Product Lead

AE Studio is an LA-based company focused on increasing human agency by making the AGI future go well. We believe alignment is solvable, people just haven’t tried hard enough. For us, that means focusing on neglected ideas that could unlock major breakthroughs.

We’ve spent over a decade helping clients, from startups to companies like Samsung, Walmart, Berkshire Hathaway, and Goodfire, solve complex technical problems and bring ambitious products to life. We apply the same structures to research. Instead of a client, we partner with visionary researchers exploring neglected alignment ideas. We’re a full-stack R&D group combining engineering, science, and product capability. This puts us in a unique position to move quickly and make real progress on one of the most important problems of our time.

We're fully bootstrapped. We don’t rely on venture capital or private equity. Profits from our client work go directly into internal Skunkworks projects, technical research, and policy engagement. This gives us the freedom to pursue high-risk, high-upside ideas that typical funding models neglect. We can commit to long-term bets without being constrained by short grant cycles or investor timelines.

Our alignment efforts include in-house work, alignment clients like Goodfire AI, and collaborations with Redwood Research and researchers at Anthropic and DeepMind. In the past, we also led pioneering research in brain-computer interfaces, and we continue to expand our scope as the stakes rise.

If you care about actually solving alignment and want to build, we want to talk to you!

ABOUT THE ROLE

We're hiring Product Leads. Strategic, AI-fluent technical operators who own delivery for high-stakes projects from end to end and become trusted advisors to senior client stakeholders along the way. This includes client engagements, internal ventures, product-market fit exploration, and enterprise execution.

This is a hybrid role: part strategic advisor, part technical PM, part AI architect, part founder-in-training. You'll sit at the table with senior leadership, run complex AI projects across generative AI, automation, agent orchestration, and custom software, build real products, and potentially spin one off. AE supports startup spinouts, so you'll have the opportunity to become CEO or CTO of a venture, either one we already have in the works or one you help create.

ABOUT YOU

• You're fluent in modern AI tooling and stacks. LLMs, LangChain, RAG, vector search, OpenAI APIs, fine-tuning, agent orchestration. Adequately fluent to advise non-technical leaders on what's real vs. hype.

• You hold your own with senior client stakeholders, including C-level executives. You engage them as a peer, ask the right questions, push back when something doesn't make sense, and earn their trust quickly.

• You can run a workshop. You facilitate working sessions with client leadership teams that are new to AI, translate their goals into a concrete roadmap, and help them make smart build/buy/sequence decisions.

• You build, not just spec. You prototype, test, and ship real things rather than handing off slides.

• You lead high-stakes projects end-to-end. You break down ambiguity, define milestones, and focus the team on what matters.

• You're fluent across audiences. You translate between engineers, clients, researchers, and senior executives.

• You operate like a founder. You navigate ambiguity, wear multiple hats, and make hard calls with urgency and care.

• You're interested in eventually leading a Skunkworks spinout, internal venture, or product line.
  
  

SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE LOOKS LIKE

• Senior client stakeholders rely on you as a trusted advisor, not just a delivery PM

• High client satisfaction and consistent delivery on ambitious timelines

• Impactful prototypes that create real business value

• AI capabilities implemented in useful, reliable ways

• Spinout ventures launched or accelerated based on your leadership
  
  

WHAT THIS ROLE IS NOT

• Not a project babysitter. You ship. You lead. You own.

• Not a slide deck creator. You prototype, you test, you build real things.

• Not a solo act. You bring others along, unblocking and collaborating effectively.

• Not a corporate PM, and not a pure delivery PM either. You'll get your hands dirty in tools, code, and strategy, and you'll also help shape the engagement itself with senior client leadership.
  
  

REQUIREMENTS

• Proven experience in product leadership, AI product development, or startup building

• Strong understanding of generative AI stacks, LLMs, vector DBs, and APIs

• Track record of advising or working directly with senior leadership on complex, ambiguous problems

• Strong judgment around product, technical, and commercial trade-offs

• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and ship without waiting for permission

• Excellent communication across technical and strategic contexts

• Alignment with AE's mission and long-term thinking

• Full-time availability
  
  

BONUS POINTS FOR

• Background in consulting, advisory, or other client-facing strategy work, or equivalent experience operating across varied industries and executive contexts

• Prior founder/operator experience or deep desire to build a venture

• Experience building prototypes or MVPs in AI/no-code/low-code

• Exposure to AGI-aligned thinking or AI safety concepts

• Fluent in user research, iterative development, and lean experimentation

• Network or domain expertise in areas where AI can unlock 10x value

• Based in LA and able to work in person at our office
  
  

Salary range is from $120K to $220K per year for people based in California.

Not in the range? That's fine, you can still apply, and our team may fit you in a more senior position that we're not actively hiring right now, but we are growing fast and may have other openings soon.

EQUITY

Working at AE means receiving equity in our client projects and in Skunkworks ventures. The equity is priced at $0 when granted for tax reasons, but AE invests millions into these projects. Equity comes from reduced margins on client work and internal funding. You get a real stake in the things you help build.

The longer you stay, the more value you create and the more equity you receive. If you leave on good terms, you can retain 20% of your equity by staying engaged. If you spin out a Skunkworks venture, you retain 100%.