Lead AI enablement and portfolio governance across UP.Labs companies: build reusable AI tools and workflows, support CEOs with operations and GTM, track company health via dashboards and reporting, and cultivate VC and operator relationships to drive capital, customers, and strategic support.
About the Role:
What You’ll Do:
Who You Are:
UP.Labs is hiring a Portfolio Lead, Platform Team to create leverage across our portfolio companies through practical AI adoption, stronger portfolio governance, and deeper connectivity into the venture ecosystem.
This is a cross-functional platform role working directly with portfolio company CEOs, UP.Labs leadership, and the broader VC/operator community. You will help companies identify and adopt high-impact AI tools and workflows, build systems that improve portfolio visibility and governance, and develop external relationships that bring capital, advisors, customers, and strategic support into our portfolio companies.
We need someone who is AI-native, operationally strong, and externally credible - someone who can build practical AI workflows, support CEOs, synthesize company health, represent UP.Labs in the market, and turn relationships into tangible portfolio value.
AI Enablement & Cross-Portfolio Tools
- Work with portfolio company CEOs to identify where AI can drive growth, improve execution, or create operating leverage
- Build practical AI-enabled tools, workflows, automations, prompts, agents, and playbooks that can be used across portfolio companies
- Help portfolio companies embed AI into GTM, sales enablement, customer research, marketing, recruiting, finance, product research, and internal operations
- Evaluate new AI tools and platforms, determine where they are useful, and help teams adopt them where there is a clear business case
- Create reusable templates and workflows that allow learnings from one portfolio company to compound across the broader UP.Labs ecosystem
- Track adoption and effectiveness of AI tools, refine what works, and cut what does not
CEO & Portfolio Company Support
- Partner directly with portfolio CEOs to understand company priorities, operating constraints, growth opportunities, and areas where platform support can help
- Help CEOs pressure-test AI use cases, operating cadence, reporting needs, GTM execution, hiring priorities, and company-level risks
- Support portfolio companies with practical execution where needed, including research, synthesis, tooling, process design, investor preparation, and customer or advisor mapping
- Translate messy company needs into clear recommendations, action plans, workflows, introductions, or escalation points
- Serve as a hands-on platform partner who helps CEOs move faster without adding unnecessary process
Portfolio Governance & Company Health
- Build and maintain the systems UP.Labs uses to monitor portfolio company health across financial, commercial, product, talent, and operational metrics
- Track key indicators including burn, runway, revenue, pipeline, customer traction, product milestones, hiring, and operating cadence
- Create dashboards, reporting cadences, and operating reviews that give UP.Labs leadership a clear view into company progress, risks, and support needs
- Identify risks early and help route the right support before issues become urgent
- Prepare and improve materials for UP.Labs leadership, portfolio company boards, corporate partners, and other key stakeholders
- Build templates and best practices for board reporting, company updates, milestone tracking, operating reviews, and escalation of key issues
- Help standardize governance practices across the portfolio without creating administrative drag
VC, Ecosystem & Events
- Build and maintain relationships across the VC community to support portfolio companies with capital access, market insight, customer introductions, and strategic advice
- Develop a broader network of operators, advisors, strategic partners, and domain experts who can help portfolio companies grow
- Represent UP.Labs and its portfolio companies in relevant investor, startup, and industry settings
- Attend select VC, startup, and industry events on behalf of UP.Labs and the portfolio
- Partner with marketing and internal teams on targeted events, dinners, and gatherings that connect portfolio CEOs with relevant investors, customers, advisors, and operators
- Turn external relationships into tangible value for portfolio companies, including investor conversations, customer introductions, advisor relationships, strategic partnerships, and market feedback
- 6+ years of experience in venture platform, startup operations, AI operations, BizOps, product operations, consulting, venture capital, or an early-stage company-building role
- AI-native and hands-on; you have built practical AI-enabled tools, workflows, automations, or internal systems, not just talked about AI strategy
- Comfortable working with LLMs, AI productivity tools, automation platforms, no-code/low-code systems, data tools, and APIs
- Strong enough analytically to understand company performance, operating metrics, burn, runway, pipeline, growth levers, and portfolio health
- Externally credible and relationship-oriented; you can build trust with VCs, founders, operators, advisors, and strategic partners
- Comfortable representing UP.Labs and its portfolio companies in investor, startup, and industry settings
- Operational enough to sit with a CEO, diagnose what is slowing the company down, and help build the system, workflow, or relationship path to solve it
- Strong written communicator who can synthesize messy inputs into clear updates, board materials, leadership summaries, and decision memos
- Comfortable moving between hands-on AI work, CEO support, portfolio reporting, governance, relationship-building, and events
- Interested in enterprise software, industrial markets, transportation, logistics, aviation, manufacturing, energy, and other complex B2B verticals
- High tolerance for ambiguity; you are energized by building the playbook, not inheriting one
UP.Labs Santa Monica, California, USA Office
3100 Donald Douglas Loop N, Santa Monica, CA, United States, 90405
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