Product Lead
About The Position
AE Studio is seeking Product Leads who are strategic, AI-fluent technical operators. This role involves owning the end-to-end delivery of high-stakes projects, acting as a trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders. Responsibilities include managing client engagements, internal ventures, exploring product-market fit, and overseeing enterprise execution. This hybrid role combines aspects of a strategic advisor, technical PM, AI architect, and founder-in-training. Product Leads will collaborate with senior leadership, manage complex AI projects (generative AI, automation, agent orchestration, custom software), build products, and potentially lead spin-off ventures. AE Studio supports startup spinouts, offering opportunities to become CEO or CTO of a new venture.
Requirements
- Proven experience in product leadership, AI product development, or startup building.
- Strong understanding of generative AI stacks, LLMs, vector DBs, and APIs.
- Track record of advising or working directly with senior leadership on complex, ambiguous problems.
- Strong judgment around product, technical, and commercial trade-offs.
- Ability to lead cross-functional teams and ship without waiting for permission.
- Excellent communication across technical and strategic contexts.
- Alignment with AE's mission and long-term thinking.
- Full-time availability.
- Fluent in modern AI tooling and stacks (LLMs, LangChain, RAG, vector search, OpenAI APIs, fine-tuning, agent orchestration).
- Ability to advise non-technical leaders on AI.
- Ability to hold your own with senior client stakeholders, including C-level executives.
- Ability to engage clients as a peer, ask the right questions, push back when needed, and earn trust.
- Ability to run a workshop.
- Ability to build, not just spec; prototype, test, and ship real things.
- Ability to lead high-stakes projects end-to-end.
- Ability to operate like a founder.
Nice To Haves
- Background in consulting, advisory, or other client-facing strategy work, or equivalent experience operating across varied industries and executive contexts.
- Prior founder/operator experience or deep desire to build a venture.
- Experience building prototypes or MVPs in AI/no-code/low-code.
- Exposure to AGI-aligned thinking or AI safety concepts.
- Fluent in user research, iterative development, and lean experimentation.
- Network or domain expertise in areas where AI can unlock 10x value.
- Based in LA and able to work in person at our office.
Responsibilities
- Own delivery for high-stakes projects from end to end.
- Become a trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders.
- Manage client engagements, internal ventures, product-market fit exploration, and enterprise execution.
- Sit at the table with senior leadership.
- Run complex AI projects across generative AI, automation, agent orchestration, and custom software.
- Build real products.
- Potentially spin off ventures, with the opportunity to become CEO or CTO.
- Facilitate working sessions with client leadership teams new to AI.
- Translate client goals into a concrete roadmap.
- Help clients make smart build/buy/sequence decisions.
- Prototype, test, and ship real things.
- Break down ambiguity, define milestones, and focus the team on what matters.
- Translate between engineers, clients, researchers, and senior executives.
- Navigate ambiguity, wear multiple hats, and make hard calls with urgency and care.
- Lead a Skunkworks spinout, internal venture, or product line.
Benefits
- Equity in client projects and Skunkworks ventures.
- Opportunity to become CEO or CTO of a venture.
- Reduced margins on client work and internal funding contribute to equity.
- Ability to retain 20% of equity by staying engaged if leaving on good terms.
- Retain 100% of equity if spinning out a Skunkworks venture.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
