Founding Product – Operations Lead

• Work directly with the founder to define product strategy, priorities, and roadmap




• Translate business and customer needs into clear product requirements and workflows




• Shape product logic, processes, and user experiences




• Provide commercially minded product recommendations




• Prioritise features and improvements based on customer needs, business impact, and scalability




• Work with developers and designers throughout the product development lifecycle




• Review new features and releases against requirements and user expectations




• Conduct hands‑on product testing and identify bugs, edge cases, and workflow issues




• Coordinate QA processes and establish structured testing procedures




• Maintain product documentation, requirements, workflows, and release information




• Manage Jira, Confluence, or similar tools




• Speak directly with customers to understand needs, challenges, and feedback




• Support customer queries and resolve product‑related issues




• Translate recurring customer problems into product improvements




• Monitor customer feedback and prioritise improvements that drive retention and satisfaction




• Create SOPs, manuals, workflows, and internal processes from the ground up




• Establish scalable systems and operational processes




• Develop reporting and operational processes to improve visibility and decision‑making




• Identify inefficiencies and implement practical solutions




• Build infrastructure and systems required as the company grows




• Monitor product and operational metrics and identify trends




• Develop reports and dashboards to support business decisions




• Use data and customer feedback to assess product performance and opportunities




• Establish processes for tracking key business and product KPIs




• Initially operate as a hands‑on individual contributor




• Recruit, onboard, and manage junior team members as the business grows




• Build teams across product, QA, customer support, and operations




• Develop systems that enable teams to operate effectively




• Take increasing ownership of product and operational functions

Requirements

• 6–15 years of relevant experience, with flexibility for an exceptional candidate




• Proven experience working in an early‑stage SaaS startup




• Demonstrated experience personally contributing to the growth and scaling of a SaaS business




• Strong understanding of B2B SaaS products, workflows, customer needs, and product development




• Experience working closely with founders or senior leadership in a startup environment




• Strong product judgement with the ability to balance customer needs, technical considerations, and commercial priorities




• Hands‑on experience across product, operations, QA, customer support, or similar functions




• Comfortable working as an individual contributor and getting into the detail rather than simply managing from a distance




• Experience working with developers and designers to deliver and improve software products




• Experience with tools such as Jira, Confluence, or similar product/project management platforms




• Strong understanding of product testing, QA, bug identification, and edge‑case analysis




• Experience creating SOPs, documentation, workflows, and scalable operational processes




• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to use data to inform decisions




• Excellent written and spoken English




• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills




• Commercially minded and focused on measurable business outcomes




• Comfortable challenging ideas respectfully and constructively when you believe there is a better approach




• Highly organised, proactive, resourceful, and comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy




• Comfortable working in an environment where priorities can change quickly and processes are still being established




• Previous experience as an early employee, Founder’s Associate, Head/VP of Product, COO, VP Operations, Chief of Staff, or founder within a SaaS startup strongly preferred




• Experience helping a SaaS company scale from an early stage into a significantly larger customer base, revenue base, or team strongly preferred




• Experience building systems, processes, or functions from scratch strongly preferred




• Experience across multiple areas such as product, customer success, QA, operations, and strategy strongly preferred




• Must disclose any existing ongoing roles or client work




• Must reflect this engagement on their LinkedIn profile, clearly marked as “Independent Contractor”

Core Competencies

Demonstrates strong expertise in B2B SaaS product development, including product strategy, customer needs assessment, and operational process creation. Proven ability to manage product lifecycles, coordinate QA processes, and utilize data for informed decision‑making.

Highest‑signal resume keywords

• B2B SaaS Product Development




• Product Strategy and Roadmap




• Jira and Confluence Management




• Product Testing and QA




• Analytical and Problem‑Solving Skills

Hard Skills

• Product Requirements Translation




• Workflow Creation




• Feature Prioritization




• SOP Development




• Operational Process Establishment




• Data Analysis




• Customer Feedback Monitoring




• Bug Identification




• Edge‑Case Analysis




• Scalable Systems Development

Soft Skills

• Strong Communication Skills




• Stakeholder Management




• Proactive and Resourceful




• Organizational Skills




• Adaptability to Changing Priorities

Industry Keywords

• SaaS Startup Experience




• Customer Success




• Operational Metrics




• Product KPIs




• Early‑Stage Business Growth

Tools & Technologies

• Jira




• Confluence




• Product Management Platforms