Operations Engineer & Project Associate

Aquent is a global leader dedicated to connecting exceptional talent with the world's most innovative brands, empowering businesses by fostering creativity, design, and marketing excellence. We are committed to continuously optimizing our internal processes to better serve both our talent and our valued partners. This is an extraordinary opportunity to step into a high-visibility, high-impact role where your contributions will be immediate and profound, directly shaping the operational future of a dynamic organization. You will be a pivotal force in building, optimizing, and leading strategic initiatives that enhance our efficiency and capabilities, implementing cutting-edge AI and automation solutions to drive tangible change and enable unprecedented levels of success across critical functions like sales and talent acquisition.

About the Opportunity

As a strategic delivery partner within our internal team, you will create essential operational bandwidth by auditing workflows, engineering smart automations, and leading critical projects from conception to completion. This role offers the autonomy to build systems that directly impact our organization's growth, working alongside executive leadership to gain a comprehensive understanding of how a dynamic business scales. You will be at the forefront of innovation, driving significant improvements and fostering a culture of efficiency and continuous optimization.

What You'll Do

• Own and manage key business initiatives from start to finish, coordinating cross-functional resources, establishing clear timelines, and ensuring successful project delivery.
• Identify operational bottlenecks, then design, build, and deploy automated workflows and customized AI agents to eliminate manual tasks and significantly increase staff bandwidth.
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative deep dives into data to assess the business impact of new initiatives. Develop frameworks to test new processes, analyze feedback and results, and pragmatically recommend course corrections.
• Embed within various internal teams to drive the successful adoption of new systems. Leverage strong communication and interpersonal skills to manage the human side of behavioral and operational change effectively.
• Keep leadership organized, proactively anticipate project roadblocks, and independently drive solutions forward without requiring extensive guidance or frequent course-correction.

Must-Have Qualifications

• Strong Academic Achievement: A stellar academic track record demonstrating high cognitive ability, logical reasoning, and intellectual curiosity (open to backgrounds in Business Analysis, Engineering, Computer Science, Economics, or similar fields).
• Demonstrated Leadership: Proven experience leading initiatives from start to finish, whether through professional projects, university/extracurricular activities, or organizing out-of-work initiatives. We value the ability to drive projects and influence outcomes.
• Hands-on AI & Automation Literacy: Proven capability in working with modern AI platforms, systems, and APIs. You must be able to demonstrate how you have built your own AI agents, prompts, or automated workflows to solve real problems.
• Communication, Influencing & Change Management: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills. You must be able to clearly articulate complex ideas, build rapport across different teams, and possess the soft skills required to influence behavior and drive the adoption of new ways of working.
• Systems Thinking & Engineering Mindset: You naturally view businesses as a series of interconnected systems, excelling at breaking down complex problems into structured, repeatable processes.
• Pragmatic & Analytical: Highly analytical with a business-first lens, you extract actionable insights that drive significant business impact.
• Resourceful & Autonomous: A curious, tech-forward self-starter who proactively researches, tests, and builds solutions when faced with unfamiliar tools or vague problems.
• High Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Possessing strong leadership and influencing skills to effectively collaborate with diverse teams, build trust, and manage friction during operational shifts.
• Obsessively Organized: Methodical and detail-oriented, you bring order to chaos and naturally keep projects moving forward.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Familiarity with the staffing, recruitment, or professional services industry.
• Experience in a Business Analyst, Operations Coordinator, or technical project management role.

About Aquent Talent

Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world's biggest brands.

Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. We also offer free online training through Aquent Gymnasium. More information on our awesome benefits!

Aquent is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We're about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.