Operational Strategist
I find where businesses are losing value before anyone else sees it.
Every organization has pain points that are quietly costing money, time, or talent. It could be the opportunity cost of how you're allocating people. It could be a compensation structure that makes your company a harder sell to top candidates. It could be that leadership doesn't have the visibility they need to see what's coming next. My work is to sense where that pain is, trace it to its structural cause, and build the people, process, and technology infrastructure that resolves it for good.
I'm currently the Operations Director at a software company that doubled in size without adding operational headcount, because I built the infrastructure ahead of the demand. I hold an MBA in Business Analytics and I'm the founder of two companies.
Track Record
Results that hold up when you look closely.
- Company growth without adding operational headcount
- 2x
- Annual budget under full operational ownership
- $4M+
- Engagements scaled from a base of 12
- 50+
- Net profitability sustained
- 18-30%
Company growth without adding operational headcount
Annual budget under full operational ownership
Engagements scaled from a base of 12
Net profitability sustained
Strategic Impact
Knowing what to build and why it matters is the real skill.
How we scaled the company 2x without adding headcount
Instead of hiring to keep pace with growth, I proposed building automated operational infrastructure ahead of demand. What started as a single experiment became the operating model for the entire company.
Promoted to Operations Director
Organizational ChangeTransforming expense management by leading with empathy
Every employee had a company credit card but no real system behind it, so I brought in a proper platform and walked each person through why it actually made their work simpler. The company reached full adoption with zero resistance.
Full adoption, zero resistance
Talent StrategyRebuilding compensation to make the company a place people want to be
The benefits package had become a recruiting liability, so I built a first class total rewards program from the ground up. Compensation went from something candidates noticed as a weakness to something the company could lead with.
Safe Harbor 401(k) fully operational
How I Think
Operations isn't about processes or people treated separately. It's about how you bring them together to create a productive, proficient engine that drives the business to accomplish its mission and vision.
Follow the pain
Pain in an organization is an indication that something needs refinement. It could be the opportunity cost of how you're allocating staff to a particular project. It could be a structural issue with your compensation that makes you a less desirable place to work. It could be not knowing what you're going to do when the current pipeline runs out. When you sense it, you follow it and see what needs to get better.
Understand the root cause
Too many companies say "I have a people problem" or "I don't know what to implement to solve this oddity about my business." The better approach is to find the pain point, assess why it's there in the first place, and build up that part of the organization until it becomes something genuinely strong. You don't solve structural problems with surface-level fixes.
Build ahead of demand
The conventional response to growth is to hire more people as things start to strain. But if you invest in building operational infrastructure before the company needs it, you can grow without growing your costs at the same rate. That's how a company doubles in size while the operations team stays lean and effective.
Lead with empathy
A system that nobody uses is a system that doesn't exist. When I introduce a change, I don't hand people a mandate and expect them to fall in line. I sit with them, show them how the new approach actually makes their work simpler, and give them real choices within the new system. That's the difference between compliance and genuine adoption, and genuine adoption is the only kind that lasts.
Execution Edge
I go from strategy to execution without needing a handoff.
Most operational leaders identify what needs to happen and then find someone to build it. I can identify what needs to happen and build it myself. Every system running at RoleModel today, from KPI dashboards to payroll automation to AI-enabled contract generation, is something I designed and coded personally. That ability to collapse the distance between seeing the problem and solving it is how a company doubles in size without doubling its costs.
Languages and Development
- Python
- JavaScript
- Google Apps Script
- HTML
- SQL
AI and LLM Platforms
- Claude
- Claude Code
- OpenAI Codex
- GitHub Copilot
Automation and Integration
- Zapier
- n8n
- API integrations
- Webhooks
Infrastructure and Data
- AWS
- Google Cloud
- Cloudflare
- PostgreSQL
- MySQL
- Supabase
- Heroku
Business Systems
- Linear
- GitHub
- HubSpot
- Trello
- Harvest
- QuickBooks
- ADP
- Ramp
Collaboration
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft Office
- Slack
- Zoom
About
The person behind the strategy.
I'm Jonathan, an operational strategist, builder, and founder based in Apex, North Carolina. The career path isn't conventional, and I think that's actually one of its strengths. I've been solving structural problems in organizations since I was 22, just in very different contexts and industries.
More about my story
Let's build something that lasts.
I'm exploring senior leadership roles including VP and Head of Operations, Chief of Staff, COO, and senior finance positions where strategic operational thinking and hands-on execution can drive real business outcomes. If your organization needs the kind of operational infrastructure that scales with growth, I would genuinely welcome the conversation.
Get in Touch