---
title: 'Manager, Strategic Projects (Safety) at Handshake'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/manager-strategic-projects-safety-handshake-seattle-bbhcp3bp3txa'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-28'
---

# Manager, Strategic Projects (Safety) at Handshake

- **Company:** [Handshake](https://feeny.ai/companies/handshake)
- **Location:** Seattle, WA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-23
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-28
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/handshake/17a7ecaa-47c1-4a50-a09f-e84387182dd2

## Job description

## The Role

As a Manager, Strategic Projects, Safety, you will lead a portfolio of complex, high-stakes human data programs that power frontier AI model training and evaluation. You will set the operational and quality strategy for model evaluation across frontier risks, designing scalable workflows, quality systems, and team structures across multiple policy domains. You will manage and develop a team of Strategic Projects Leads and trusted model trainers, coaching sound judgment on nuanced safety decisions while ensuring consistent delivery across quality, throughput, and cost. As a trusted thought partner to frontier AI labs and internal leaders, you will make high-stakes calls with limited guidance, shape program scope, and translate operational insight into stronger policies, evaluations, and customer outcomes. This is a high-ownership, outcomes-driven role for operators who thrive in ambiguity, move fast with incomplete information, and are accountable for results at scale. What you'll do:

- Partner directly with frontier AI labs and senior stakeholde
- Lead a portfolio of complex safety and evaluation programs across policy domains and frontier risks
- Manage, coach, and develop Strategic Projects Leads; establish clear goals, accountability, and strong task-quality judgment.
- Set and establish the quality bar across programs by designing scalable annotation frameworks, taxonomies, assessments, instructions, and audit systems for complex and ambiguous policy work.
- Partner directly with frontier AI labs and senior stakeholders to shape scope, resolve high-stakes issues, identify policy and coverage gaps, and build durable customer relationships.
- Use data and first-principles reasoning to diagnose systemic quality or operational issues, make explicit tradeoffs, and drive structural improvements across the portfolio.
- Build and scale playbooks, processes, and AI-enabled workflows that improve consistency, efficiency, and delivery reliability across teams.
- Surface emerging risk patterns, labeling inconsistencies, and strategic opportunities that strengthen safety policies and evaluation coverage.

You Have

- 5+ years of experience in trust and safety, policy enforcement, regulatory compliance, risk management, operations, consulting, government, or a related field, including people-management experience.
- 2+ years managing high performing teams in fast paced, execution focused environments.
- Demonstrated success leading multiple complex, high-stakes programs and managing teams in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
- Deep operational judgment and the ability to make clear quality-throughput-cost tradeoffs across complex human-data workflows.
- Exceptional written, verbal, and stakeholder-management skills, with experience partnering directly with senior customers and cross-functional leaders.
- A track record of building scalable processes, developing others, and creating a high-accountability, high-quality team culture.
- Curiosity and the ability to quickly build fluency in technical AI concepts, model behavior, and industry trends.

Bonus Points

- Experience leading safety-policy, content-review, or evaluation operations across large, distributed workforces.
- Subject-matter expertise in high-severity policy harms, including violent activities, dangerous organizations or individuals, sexual activities, CBRN, cyber, or related domains.
- Experience designing and scaling AI safety evaluations, annotation taxonomies, quality systems, or adversarial-testing programs.
- Experience working directly with frontier AI labs or other highly technical enterprise customers.

Note: This role involves exposure to sensitive or explicit content (e.g., violent, sexual, or otherwise disturbing material) as part of safety and policy evaluation work.

## We Offer

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life. The below benefits are for full-time US employees. 🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company 💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching 🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching 💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend 📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development 💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office 🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days 🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at [joinhandshake.com/careers](http://joinhandshake.com/careers).

## About Handshake

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Handshake is the career network for the AI economy, connecting job seekers with internships, full-time roles, freelance gigs, and AI training work through a three-sided marketplace.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series F; total funding $434M across 6 rounds)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Garrett Lord (CEO), Ben Christensen, Scott Ringwelski

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Career platform / Job marketplace / AI workforce infrastructure
- **Target customers**: B2C (job seekers, from students to experienced professionals) and B2B (employers including 100% of Fortune 500 and all foundational AI labs; also educational institutions)
- **Mission**: Expand access and improve outcomes for job seekers, helping the workforce stay ahead in the AI economy.

