Strategic Project Lead — AI Data Operations

About OpenTrain

OpenTrain is the centralized platform where AI training and data-labeling freelancers find work, consolidate opportunities, and build a unified AI training portfolio they control. We make specialized AI training work easier to track, apply for, and grow into a durable freelance career.

This role is posted through OpenTrain because contributors to AI training play a direct role in how state-of-the-art models are built and improved — OpenTrain helps experienced operators turn that work into lasting professional experience.

Why AI training work matters

AI training (also called data labeling or human feedback work) is the human side of building AI: people annotate, evaluate, and curate examples that models learn from. Projects range from evaluation and data collection to response ranking and quality assurance — and they power every major AI system today.

• Most projects are remote and flexible, letting you choose hours and workload.
• Projects can be entry-level or specialist; experienced operators and domain experts are in high demand for large-scale programs.

The role — Strategic Project Lead

OpenTrain is hiring a Strategic Project Lead to oversee AI data operations for top AI labs. You will lead domain experts and human data managers, coordinate large-scale data pipelines, and drive quality, scalability, and operational performance across complex model training programs.

This is a remote engagement with an expected time commitment of 20+ hours/week. Compensation is USD $80–$90 per hour. Employment types listed: Contractor, Part-time; engagement listed as Full-time in the posting.

• Location: Remote, worldwide (English required).
• Engagement: Full-time (posting), Employment types: Contractor, Part-time, Time requirement: 20+ hours/week.
• Pay: $80–$90 per hour (USD).

What you'll do day-to-day

You will manage projects end-to-end and act as the primary operations lead between client teams and internal contributors. Expect hands-on coordination, KPI tracking, and direct communication with AI Labs on major deliverables.

• Lead AI data projects end-to-end and keep client teams aligned on progress and delivery.
• Manage and optimize data pipelines for efficiency, accuracy, and scalability.
• Supervise human data managers and leads who review expert work.
• Communicate directly with AI Labs and provide executive-level updates.
• Work with human data engineers to define and track KPIs and operational metrics.
• Support frontier model training with strong attention to data integrity and quality.

Requirements

Candidates must meet the core technical and interpersonal requirements below. All required skills are drawn from the role description.

• Strong background in data operations, engineering, or computer science.
• Experience leading operational processes or large-scale data projects.
• Excellent client-facing communication and soft skills.
• Startup mindset: initiative, rapid problem-solving, and comfort with ambiguity.
• Ability to work long hours and handle fast-moving priorities.
• Experience supervising managers or technical leads is preferred.

About the work you'll manage

This role centers on text-focused work and evaluation tasks that support model training pipelines. Labeling work includes evaluation rating and data collection for text datasets; the project uses other/unspecified labeling software.

You will coordinate human reviewers, domain experts, and data engineers to ensure data quality for frontier model training efforts.

• Primary data type: Text.
• Labeling activities: Evaluation rating and data collection.
• / unspecified.

Who should apply and how it works

Apply if you are an intermediate-level to senior operations leader with proven delivery experience on large data projects, strong client communication, and a desire to work across technical and human teams to improve data quality and scale.

OpenTrain connects you to the project and helps you build a profile that demonstrates your AI training experience. Create or update your OpenTrain profile, submit your application, and you may be asked to interview or complete a short operational assignment as part of onboarding.

• Languages required: English.
• Experience level: Intermediate (role requires leadership and operational experience).
• Company hiring: OpenTrain (role posted through OpenTrain).