About X, the moonshot factory:
X is Alphabet’s moonshot factory with a mission of inventing and launching “moonshot” technologies that could someday make the world a radically better place. We are a diverse group of inventors and entrepreneurs who build and launch technologies that aim to improve the lives of millions, even billions, of people. Our goal: 10x impact on the world’s most intractable problems, not just 10% improvement. We approach projects that have the aspiration and riskiness of research with the speed and ambition of a startup. As an innovation engine, X focuses on repeatedly turning breakthrough-technology ideas into the foundations for large, sustainable businesses.
About the Team:
We are the commercially minded operational glue that helps early-stage moonshots navigate complex market landscapes, build foundational partnerships, and launch into the real world. We work across the entire innovation pipeline, from the earliest stage ideas to projects getting ready to graduate. Our partners range from niche technology vendors to large multinational businesses, as well as critical internal Google teams. We are a team of multi-disciplined individuals who wear multiple hats. We get to play with a lot of cool things, tackle a uniquely diverse set of challenges, and build the scaffolding that allows breakthrough technologies to scale.
About the Role:
As an Partner Operations Manager, you will be a critical partner to our moonshot teams. You are a "Swiss Army Knife", highly relational like a Business Development professional, highly organized like a Program Manager, and driven by a continuous improvement mindset. You might spend your morning structuring a complex vendor agreement, your afternoon managing graduation milestones for a climate tech project, and your Friday experimenting with new technologies to automate our internal workflows. You will work closely and embed deeply with specific moonshot projects (such as Bellwether, Materra, A-Life, and others), acting as their account manager, operational backbone, and strategic guide. You will bring order to chaos, ensure external relationships deliver value, and help us scale our impact.
How you will have 10X impact:
- Partnership and Account Management: Manage accounts and external relationships on behalf of early-stage moonshot teams. Ensure milestones and deliverables are consistently met, and act as the primary point of contact for shared external partners.
- Commercial and Vendor Operations: Structure, and negotiate vendor agreements and simple commercial deals. Tackle contracting challenges and streamline the onboarding process for critical vendors and partners.
- Graduation Support: Provide hands-on launch operations support and implement launch design improvements for specific project teams as they move from prototype to real-world deployment.
- Process Improvement and Automation: Identify operational bottlenecks (e.g., managing our extended workforce and complex contracting sequencing) and build scalable solutions. Continuously experiment with new technologies and tools to improve efficiency and documentation.
What should you have:
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
- 5-8 years of experience in partnerships, operations, consulting, or a related field.
- Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects from inception to completion.
- Demonstrated ability to build, manage, and scale relationships with external partners or vendors.
It'd be great if you had these:
- MBA, management consulting experience, or equivalent strategic operational experience.
- A unique blend of experience: capable of thriving in early-stage, fast-paced environments (startups) while possessing the savvy to navigate and leverage massive, complex matrixed organizations (like Google).
- Experience with contract negotiation, commercial agreements, or legal operations.
- A strong continuous improvement mindset with a demonstrated willingness to experiment with new technologies to automate workflows and scale business processes.
- Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, with ability to speak with stakeholders at every level of stakeholders from internal and external partners.
- Audacious, highly curious, comfortable with extreme ambiguity, and a structured thinker who can bring order to complex, open-ended challenges.
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $136,000 - $199,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.
Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience
- 5-8 years of experience in partnerships, operations, consulting, or a related field
- Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects from inception to completion
- Demonstrated ability to build, manage, and scale relationships with external partners or vendors
X, The Moonshot Factory Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about X, The Moonshot Factory and has not been reviewed or approved by X, The Moonshot Factory.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive for core technical and senior roles, with employer-posted ranges and clear statements that total compensation includes base, bonus, equity, and benefits. Feedback suggests posted bands and explicit structure provide clarity on how pay is constructed.
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Parental & Family Support — Family support is described as generous, including paid parental leave, baby bonding, and transitional support for parents returning to work. Fertility treatments and maternity care are also covered, indicating depth in family-focused provisions.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs include a 401(k) with a notable company match and immediate vesting of matched funds. Additional financial supports such as student loan reimbursement and coaching strengthen long-term financial security.
X, The Moonshot Factory Insights
What We Do
We create breakthrough technologies to help solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Born at Google, we got our start creating self-driving cars and smart glasses. Since then, we’ve continued to bring sci-fi ideas into reality.
