VP of Fellow Experience (Support), Handshake AI

About Handshake AI

Handshake is building the career network for the AI economy. Our three-sided marketplace connects 18 million students and alumni, 1,500+ academic institutions across the U.S. and Europe, and 1 million employers to power how the next generation explores careers, builds skills, and gets hired.

Handshake AI is a human data labeling business that leverages the scale of the largest early career network. We work directly with the world’s leading AI research labs to build a new generation of human data products. From PhDs in physics to undergrads fluent in LLMs, Handshake AI is the trusted partner for domain-specific data and evaluation at scale.

This is a unique opportunity to join a fast-growing team shaping the future of AI through better data, better tools, and better systems—for experts, by experts.

Now’s a great time to join Handshake. Here’s why:

• Leading the AI Career Revolution: Be part of the team redefining work in the AI economy for millions worldwide.

• Proven Market Demand: Deep employer partnerships across Fortune 500s and the world’s leading AI research labs.

• World-Class Team: Leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, just to name a few.

• Capitalized & Scaling: $3.5B valuation from top investors including Kleiner Perkins, True Ventures, Notable Capital, and more.

About the Role

Handshake is expanding into AI research and development, building a world-class network of expert Fellows—PhDs, researchers, and domain specialists—who contribute to cutting-edge advancements in machine learning. These Fellows are central to our product and mission, and we are building a high-touch support experience to match.

We're hiring a VP of Fellow Experience (Support) to establish and scale the entire Handshake AI Support function from the ground up. You’ll oversee a distributed team of 40+ support agents (via two Senior Managers) supporting our Fellows and internal teams, ensuring a white-glove experience while identifying operational bottlenecks, creating scalable systems, and shaping the tone and ethos of our support culture. This is a high-impact leadership role that requires deep operational expertise, a love of people-centric design, and a passion for building something that feels both efficient and human.

This is a critical hire—support is one of our most important levers for retaining our Fellows and ensuring their long-term success. You’ll collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, Growth, and Trust & Safety to create a seamless, human-centered experience that empowers Fellows to do their best work.

• Define and scale the Handshake AI support org—own vision, strategy, KPIs, and org design for a hybrid team of FTEs, contractors, and BPO partners

• Set the voice of support—craft the style guide, tone, and escalation policies that reflect our values: clarity, respect, transparency, and optimism

• Build systems for insight and influence—analyze volume trends, identify friction points, and share proactive reporting and recommendations across the org

• Lead and develop managers—coach and grow two Senior Support Managers and ensure their teams (totaling ~40 agents) are engaged, high-performing, and consistently delivering

• Drive operational excellence—maximize team efficiency through workflows, tooling, self-service, and automation without compromising quality

• Act as a cross-functional partner—align closely with Product, AI Ops, Trust & Safety, and others to advocate for Fellow needs and shape the broader experience

• Build from scratch—design and launch onboarding, training, help content, playbooks, staffing models, and performance frameworks in a rapidly evolving space

• Act as a strategic voice—contribute to Handshake AI’s growth strategy, roadmap feedback loops, and annual planning cycles

Desired Capabilities

• 7–10+ years in support or operations leadership roles, including at least 3+ years managing managers (with multiple teams and staff types)

• Built or scaled support functions in high-growth, ambiguous environments (bonus: consumer or marketplace tech, community-driven platforms, or AI/ML)

• Deep knowledge of Zendesk, QA tooling (e.g., Playvox), data platforms (BigQuery, Looker, Google Sheets/SQL), and help center technologies

• Strong strategic and analytical skills—you can identify patterns in chaos, prioritize what matters most, and articulate your thinking with data

• Experience driving support-led retention outcomes and influencing revenue

• Built teams known for empathy, accountability, and transparency—even in sensitive or high-stakes environments

• Operationally excellent: You can scope, implement, and optimize systems for onboarding, reporting, staffing, and cross-functional workflows

Desired Traits

• Builder mindset – You don’t just optimize, you create from 0→1 and know what excellent looks like

• Human-first leader – You care deeply about user and team experience and know how to scale both

• Strategic operator – You can zoom out to shape a long-term vision and zoom in to fix what’s broken

• Data-informed and decisive – You seek truth through numbers but move quickly and intentionally

• Collaborative and communicative – You’re a trusted partner to leaders across the business and know how to bring people along

• Mission-driven – You care about equitable opportunity, transparency, and building for impact

Extra Credit

• Prior experience supporting AI/LLM products, high-churn risk users, or sensitive communities

• Built or managed global BPO/vendor teams and driven high CSAT/NPS in distributed environments

• Owned or influenced help center content strategy, chatbot flows, and automations

• Experience in a startup or consumer product with high engagement and retention

Benefits & Perks

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: Stipends for home office setup, internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office

🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days, winter #ShakeBreak where our whole office closes for a week!

🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.