Summary description:
Product & Operations Fellow - This position will work directly alongside the Founder/CEO for up to 180 days, learning how an AI software company is built and run — from the fundamentals up — while taking ownership of real work: product planning, customer pilots, internal operations, and launch preparation.No software, engineering, or IT background is required or expected. What is required are the attributes your community already selects for: fast learning, adaptability, sound judgment with incomplete information, and a relentless focus on outcomes. We will teach the fundamentals. The fellow brings the leadership.
Job description:
HOW YOU WILL LEARN — NO BACKGROUND ASSUMEDThe fellowship follows a deliberate progression, from fundamentals to ownership:• Days 1–30 — Fundamentals. Learn how software is actually built: what a database, an API, and a release are; how the Konas product works end to end; how AI models are used inside it; and the vocabulary to hold your own in any product conversation. Daily working sessions with the founder, guided study, and hands-on time in the product itself.• Days 31–90 — Operating. Run the company's operating rhythm: planning cycles, the product priority list, release checklists, customer discovery calls, and internal documentation. Ship your first owned improvements.• Days 91–180 — Leading. Own a product or operations area outright: pilot customer onboarding, launch preparation, roadmap input, and the groundwork for the company's first hires.DUTIES & LEARNING ACTIVITIESUnder the daily mentorship of the Founder/CEO, the fellow will:• Learn the fundamentals of software development, AI product design, and SaaS operations from a standing start — through structured instruction, not assumed knowledge.• Coordinate product development as the platform moves from working prototype to commercial launch.• Build and run the project management rhythm: priorities, planning cycles, release schedules, and accountability.• Sit in customer discovery sessions with fundraising teams and turn what they say into product decisions.• Support customer demonstrations, pilot implementations, and onboarding.• Evaluate how the company operates and recommend systems and processes that will scale.• Help establish documentation and operating standards as the team grows.• Contribute to hiring plans and the design of the company's first team.• Gain direct exposure to investor fundraising, strategic partnerships, and executive decision-making in an early-stage company.WHAT WE SELECT FOR• Preferable officer or senior enlisted leadership experience in special operations, intelligence, or a comparable community, but open to all ranks who have served in leadership roles.• A record of leading small teams to outcomes with incomplete information and real stakes.• Evidence of learning new domains quickly and independently — new regions, new mission sets, new systems.• Clear writing and confident briefing.• Genuine interest in entrepreneurship and in building a company from its earliest stage.• No software engineering, cyber, IT, or technical program management experience required. Curiosity and the discipline to learn are.
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Eligibility factors:
All Services
WHAT WE SELECT FOR• Preferable officer or senior enlisted leadership experience in special operations, intelligence, or a comparable community, but open to all ranks who have served in leadership roles.• A record of leading small teams to outcomes with incomplete information and real stakes.• Evidence of learning new domains quickly and independently — new regions, new mission sets, new systems.• Clear writing and confident briefing.• Genuine interest in entrepreneurship and in building a company from its earliest stage.
