
Strategic Projects Lead at Polymath (San Francisco, CA)
Polymath· San Francisco, CA· $150k–$250k·
Role details
Job description
About Polymath
Polymath is an applied research lab focused on advancing long-horizon agent capabilities through reinforcement learning. We design and scale simulation environments where agents learn to operate safely and autonomously. We work with the world’s leading model labs to push the frontier of agent capabilities. Polymath is backed by Base10, Cervin Ventures, Founders Future, Y Combinator, and other incredible investors & angels. We've raised an $8M seed round, and are actively growing out the founding team.
About the role
As a Founding Strategic Projects Lead, you will work on some of Polymath’s highest-leverage initiatives across partnerships, data, and new market expansion. This is a highly cross-functional role for someone who is excited to tackle open-ended problems and help shape the company’s trajectory. You’ll work closely with the founders on strategic efforts that are critical to Polymath’s growth. Examples of projects you would work on:
- Creating best practices for organizing teams of domain experts, and working with the engineering team to improve platforms.
- Scaling Polymath’s expert contributor network, including sourcing, evaluating, onboarding, and managing experts across technical fields.
- Leading complex data projects from zero to one: from scoping customer needs and designing PRDs, to coordinating contributors, and ensuring data quality.
You’ll be a good fit if you:
- Have prior experience with RL environments and frontier lab data sales
- Have high agency and ownership
- Enjoy working across different domains
- Have strong writing abilities
- Are technical
Perks:
- 🪷 Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
- 🍽 Free meals with the team
- 🧘 Free Bay Club membership (right next door to our Embarcadero office!)
- 🚞 Commuter benefits
- 🏦 401(k)
- 🌎 Unlimited PTO
- 💻 Top of the line tech
- 🌁 Frequent team activities and outings
Culture:
- Polymath is a team of researchers, engineers, and operators passionate about advancing the frontier of safe, superintelligent AI agents.
- We have a flat organizational structure. We believe that people do their best work when they’re self-motivated and driven by a desire to learn, contribute to the team’s goals, and advance scientific progress.
- We’re looking for folks who ship fast, set high standards for themselves, and are great team players. You’ll be a member of our founding team: have fun, learn a lot, and do high-impact work alongside great people.
Why work at Polymath
- Cutting-edge AI research: Join a small, high-impact team at the frontier of agentic AI, working on one of the hardest problems in AI – long-horizon autonomy.
- Founding team culture: Early-stage startup with a flat structure, direct collaboration with co-founders, and significant ownership over technical direction.
- Remote/hybrid flexibility: Based in San Francisco, but open to remote (US) candidates. The YC listing shows “San Francisco, CA, US / Remote (US)”.
- Compensation & perks: Competitive salary ranges ($150K–$300K for engineering roles; $50–$100/hour for hourly roles) plus equity. Backed by top-tier investors including Y Combinator.
- Growth opportunity: Opportunity to shape the environment layer for the next generation of autonomous agents, with the potential to become a foundational platform in AI.