The posting
ABOUT US
We're building toward a world where every company can become its own AI lab.
Goaly is an early-stage AI startup founded by ex-Meta Superintelligence Labs engineers and researchers who built the Llama Research Platform and led post-training efficiency on Meta's Superintelligence team. Goaly is the autonomous performance layer for AI training: it watches every job across a GPU fleet, catches the runs that are wasting compute, and shows teams what each model improvement actually costs.
Backed by leading AI investors, we're looking for the person who makes our Palo Alto office run: the one who notices what's missing before anyone else does and fixes it the same day.
ABOUT THE ROLE
You will be our first Office Manager and you will own the office end to end. Our team works in person, and the office has to work every day: stocked, fed, clean, secure, and ready for whoever walks in, whether that's a new hire, a candidate in for an onsite, or a visiting customer.
The job is three things: keep the office running (supplies, food, facilities, vendors, budget, mail); make first days and visits great (onboarding, candidate and guest hospitality, on-site events); and be the operational backbone for a small team (light scheduling, travel, and expense support for the founders and business team).
You report to the Head of Business & Operations and work daily with the founders, engineering, and the go-to-market team. There is no office playbook yet; you write it.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Run the office
- Own office supplies: track inventory and reorder before anything runs out.
- Run the meals program: extra order of lunch and dinner, snacks and drinks, dietary needs, and the budget. Food is a core perk here and it never slips.
- Keep the kitchen and common areas clean, stocked, and working.
- Be the point of contact for building and property management: badges and keys, HVAC, cleaning, repairs, parking, and weekend access.
- Handle mail, packages, and shipping and receiving, including hardware and employee equipment.
- Keep the layout working as we grow: desks, seating, furniture. When the time comes, lead the next office search, build-out, and move.
Keep it safe and secure
- Own access control: badges issued and revoked on first and last days, visitor sign-in, and a monthly review of who has access.
- Keep first-aid kits, evacuation materials, and emergency contacts current, and schedule drills with the building.
- Be first point of contact for minor incidents and facility problems; escalate the rest.
Welcome new hires, candidates, and guests
- Host candidate onsites: greet, keep the day on schedule, rooms and interviewers ready, meals and travel reimbursement handled.
- Be the front door for visitors and customers, with conference rooms set up and working.
- Run on-site logistics for events we host (meetups, workshops, hackathons) and plan team lunches, offsites, and celebrations.
Support the founders and business team
- Calendars, scheduling, and travel; receipts, expenses, and vendor invoices with our finance partner.
- Swag program and ad hoc projects: printing, notarizations, errands, bank and government paperwork.
Write the playbook
- Stand up one place for office requests with a response standard the team can count on.
- Document how the office runs (vendors, ordering, onboarding, visitors, emergencies) so someone else could keep the lights on if you were out for a week.
- Keep a simple view of spend, vendors, inventory, and recurring requests. Fix what repeats.
YOU MAY BE A GOOD FIT IF YOU HAVE
Minimum
- 2+ years running a physical space and the people in it: office manager, workplace or facilities coordinator, executive assistant, or a front-of-house or hospitality role with real operational scope. Startup experience is a plus, not a requirement.
- Strong organization and follow-through: you keep lists, close loops, and nothing you own runs out.
- Warm and professional with everyone, from founders and customers to candidates and delivery drivers.
- Comfort with Google Workspace, Slack, spreadsheets, and vendor portals, and fluent with AI tools (Claude or similar) for drafting, research, and tracking.
- Discretion with confidential information, and a self-starter who fixes what is missing without being asked.
- Able to work five days a week in our Palo Alto office and to be the first one in most mornings.
Preferred
- Big bonus: prior office management or operations experience at an AI company or AI lab.
- Only person doing this job at an early-stage startup (under 50 people).
- New-hire onboarding, IT equipment setup, recruiting coordination, or executive support.
- Event logistics, or an office move, build-out, or space planning.
- Access control and visitor management systems; SOC 2 or similar compliance records.
- First Aid and CPR, or a notary commission, or willingness to get either.
REASONS NOT TO TAKE THIS JOB
- You want a hybrid or remote job. This one is in the office every day, because the work is in the office.
- You want a defined scope. Here it is "whatever the office and the team need," and it changes week to week.
- You would rather manage coordinators than order the lunch, sign for the package, and set up the monitor yourself.
REASONS TO TAKE THIS JOB
- You run the office of one of the most ambitious AI startups in the Bay Area and build the function from zero, with a clear path to leading workplace and people operations as we grow.
- You work directly with the founders and the whole team, and your work is something everyone feels every day.
HOW WE WORK
Mission first. High agency. Speed with rigor. Flexible scope. Low ego, high standards. Continuous learning.
COMPENSATION
Depending on background, skills, and experience, the expected annual base salary range for this position is $80,000 – $100,000 USD.
LOCATION, SCHEDULE & BENEFITS
- In office in Palo Alto, five days a week.
- Paid time off and paid holidays. Complimentary lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks.
- Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.
HOW TO APPLY
Skip the cover letter. Send a resume and a short paragraph on the best-run office you have been part of and what you did to make it that way. If you have never run an office but have done something comparable, tell us what it was.
A note on qualifications. We value exceptional ability over perfect keyword matches. If the work excites you and you can show you are organized, warm, and relentless about follow-through, we encourage you to apply.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
We are an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We provide reasonable accommodations for candidates who need them during the hiring process.
