COO / Head of Operations
About Cedar
Cedar is creating the most significant innovation in home affordability since the 30-year mortgage. By reimagining the land lease as a consumer-first model, Cedar makes homeownership more accessible and sustainable for a wider range of buyers. We are actually solving home affordability at scale – this is one of the most pressing problems in our country today and we are fixing it. Our structure meaningfully reduces both the upfront cost of purchasing a home and monthly costs. We expand the path to ownership for people who have been locked out of traditional markets and help existing homeowners access their equity at cost well below existing solutions. Cedar is already making a substantial impact for homeowners and we have material backing from top investors. Join our fast-growing and high-preforming team as we fundamentally change how people buy homes and create a new institutional asset class.
About the Role
Cedar Innovations is seeking a builder-operator Chief Operating Officer to personally design, operate, and scale the systems that convert demand into closed homes. You will own the entire consumer origination and transaction lifecycle and be accountable for conversion, cycle time, and consumer trust in one of the most consequential financial decisions people make.
This is an execution-first role. You will start with a lean team and are expected to build processes, implement systems, define metrics, and solve problems directly. You love metrics, KPIs, systems, and dashboards. From the outset, you will architect AI-native, automation-first workflows that allow Cedar to scale throughput and quality without linear headcount growth. This is a rare opportunity to build the operating system of a new model of homeownership from the ground up.
What You’ll Do
Own Execution
Own pipeline conversion end-to-end, from first consumer engagement through closing, with direct accountability for outcomes.
Run daily operations: pipeline flow, bottleneck elimination, escalation management, and quality control.
Translate strong demand into consistent, repeatable execution across markets and transaction types.
Build the Operating System
Design and continuously refine origination and transaction workflows capable of supporting thousands of transactions with speed, consistency, and compliance.
Build AI-enabled, automation-first processes that reduce manual work, increase transparency, and improve decision quality.
Partner closely with Product and Engineering to rapidly ship tools that materially improve operational leverage and consumer experience.
Define and own dashboards that provide real-time visibility into conversion, cycle time, capacity, and consumer satisfaction.
Scale the Team (Deliberately)
Hire, train, and develop a lean, high-caliber operations team as volume grows.
Set clear standards, incentives, and accountability—no process theater, no excess headcount.
Coach strong performers and address underperformance quickly and fairly.
Own the Consumer Experience
Be accountable for the consumer experience from pipeline entry through closing.
Design service experiences that reflect the gravity of purchasing a home: clear communication, predictability, and earned trust.
Build tight feedback loops so operational and consumer insights directly inform Product, Legal, and strategic decisions.
Cross-Functional Leadership
Work tightly with Capital Markets, Underwriting, Legal, Product, and Technology to align pricing, risk, compliance, and execution realities.
Surface constraints early and solve them pragmatically.
What We Need
We are looking for a high-agency operator who has built real systems in ambiguous, regulated environments and knows how to scale execution before scaling headcount. You are biased toward action, rigorous about outcomes, and comfortable owning problems end-to-end.
You think in systems, use technology aggressively, and simplify complexity into durable workflows. You communicate clearly, stay calm under pressure, and earn trust through competence. You are deeply mission-driven and motivated by expanding access to homeownership—not in theory, but in how the work gets done.
Qualifications
Proven experience building and scaling consumer-facing operational systems.
Exceptional judgment and ability to make high-quality decisions with incomplete information.
Strong analytical orientation; fluency in metrics, dashboards, and operational data.
Deep process discipline in regulated or high-stakes transaction environments.
Demonstrated ability to operate hands-on before building teams.
Clear, concise communicator across technical, legal, and consumer-facing contexts.
Why Choose Cedar?
Take real ownership early — the work is not theoretical
Grow through direct feedback, rigorous debate, and steep responsibility
Be pushed to develop judgment, not just skills
Build a track record that compounds — responsibility scales with performance
Cedar is built for people who want to operate at a very high level on work that matters. We run a true owner’s culture: high standards, direct feedback, fast iteration, and accountability to outcomes. You’ll have real responsibility early, you’ll be expected to think—not just execute—and you’ll be surrounded by teammates who push hard and care deeply about excellence.
This is not a company for people who need perfect clarity, gentle consensus, or predictable routines. The pace is fast, the problems are complex, and the bar is high. But the upside is rare: steep growth, meaningful autonomy, and the chance to do career-defining work with a team that treats the mission seriously and rewards success well.
If you want comfort, you won’t like it here. If you want to build, learn, and win—Cedar is the place.