Manager, Business Operations

The Role Pilot is building a first-of-its-kind, hybrid software/service solution to tackle the financial back office (bookkeeping, tax, CFO, etc.) so founders and business owners can focus on building and running their businesses. We work with thousands of customers in the tech startup and SMB sectors, and we're growing quickly. Customer Operations is made up of 150+ employees who partner with our customers to manage their financial back office and support their business goals. This is an individual contributor role reporting into the Head of Business Operations, working closely with Customer Operations service delivery teams, cross-functional partners, and peer Business Operations Managers. This role sits at the center of how we plan, allocate, and forecast work across the organization, and increasingly, how we automate that work. Pilot is moving fast toward agentic, AI-assisted operations, and this person will build and own the systems, models, and reporting that make that shift possible: work orchestration, KPI reporting, resource forecasting, and billing. This isn't a role for someone who wants to build one dashboard and maintain it. It's for someone who wants to keep building better systems as the work itself changes. The role requires real fluency with data and automation tools (Excel/Sheets at an expert level, plus a builder's instinct for where AI and scripts can replace manual work), sharp attention to detail, and good judgment about what results imply for our strategy and performance. This person works directly with senior leadership. This is a hybrid in-office role based in either our San Francisco or Nashville office. Key Responsibilities Work Orchestration: Own the systems and processes that plan and allocate work across the organization. Build and maintain the models that route work efficiently as volume, team capacity, and service lines change. KPI Reporting: Build and maintain reporting that gives leadership a clear, accurate, real-time view of business performance. Know the data well enough to catch anomalies before they become someone else's problem. Resource Forecasting: Build and maintain forecasting models that project staffing and capacity needs against demand. Translate forecasts into recommendations leadership can act on. Billing Operations: Own billing sheet accuracy and process, including the reconciliation and QA that keeps them error-free at scale. Automation & AI Adoption: Identify where manual, spreadsheet-based, or repetitive work can be automated or AI-assisted. Build these solutions directly rather than just recommending them, using tools like Excel/Sheets scripting, SQL, and emerging AI tooling. Process Optimization: Identify and implement improvements to the processes, workflows, and systems this role owns, so accuracy and efficiency improve as the business changes. When an improvement requires cross-functional buildout, lead it end to end, including the change management to get it adopted. About You Experience: 3-5 years in business operations, analytics, or finance, ideally in a start-up or technology-forward environment, with a track record of actually building and running a system. Experience owning forecasting, billing, or resource-planning is a strong plus. Technical Proficiency: Expert-level Excel/Sheets (formulas, modeling, automation/scripting), plus working proficiency in SQL and analytics tools (e.g., Looker). Comfort using AI tools like Claude Cowork. Detail Orientation: A track record of getting the numbers right the first time. Systems Thinking: Able to see how planning, allocation, forecasting, and billing connect, and to design solutions that account for the whole picture rather than one piece of it. Project Leadership: Demonstrated experience leading the build or overhaul of an operational system, including the change management needed to get a team to adopt it. Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to work directly with senior leader