Nuance Labs is building photorealistic, real-time AI avatars with emotional intelligence: a full-duplex audiovisual system that can listen, speak, react, interrupt, and respond like a real person.
We're a research company, with PhDs from MIT, UW, Oxford, CMU, and Johns Hopkins, and industry experience from Apple, Meta, Amazon AGI, and more. Backed by Accel, Lightspeed, South Park Commons, and NVIDIA, we combine frontier research with ruthless engineering needed for consumer-grade, real-time systems. The team is small, the work is real, and the problems are unsolved.
How Nuance DifferentiatesMost conversational AI avatars today are hacks — a face slapped on a speech-to-speech pipeline, stuck in the uncanny valley: emotionless, mechanical, one-turn-at-a-time. Current systems take 2–5 seconds to respond; natural conversation requires sub-500ms. That's a 10x improvement, and it demands rethinking the entire stack.
That rethinking starts with full-duplex: an AI that listens and speaks simultaneously, perceives emotion in real time, and responds with a face that actually reflects it. It's an extremely hard problem, and we're developing foundation models designed for it from the ground up.
We’re looking for a Business Operations Associate to help Nuance Labs run smoothly day-to-day and build the foundation for the next stage of growth. You’ll own our day-to-day finance operations, from expense tracking and vendor payments to month-end close. Beyond finance, you’ll take on cross-functional and special projects across the company. This is a hands-on role with an emphasis on reliable finance execution and practical problem-solving wherever the business needs it most.
What You’ll Own- Day-to-day finance, including expense tracking, month-end close with our external accountant, and finding ways to make our spend smarter.
- Cross-functional projects from start to finish.
- Internal communication systems that keep the team aligned as we scale.
- New processes and systems built from scratch as the company grows.
- Bring 1–4 years of experience in finance, consulting, or startup operations, with a proven ability to tackle unstructured problems and deliver results.
- Care deeply about building teams and shaping a positive and high-performing culture.
- Are resourceful in navigating finance, HR, and other processes — able to build order where none exists.
- Can partner closely with the team to turn vague needs (and sometimes half-baked ideas) into structured processes, anticipating problems and solutions before they’re spelled out.
- Enjoy wearing multiple hats and thrive in a small, ambitious, high-trust team.
$90,000-$135,000 base salary, plus meaningful equity. We think long-term ownership matters and structure equity accordingly.
Logistics- Location: In-person in Seattle, five days a week — we believe in the compounding value of working shoulder-to-shoulder.
- Visa sponsorship: We sponsor visas (O-1, H-1B, green card, etc.) from day one.
- AI-native tooling: Do your best work with the best tools, including unlimited tokens.
- Health: We offer a variety of plans that meet your needs, including an HDHP with ~$2,000 in annual HSA contributions by the company (roughly 2x what most big tech companies put in).
- Wellness: $2,000/yr to spend on gym memberships, fitness equipment, training/coaching, classes, and more.
- Work setup: One-time $500 to spend on any tech or accessories that you might need to optimize your workflow.
- Time off: 15 days of PTO, 10 public holidays, and we close the office for a full week at year-end.
- Culture: Quarterly events, annual retreat, holiday party, etc.
- Food: Lunch, drinks, and snacks on us every workday. We observe boba tea Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Commuter benefits: Utilize pre-tax money (up to $340/month) for parking and transportation.
- 401(k): 4% match (100% of 1st 3% + 50% of next 2% contributions).
Nuance Labs is an equal opportunity employer. We believe diverse teams build better AI.
Skills Required
- 1-4 years of experience in finance, consulting, or startup operations
- Proven ability to tackle unstructured problems and deliver results
- Ability to help build teams and shape a positive, high-performing culture
- Resourcefulness navigating finance, HR, and other business processes
- Ability to turn vague needs into structured processes and anticipate problems and solutions
- Ability to work across multiple functions and thrive in a small, ambitious, high-trust team
What We Do
Nuance Labs is a Seattle-based AI research company building a 'human foundation model': a real-time, full-duplex audiovisual system that can see, hear, reason, speak, and express emotion simultaneously, enabling photorealistic AI avatars that listen, react, interrupt, and respond like a real person. Founded by former Apple PhD researchers and backed by Accel, Lightspeed, South Park Commons, and NVIDIA, it targets applications in sales, customer service, coaching, and education.
