Engagement Lead, AI Strategy

Los Angeles +2 · On-site$140k – $185k + Equity

About this role

We are looking for an Engagement Lead, AI Strategy with 3-7 years of experience to serve as the trusted strategic advisor for Fortune 500 clients navigating how AI models perceive and recommend their brands. You'll join a 4-person YC-backed team building an entirely new category — AI interpretability for marketing and GTM — and own client engagements end-to-end, translating research into decisions that move the business.

What will you be doing?

Owning a portfolio of client engagements — ramping on each client's business model, understanding their objectives, and turning AI research into actionable strategic recommendations

Working directly with VP/Director-level stakeholders and helping them present findings to CMOs and CEOs

Translating business problems into research hypotheses for the AI simulation lab, then synthesizing findings into clear narratives and growth experiments

Using Claude Code and internal systems to generate analyses, run explorations, and prototype new capabilities

Collaborating with co-founders to define and refine the engagement methodology as the company scales

Key Requirements

Strategy consulting background (Bain, McKinsey, BCG, or similar) with under 5 years in consulting — must have already left consulting for a startup or smaller environment

At least one experience at an early-stage startup (Series C or earlier at time of joining, ideally Series B or earlier)

Ability to understand diverse business models quickly and advise senior executives with confidence and clarity

Comfort with ambiguity, high autonomy, and willingness to learn AI-native tools like Claude Code

High earnestness and integrity — someone who takes the harder, more honest path and thrives in open, trust-based team cultures

Company at a glance

Unusual helps brands understand and influence how large language models perceive them through applied interpretability research and Brand Engineering tools. Founded by NLP experts with experience at SpaceX and MIT, the company quantifies AI opinions to guide brand strategy.

Founded2024
Team Size1-10
WorkspaceOn-site
StageSeed
IndustryAI/ML
Locations
Los Angeles, CA, United States ·New York City, NY, United States ·San Francisco, CA, United States
Investors
BoxGroup ·Long Journey Ventures ·Phosphor Capital ·Y Combinator
Websiteunusual.ai
LinkedInLinkedIn

What happens next

Skip the application pile. I get you in front of the people who decide.

Confirm the fit

A few questions to make sure this role is the right shape for you. Two minutes.

I pitch you to the company

I write the intro, send it to the founder, and handle the back-and-forth.

A meeting lands on your calendar

When the company wants to meet, I get the call on your calendar. You just show up.

Culture & values

Engineering team focuses on reverse engineering sources, implicit biases, and reasoning patterns that guide model behavior

Team is driven by mission to help people control their own narrative rather than large AI companies

Company works on applied interpretability research

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