Founding Operations Lead

Melbourne | Hybrid - Carlton office. Full-time preferred, with flexibility for a fractional arrangement if the right senior candidate needs it.

Become Nikki's right hand in running SeenCulture day to day - own and execute the operational backbone of a fast-moving HR tech startup, with real ownership and real scope.

SeenCulture is a feedback platform that helps leaders understand how they are actually experienced by the people they work with - not through a performance review or a personality test, but through candid, de-identified perspectives that surface hidden strengths and real perception gaps. Think Moneyball for work teams.

Techstars Sydney 2023. A$1.5M raised. Customers include Atlassian and Culture Amp. The latest product release is live and a PLG motion is being activated for the first time. The team is small and moving fast. This is the hire that builds the operational layer the next phase of growth needs.

The role

SeenCulture has traction, a product release live, and a PLG motion being activated. What it doesn't have yet is someone who owns operations end-to-end - someone who can take what Nikki decides and make sure it actually happens, so she can spend her time on the things only a founder can do.

That's this role. You'll own the customer pipeline from handoff to onboarded account. You'll own QA across the product and customer experience, so nothing ships without someone checking it first. You'll build the internal context layer so decisions don't disappear into Slack. You'll bring the CRM and product analytics into one unified system, built with AI. And you'll build and run the operating rhythm of a company growing faster than its current infrastructure can keep up with.

You'll be in the seat yourself, doing the work, day to day. We'd love this to be full-time, working closely alongside Nikki as the business scales - but for the right senior person who's built a portfolio career, we're genuinely open to a fractional arrangement.

Working with AI is just how we build here. You'll use Claude and automation tools by default, because that's what lets one person run a function like this well.

What you'll do

• Own customer operations from pipeline handoff to onboarded account - proposals, contracts, onboarding, and ongoing account management

• Own QA across the product and customer experience - run UAT before launches and catch issues before they reach customers

• Build and maintain the internal context layer: decisions made, directions taken, reasoning captured and findable

• Bring CRM and product analytics into one unified system built with AI

• Partner with Simon (fractional Growth and Product Lead) on feedback loops, release coordination, and campaign execution

• Run the back-of-house: tooling, vendor management, finance ops, contracts admin

• Build the operating rhythm that holds pace without creating new bottlenecks

What we're looking for

Ownership & reliability

• You see a problem and own it - you do not wait to be asked, and you flag issues before they become someone else's

• Strong QA instincts - you check your own work and other people's, and you catch what's wrong before it ships

• You follow through. People trust what you commit to

Comfortable building

• AI-native by default: you build with Claude and automation tools, you know what a Skill is, and you can deploy one without being shown how

• You think about problems technically - how could this be solved with a tool, how could this be automated

Experienced enough to own this solo

• Several years in an early-stage startup in an operational, generalist, or founder-adjacent role - you've run a function with minimal oversight before

• You'd rather be doing the work than advising on it from a distance - this role is in the work, not above it

• Commercially curious - you understand customers and what makes a startup grow

Communication & low ego

• Strong written communication - you edit your own work and do not need things repeated

• Low ego. You care about the work, not about being seen to do it

• Comfortable holding context across fast-moving, messy systems

The honest truth

• Startup chaos is real some weeks - you will need to be comfortable with that

• You will learn on the job. Nikki will back you, but you are self-directing

• Some of your time goes on unglamorous work - reporting accuracy, admin, finance tracking - and it all matters

• You will try things before you feel fully ready. That is the point

What's on offer

• Real ownership and real execution, working closely with Nikki - we'd prefer this full-time, and we're open to talking fractional for the right senior candidate. Days and terms to be worked out together

• A close, trusted working relationship with Nikki - you'll become the person who extends her reach and helps her get more done

• Hybrid from Carlton with Nikki and Bella (the office dog - dog people strongly preferred)

• Real scope to shape the operational function at a company at a pivotal stage

• Founder-level access - reporting directly to Nikki Tugano, Founder & CEO

• A genuine growth path: as SeenCulture scales, this role can grow into a COO seat. You’re building the foundation, not filling a gap

This is the kind of moment that doesn’t come around often - real customers, a product live, and a founder who needs someone to build the operational foundation the next phase of growth runs on, with real room to grow into running more of it as the company scales.

Apply now - Shine a light on untapped potential.