Founding Deployment Strategist

We are looking for a Founding Deployment Strategist with 1–5 years of experience to own the full deployment motion for AI agents going live inside Fortune 500 manufacturers and government organizations. You'll be the connective tissue between new and existing customers — running discovery, scoping use cases, building business cases, and handing off to Forward Deployed Engineers once a pilot is signed. This is a rare opportunity to join a tight-knit founding team at the intersection of cutting-edge AI and the physical economy.

What will you be doing?

- Lead discovery with new manufacturers — sit in on intro calls, surface pain points, and define the scope of what Optimized can solve for them

- Vibe-code demos on top of Optimized's platform to showcase solutions to prospective customers

- Build and present business cases with clear ROI to win new pilots and expand existing accounts

- Project-manage deployments across the manufacturer's IT, procurement, and supply chain teams alongside the Forward Deployed Engineering team

- Support FDEs on existing customer expansions — scoping new workflows and quantifying ROI for land-and-expand motions

Key Requirements

- MBB strategy consulting background (McKinsey, BCG, or Bain) at the pre-MBA/BA level — structured problem-solving and enterprise stakeholder management are non-negotiable

- Hands-on experience with manufacturing, industrials, supply chain, or defense clients — you've been on-site grinding through the operational reality, not just writing decks

- Executive presence — you've been in the room with senior stakeholders and can hold your own with both operators and C-suite

- AI fluency — comfortable using tools like Claude or Cursor to spin up demos and automate work independently

- Based in or willing to relocate to San Francisco; role is 5 days/week in-person with 15–30% international travel (Europe and Asia)