms.

## Market Standing

- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$47 million** (confirmed on company website and Y Combinator profile; some third‑party sources list a lower figure but official sources indicate $47M)
- **Notable Investors**: Y Combinator (pre‑seed lead); other investors not publicly detailed
- **Growth Signals**: Writing over **$6 million in annualized premiums** across 35 states (as of early 2025); **6,000+ clients** with **98.78% client retention**; headcount of 39 employees growing **353% year‑over‑year**; **19 open positions**; 100% success placing tech E&O without AI exclusions.

## Competitive Advantages

- **AI‑native infrastructure**: Proprietary technology automates quoting, binding, and service, enabling faster turnaround and lower overhead compared to traditional brokers.
- **Deep niche expertise**: Focus on complex, regulated industries (tech, life sciences, aerospace) where incumbents often struggle.
- **High retention**: 98.78% client retention rate and proven ability to place hard‑to‑cover policies (e.g., tech E&O with AI exclusions) signal strong customer trust.
- **Data‑driven underwriting**: Real‑time analysis of prior interactions and quote intelligence to match businesses with the best carrier.

## Strategic Focus

- Scaling the AI‑native brokerage to serve the mid‑market today and eventually all businesses (commercial insurance commissions represent a $100B+ market).
- Aggressively hiring across engineering, sales, operations, and partnerships to support rapid growth.
- Expanding carrier partnerships and geographic reach (currently licensed in 35 states).

## Why Work Here

- **Early‑stage impact**: Join a Y Combinator‑backed startup at its inflection point, building the AI‑native future of insurance.
- **High‑leverage roles**: Engineers and GTM professionals work directly on systems (LLMs, automation) that drive measurable business outcomes.
- **Culture**: "Human expertise amplified by AI" – domain knowledge meets cutting‑edge technology; teammates from Goldman Sachs, Coinbase, and other top firms.
- **Work environment**: San Francisco headquarters with both in‑office and remote roles available depending on the position.
- **Compensation**: Competitive startup salaries (e.g., $160K–$230K for engineering roles per job listings).
- **Career growth**: Fast‑growing company (353% headcount growth) with opportunities to shape processes and take on ownership early.

## Sources

1. [harperinsure.com](https://harperinsure.com/) – Company website (home page)
2. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/harperinsure](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/harperinsure) – Careers page
3. [ycombinator.com/companies/harper](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/harper) – Y Combinator company profile
4. [linkedin.com/company/harperinsure](https://www.linkedin.com/company/harperinsure) – LinkedIn company page
5. [builtin.com/company/harper-harperinsurecom](https://builtin.com/company/harper-harperinsurecom) – Built In company profile

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