AI Strategist, Team Lead

Job description

Profound is the marketing platform for the age of AI search. The way brands reach people is being rewritten — AI models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode are now the answer layer between companies and their customers. We built the platform marketers use to understand, measure, and win in that world: the analytics, intelligence, and agent automation that turn AI search from a threat into a competitive advantage. We went from 0 to a $1B valuation in 18 months. Revenue grew 100x last year. Our customers include 15% of the Fortune 500 like Walmart, Wayfair and U.S. Bank, and innovators like Ramp, MongoDB, and Figma. We are backed by Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, LSVP, and Khosla Ventures — and we are moving fast enough that the people joining now are building the playbook everyone who comes after them will run. We are hiring an AI Strategy Team Lead to build and scale the team defining how Fortune 500 brands show up in large language models. This role sits at the intersection of leadership and execution. You will build and mentor an analytical team while staying close to the work, analyzing large-scale AI prompt data to understand how brands surface across platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude, and translating those findings into data-backed strategies that drive meaningful commercial outcomes. You will own relationships with Profound’s largest customers and operate directly alongside C-suite stakeholders, both internally and externally. The work is technical, high-leverage, and deeply tied to one of the most consequential shifts in how companies reach their customers. WHAT YOU’LL DO - Lead and develop the AI Strategy team: set the bar for quality, build repeatable frameworks and playbooks, and be the person the team wants to learn from - Own data analysis integrity across the team: review SQL, validate analytical conclusions, and ensure rigor at scale so the research team can focus on their core work - Partner with Fortune 500 brands as the senior strategic voice on Profound's largest accounts, engaging directly with CMOs, VPs of SEO, and VPs of AEO - Perform applied analysis on LLM behavior, prompt patterns, and visibility mechanics across platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude - Write SQL to extract and structure prompt-level datasets - Use LLM-based workflows to classify, cluster, and synthesize unstructured data - Produce concise analytical outputs for senior-level discussions, switching fluidly between executive framing and detailed analysis - Contribute to Profound's thought leadership: research, frameworks, and point-of-view content that shape the AEO conversation - Drive commercial growth by scaling the function, identifying opportunities to lead the market in AI visibility research WHO YOU ARE - 6 or more years of experience in a client-facing strategy, analytics, or deployment role, with at least 2 years leading or owning a team or function - Experience reporting directly to C-suite executives - Deep fluency with SQL: you can write queries, QA others' work, and catch integrity issues without hand-holding - Experience building analytics dashboards using tools such as Retool, Tableau, or Looker - Hands-on experience with AI tools and workflows, such as Cursor or LLM-based pipelines; you experiment on your own time - Excellent written and verbal communication skills: you have strong executive presence and are comfortable in a room with a CMO or VP - A track record of operating in ambiguous, high-growth environments where you had to build structure as you went - Naturally curious, with a tendency to ask follow-up questions and explore edge cases - High ownership and proactive by default; you take analyses end-to-end and surface next steps without being asked - Backgrounds that translate well include deployment strategists at companies like Palantir, technical account managers or program managers at high-growth B2B companies, product strategy or operations leaders with client-facing experience, and senior SEO or AEO strategists with strong data skills LOCATION This is an on-site role based in our Union Square, NYC office, designed for builders who thrive on speed, iteration, and meaningful impact. For this role, the expected base salary range is $180,000 to $280,000, depending on experience. Profound’s total compensation package includes base salary, equity, and a full range of benefits and perks. Final compensation will depend on factors such as your skills, experience, qualifications, and location, and will be determined during the interview process. Our recruiting team will share more details about the full compensation package and benefits as you move through hiring. #LI-DNI Note: All official communication from Profound will come from a @tryprofound.com email address. If you're contacted by anyone using a different domain, please disregard and report it as spam.