Founding AI-Native Operations Lead

Company: Aonic
Location: San Francisco
Posted on: February 16, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Team: Operations Reports to: CEO Compensation: $140,000 – $180,000 base substantial equity (targeting 7-figure annual comp through upside) Location: San Francisco (Jackson Square) - onsite, high-collaboration role About Aonic We're building the modern, healthy PepsiCo: a next-generation functional nutrition company making vibrant wellness effortless for millions of Americans through scientifically advanced, delicious products like Aonic Complete (our patent-pending all-in-one supplement) and Aonic Fuel (clean, high-protein fuel with 32g protein and 5g fiber). We run a highly efficient, high-growth organization. Our goals for 2026 are clear: grow 20X, hit $40M ARR and profitability with a lean team of just 10 FTEs. We prioritize skill and AI over headcount - no bloated middle management, no slow corporate processes. We believe in extreme efficiency, AI-driven automation, and a small team of high-agency builders who move faster and smarter than anyone else in the market. This is a role for a hands-on operator who wants to own operations end-to-end leverage AI to 10x our output, and scale a brand to 8-figures. The Role As Founding AI-Native Operations Lead, you will own and build the operational backbone of Aonic. You are not joining an existing department. You are building it. You will run day-to-day operations end-to-end while designing AI-driven systems that continuously remove friction, reduce manual work, and improve customer experience. This is an operations-first role, not a tooling role. AI is your advantage, not your job title. You will operate at the intersection of real-world execution, systems design and business judgment. If something breaks, you fix it. If something is manual, you automate it. If something should not exist, you remove it. What You’ll Own End-to-End Operations - Own day-to-day operations across order management, fulfillment, delivery, returns, refunds, inventory coordination, and internal workflows. - Ensure a seamless, premium customer experience from checkout to delivery and beyond. - Be accountable for operational KPIs including fulfillment speed, CSAT, error rates, and cost efficiency. AI-Driven Process Design - Map operational workflows across the company and ruthlessly eliminate inefficiencies. - Design and implement AI-powered and automated systems to replace manual processes. - Build proactive systems that surface issues before they become customer-visible problems. Customer Experience as a System - Own customer support as an operational system, not a ticket queue. - Design AI-augmented workflows that resolve issues faster and at higher quality. - Turn customer feedback into concrete improvements across ops, product, and logistics. Automation & Internal Tooling - Build automations using a mix of real code, APIs, and low-code tools. - Connect fragmented tools into clean, reliable workflows. - Create internal dashboards and AI interfaces that give instant operational visibility. Cross-Functional Enablement - Work closely with Growth, Finance, and Product to ensure operations scale smoothly with demand. - Anticipate operational constraints before they become bottlenecks. - Act as the operational counterweight to growth, enabling speed without chaos. Building the Ops Function - Decide what should be automated versus where human judgment truly adds value. - Build a lean, high-quality ops function over time. - Hire only when systems cannot replace people. Hard Requirements To be successful in this role, all of the following must be true: - 3 years of experience at an AI-native startup or scale-up, where you actively leveraged AI, automation, and systems thinking to build and optimize real business processes. - Degree in engineering, science, math, business, or a related field from a top-tier university and/or extraordinary GPAs - Candidates with a business background must have self-taught at least light forms of coding and demonstrate technical fluency. - Strong proficiency with AI tools, automation platforms, and low-code solutions, with hands-on experience building workflows and systems. - Genuine interest in solving real-world operational problems, specifically within a physical consumer business that includes production, supply chain management, warehousing, delivery, and customer operations. - Exceptional hungry and ambitious, with a strong desire to take ownership and grow rapidly through responsibility. - Strong work ethic and intensity, comfortable operating in an environment that is closer to 8–7 than 9–5 when required. If these requirements do not clearly describe you, this role will not be a fit. Nice to Haves - Prior experience in CPG, food & beverage, supplements, logistics, or adjacent physical consumer categories. - Exposure to scaling operations in a fast-growing consumer or e-commerce business. - Experience working closely with founders or senior leadership in high-execution environments. Why Join Aonic? Foundational Ownership You will build the operations function from the ground up and define how the company actually runs. Real Leverage Your systems will enable a small team to operate like a much larger one. Steep Growth Curve This role is designed for someone who wants to grow into senior operational leadership by doing real work, not by managing layers. Elite, Small Team You will work closely with highly driven operators and the CEO in a no-bureaucracy environment. Modern Stack We invest aggressively in the best AI tools and expect you to use them to their full potential. 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Keywords: Aonic, Petaluma , Founding AI-Native Operations Lead, IT / Software / Systems , San Francisco, California