Operations Associate

About us

We're the creators of soil transformation, an environmentally-friendly alternative to burial and cremation. Over a 30-45 day process, we gently transform a body into nutrient-rich soil. Families receive a portion of this soil - to scatter or plant - and the remaining soil is sent to conservation land that we acquire, to restore and protect it for future generations. Our experience is environmentally friendly, digital-first and underpinned by best-in-class family care. Visit earthfuneral.com to learn more.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for an Operations Generalist to support our expansion into the Atlanta area and beyond. You will be part of an entrepreneurial launch team that is tasked with figuring things out quickly in a complex and ever-changing environment.

Getting there means navigating license applications through state boards, sitting in on hardware and product decisions, reading statutes nobody at the company has read yet, standing in a construction site at 8am, and changing a lightbulb if the lightbulb needs changing. If that last sentence made you wince, this is not your job. If it makes you a little excited, keep reading.

You will report to our Head of Expansion & Compliance.

What you’ll do

Roughly, and subject to change with business needs:

~40%: Generalist & Internal consultant

For your first year or two, you are a floating resource pointed at whatever the business most needs solved. You will work with product, hardware, policy, legal, family care, and facilities teams. In practice that means:

• Taking on projects that are nobody's job yet, and owning them until they are somebody's job.
• Working directly with leaders across the company on problems that do not have an obvious owner.
• Doing the research nobody has done, like what a new state requires and what a vendor actually offers.
• Writing things down so the next person does not have to rediscover them.

~30%: Licensing and compliance

• Handle every requirement for our licensing applications and get them assembled, submitted, and across the finish line. You will be the person chasing the last notarized signature at 6pm.
• Own the license calendar across every state we operate in: renewals, filings, fees, bonds, reporting. Nothing lapses on your watch.
• Manage funeral director licensure end to end, including applications, reciprocity, continuing education tracking, renewals, so every director is current in every state where they practice.
• Be the day-to-day contact with state boards: following up on pending applications, answering requests, coordinating inspections.

~30%: Facility launch

• Own the regulatory workstream for a new facility, e.g. licensure and inspection readiness.
• Be physically present at the site during construction, roughly once a week once we break ground. This includes coordinating vendors, checking progress, and being the person who can actually look at the thing.
• Help build the facility's operating documentation: SOPs, intake and transfer workflows, chain-of-custody records, training materials.
• See a facility go from a lease to a licensed, operating building that serves families. Very few people in this industry have done that even once.

Who we’re looking for

We care much more about how you think than what you have already done:

• Ready to learn most of this from scratch. There is no prior job that fully prepares someone for this one. We care far more about how fast you pick things up than about what is already on your resume. Funeral industry experience is not expected.
• Comfortable with ambiguity.
• A jack or jill of all trades who is fine being a master of none for now.
• Detail-obsessed.
• A strong writer.
• Willing to travel and be on-site as needed.
• Have reliable transportation and a valid driver’s license.

Bonus if you have:

• Experience opening a new facility, site, or location.
• Any experience with regulated industries or construction.

Location and travel

This role is hybrid, and we strongly prefer candidates based in metro Atlanta. Expect an average of five days a month of travel outside Atlanta.

Compensation and benefits

Base salary: $70,000 – $80,000, depending on experience and licensure, plus equity, medical / dental / vision coverage, 401(k), and paid time off.

Our interview process

We move quickly and we will keep you informed at every step. Expect roughly four to six weeks start to finish. The process includes a recruiter screening, a hiring manager interview, a team interview, a leadership interview, a work exercise, and a final round at our newest facility in Elkridge, Maryland, in person. We’re looking for you to join our team before the end of the year.