Tech Lead, M&A Platform

American Operator is hiring for a Tech Lead to own our AI-powered M&A platform. This role, done well, will allow us to keep building unfair leverage for our team in identifying, prospecting, diligencing and closing acquisitions. The ideal person has experience designing and building data-intensive applications, prides themselves on needing minimal product oversight, and takes an aggressive approach to rapidly iterating toward success with business users (vs. delivering overly complex or academic solutions). The ideal candidate is obsessed with solving problems and delivering results, not with building the most complicated in-house solution. The majority of your time will be building on the systems that power our acquisition engine - from web-crawling and entity resolution to AI-powered workflows and tools for our business development and investments teams. This position will report to the CEO. RESPONSIBILITIES Partner deeply with cross-functional teams to understand constraints, challenges and opportunities associated with our M&A process. Leverage software, data and artificial intelligence to maximize the quality and number of businesses we can acquire per FTE. Own our M&A platform end-to-end, responsible for roadmap, implementation and ongoing support / enablement. Improve and own the system architecture, including data ingestion, entity resolution, enrichment, scoring models, and storage. Identify, prototype and deploy internal tools and workflows that allow our team to spend more time meeting with prospective sellers and less time analyzing data or drafting memos. Build integrations and automations via APIs, webhooks, and tools like Zapier/Make to keep data clean and business systems in sync. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience in Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, or a related technical field 8+ years of software and/or data engineering experience, with demonstrated depth in GTM-oriented work. Strong product intuition and the ability to translate business workflows into well-architected technical solutions. Bias towards rapid iteration and using third-party tools where possible. You care more about delivering results than writing code. Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Familiar with web crawling, enrichment, and entity resolution best practices. Previously founded or joined an early stage company Past experience at a Fin-Tech or financial company - you’re familiar with key terminology and concepts associated with lending, investing or banking Past work focused on small business segment COMPENSATION The anticipated base salary range for this position is listed below. Total compensation may also include a discretionary performance-based bonus and equity. Please note that compensation is determined based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, education, skills, and other qualifications specific to the role. $150K - $200K ABOUT THE TEAM American Operator exists because we believe the American Dream is worth protecting, and that small businesses are the backbone of our communities. To do this well, we need a team that reflects the real world: operators, builders, investors, and problem-solvers from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. MISSION-DRIVEN Every company claims to be mission-driven, but our mission is simple, tangible, and urgent: preserve the legacy of America’s small businesses and create more pathways to meaningful ownership. We partner with operators who want to step into leadership, take responsibility for great companies, and continue the work that founders spent decades building. When we succeed, communities keep their employers, families keep their livelihoods, and operators get the chance to build wealth through real ownership. We work hard because we know what’s at stake: generational businesses that deserve to thrive, and talented operators who deserve the chance to lead them. And while we measure our success in deals closed and businesses grown, the real reward is seeing these companies continue to serve their people and their towns, stronger than before. Where else do you get the opportunity to help someone become a CEO, preserve a founder’s life’s work, and strengthen a community, all in the same job? That’s what makes our work both serious and incredibly fulfilling.