## Products & Services
- **Handshake Core Platform**: A three-sided marketplace connecting 25 million knowledge workers, 1,600+ schools, and 1 million employers. Features dynamic profiles, intelligent job matching, and interactive skill-building.
- **Handshake AI Enterprise**: AI-powered tools for employers and job seekers, including AI-driven matching, safety features, and pay management.
- **AI Trainer Gigs**: Paid, flexible, remote work for individuals to train and evaluate AI models (e.g., AI Evaluation Specialist, up to $40/hr) – no prior AI experience required.
- **Handshake Network**: Community events, career advice, and networking for students, experts, and professionals in AI and other fields.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding $434M (6 rounds); annual revenue $56.5M (LinkedIn estimate)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Board includes representatives from General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins, EQT Ventures, True Ventures, and Niantic. Strategic partners include 100% of the Fortune 500 and foundational AI labs.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount at 5,272 employees (+708.8% YoY per LinkedIn); 1M+ companies on platform; 25M users; expansion into AI trainer gig economy; new roles in HAI (Handshake AI Enterprise) such as Applied AI Engineer, AI Platform Engineer, and Forward Deployed Engineer.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Network effects**: The only three-sided marketplace linking students, employers, and educational institutions at scale.
- **AI-first positioning**: Deep integration of AI into job matching, skill-building, and new freelance training roles – creating a unique ecosystem for the AI economy.
- **Trusted by elite institutions**: 1,600+ partner schools and every Fortune 500 company provides unparalleled reach into early-career talent.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI economy expansion**: Building the “career network for the AI economy” – expanding beyond college students to all knowledge workers, and adding AI training gigs as a new revenue and engagement stream.
- **Product innovation**: Heavy investment in Handshake AI Enterprise (HAI), including AI matching, safety, and pay infrastructure.
- **Global scaling**: Offices in San Francisco, New York, UK, and Bangalore; operating in 32 countries.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Values include “Students first,” “Leave nothing to chance,” “Own the outcome,” “Invent and reinvent,” and “Olympic pace.” Emphasis on ownership, urgency, and constant evolution.
- **Remote/Hybrid policy**: Many roles are based in San Francisco or New York, but some positions (e.g., Trust & Safety Specialist, Support Specialist) are remote in the US. Recent openings show both office and remote options.
- **Benefits**: Health & wellness support, financial support, time off, modern offices with meals, snacks, and social activities. Strong focus on career growth and learning.
- **Career growth**: Rapid headcount growth suggests ample internal mobility; roles range from engineering (ML, AI, data) to customer success, partnerships, and product management.

## Sources
1. [joinhandshake.com/about](https://joinhandshake.com/about/)
2. [joinhandshake.com/careers](https://joinhandshake.com/careers/)
3. [linkedin.com/company/team-handshake](https://www.linkedin.com/company/team-handshake)
4. [joinhandshake.com](https://joinhandshake.com/)

## Other roles at Handshake

- [Strategic Insights Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/strategic-insights-lead-handshake-san-francisco-b22enpvc91qw) — San Francisco, CA
- [Senior Enterprise Customer Success Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-enterprise-customer-success-manager-handshake-new-york-q5m58yt5zhgh) — New York, NY
- [Senior Recruiter, India](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-recruiter-india-handshake-india-90f737k03hp3) — India
- [Senior Sales Compensation Analyst](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-sales-compensation-analyst-handshake-san-francisco-hq1nq8rdmvjj) — San Francisco, CA
- [Workplace Experience Coordinator, India (Contract)](https://feeny.ai/job/workplace-experience-coordinator-india-contract-handshake-india-ns5vj37d2txc) — India
- [Strategic Account Executive](https://feeny.ai/job/strategic-account-executive-handshake-united-states-1nyc1b80454d) — United States
- [Director of Communications, Careers](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-communications-careers-handshake-san-francisco-66qa3155e7wg) — San Francisco, CA
- [Senior Software Engineer, Growth](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-growth-handshake-san-francisco-e9xnk0k0mt19) — San Francisco, CA
- [Senior Software Engineer, Coding](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-coding-handshake-india-ywjxwgbv16yw) — India
- [Data Partnerships Representative](https://feeny.ai/job/data-partnerships-representative-handshake-nashville-tacv4vd39520) — Nashville, TN