Business Operations Associate

About Manifest

Manifest is on a mission to secure the global software and AI supply chain. Our platform automates the discovery and analysis of risks across internally built and third-party software and AI systems, giving security, product, and engineering teams complete visibility into the components and dependencies that make up their technology stack. From product security and AI risk to supplier risk and compliance, we help teams trust the software and AI they build and buy.

Founded by alumni from the Department of Defense, CISA, and Palantir, Manifest is backed by leading investors including Ensemble VC, First Round Capital, Homebrew, BoxGroup, XYZ Venture Capital, AE Ventures, Leap435, and Overmatch VC. The company partners with the US Air Force, DHS, Global 2000 companies, and critical infrastructure organizations across defense, automotive, and financial services to bring transparency, resilience, and trust to modern digital systems.

About the Role

We're looking for a resourceful, highly organized Business Operations Associate who can turn ideas into action. You'll own projects across people operations, recruiting, vendors, systems, and company operations that keep the business moving forward. You’ll serve as connective tissue across the organization, partnering with teams to drive high-impact initiatives.

The right person is a generalist with a high bar for execution: someone who learns quickly, brings structure to ambiguous problems, follows through on the details, and is comfortable taking on things they haven’t done before.

This is a unique opportunity to gain broad, cross-functional exposure at a category-defining startup, where your work directly shapes the company’s ability to scale. You’ll see firsthand how a startup operates, from People and Finance to go-to-market, product, company planning, and leadership decisions. The role is built to grow with you: as you build context and earn trust, you’ll take on bigger, higher-impact work, including broader business and finance operations.

It’s a strong fit for someone who wants to learn how to run a company from the inside and grow into a startup leader. You'll report to the Head of Operations, who sets the goals and the end result. You turn those into a plan, coordinate the right people, and see it through, flagging issues early and bringing decisions forward with a well-evidenced recommendation attached. Over time, you'll become the go-to expert on how the company runs and build relationships across every team, so you can move quickly and cross-functionally.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Business operations and planning
• Gather and analyze operational data to surface insights that support leadership decisions
• Drive special projects, managing timelines, stakeholders, and deliverables across Finance, Legal, IT, and other partners
• Own onboarding and offboarding, and be the first stop for employee questions on benefits, policies, and tools
• Run compliance processes, including employee data collection, required trainings, insurance, and audit documentation, and track recurring deadlines like state filings and renewals so nothing slips
• Own vendors and tools: hold partners accountable, manage invoices, renewals, and contracts, and implement integrations that replace manual work
• Lead offsites and events coordination end to end, and handle hands-on logistics like shipping equipment, swag, and gifts
• Keep documentation, trackers, and checklists clear, current, and scalable
• Provide executive support to the leadership team, including scheduling, travel, and meeting logistics
• Support the company’s operating rhythm, including planning cycles, budget tracking, headcount, and reporting, and help prepare materials for leadership reviews, board meetings, and fundraising
• Process and systems
• Build internal processes where none exist, then automate them with AI and the right tools
• Build dashboards and integrate and consolidate tools so the team works from clean, connected sources of truth
• Build alignment across teams and turn decisions into working processes and make sure the team follows them
• Bring clear, well-supported recommendations forward and present them persuasively to leadership
• Spot growing pains before they become problems, and fix them proactively behind the scenes
• Take ownership of new priorities and close gaps across the business as they emerge
• Finance operations
• Own accounts payable, receivable, and reconciliations so the books stay accurate and timely
• Maintain trusted sources of truth for operational and financial data

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in a complex, fast-moving environment with little day-to-day direction. Operations, implementation, chief of staff, consulting, or corporate roles all count, and we'd love to hear from people moving from corporate into tech.
• Strong execution skills. You're organized, dependable, and detail-oriented, and you can take a goal, build the plan, and see it through without step-by-step management.
• A proactive approach. You spot what needs to happen and take initiative.
• Sound judgment about priorities, tradeoffs, and when to ask for help, including with confidential employee and company information.
• High-quality deliverables and clear written and verbal communication with leaders, vendors, and candidates.
• An AI-native, critical approach, with proven experience using AI and automation to build dashboards, consolidate tools, and design systems that improve how a company operates. You pressure-test AI output and apply your own judgment, so you can defend every recommendation yourself.
• Comfort with systems and data, plus the curiosity to learn new tools and unfamiliar topics quickly.
• Comfort working through ambiguity and shifting priorities.
• A collaborative, low-ego attitude and a willingness to do hands-on work.
• Nice to have
• Hands-on experience with tools like Rippling, QuickBooks, HubSpot, and AI platforms such as Claude
• Exposure to accounts payable and receivable or other finance operations
• Experience with offsite or event planning
• A project management or process improvement certification, such as PMP or Lean Six Sigma