About Valerian

Valerian is a web studio and long-term tech partner for small to mid-sized businesses. We build websites, systems, and automations that help our clients grow. Our brand is built on a belief that we should all be good humans, and that includes the context of business! We prioritize the well-being of our team and our clients.

What we're looking for

We're looking for a Project Manager for ongoing project-based, hourly, or retainer work. There's no full-time commitment, just consistent, meaningful work with a team that's growing and takes operations seriously.

The ideal person for this role thrives on making complex, moving pieces feel manageable. They're the kind of person who looks at a discovery brief, a timeline, and a team of designers, developers, and copywriters and knows exactly how to sequence the work. They’re able to determine who needs what and when, and what's going to cause a problem three weeks from now if nobody catches it today. They don't wait to be told something is off-track; they already know… and they've already started adjusting.

This person is comfortable being the hub of a project. They receive the handoff from discovery, build out the project structure, own all client communication from that point forward, and keep the production team moving without dragging everyone into unnecessary check-ins. They're confident making triage decisions, knowing when to escalate and when to just handle it, and they communicate clearly with both clients and internal team members without needing things translated for them.

They're also genuinely good at working with the tools, not just tolerating them. They know Asana well enough to build a project that actually reflects reality: dependencies, timelines, and assignments. They can use AI to accelerate the setup without losing judgment over the output. If Claude builds a timeline draft, they know how to pressure-test it before it becomes the plan.

Finally, the right person for this role understands web projects. They don't need to have design or development skills, but they need to know what a discovery brief means, why a feedback delay on page designs ripples into development timelines, and what questions to ask when a client says they "just want a few small changes." Web agency experience isn't just a nice-to-have; it's the foundation everything else builds on.

What you'll work on

• Project setup: Receiving the discovery handoff from the discovery process and translating it into a structured Asana project: timelines, milestones, dependencies, and assignments. You'll use Claude to help build the initial project structure, then apply your own judgment to make sure it reflects the actual complexity of the work.
• Project ownership: Once a project is live in Asana, it's yours. You're tracking progress, monitoring dependencies, catching delays before they compound, and keeping the team informed of what's needed and when. You're not waiting for someone to tell you something slipped; you are so attentive to the project that you already know.
• Client communication: You own all project-level communication with clients after discovery. That means status updates, feedback requests, timeline conversations, and the occasionally uncomfortable message when a client delay is going to push the schedule. You communicate clearly and professionally, without needing our Founder in the room, and you know how to strike a balance between firm and courteous.
• Team coordination: You work closely with our Lead Designer and production team to keep handoffs clean and sequencing logical. You know who needs what, when they need it, and what's blocking them, and you remove blockers or escalate them before they become someone else's fire drill.
• Triage + routing: When requests come in mid-project that need a decision like who handles this, does it fit scope, does it need a conversation, you make the call or bring it to the right person quickly. You develop a working understanding of our team's lanes and can route work accurately without having to ask every time.
• Inbound triage backup: When our Success Manager is out or unavailable, you step in to triage incoming client emails and messages, turning them into properly routed tasks, handling straightforward follow-ups, and flagging anything that needs an approval or escalation. You keep things moving rather than letting them pile up.
• Budget + scope oversight: You keep an eye on task and project budgets throughout delivery: catching scope creep before it becomes a billing conversation, flagging when a project is tracking over estimate, and ensuring any agreed-upon support estimates are being maintained. You're not an accountant, but you're financially aware enough to raise a flag when the hours don't match the plan.
• Timeline management: When clients go quiet, feedback arrives late, or scope shifts, you're the one recalibrating the timeline and communicating the impact clearly to all parties. You maintain a realistic, living project plan, not a static document that gets ignored.
• Process improvement: As you work through projects, you'll spot where our processes break down and contribute to making them better. We're a team that documents what works and fixes what doesn't, and a good PM is one of the best sources of that kind of operational intelligence.

What we'd love to see

• 3+ years of project management experience in an agency or client services environment. You've managed projects with real timelines, real clients, and real consequences when things slip.
• Agency project management experience: you've run web, design, or digital projects in a multi-client environment before and know how to manage competing priorities without dropping anything.
• A working understanding of how web projects are structured: discovery, wireframes, design, copy, development, QA, launch. You don't need to do any of it, but you need to understand the sequence and what breaks when it gets out of order.
• Asana proficiency and not just task creation, but project architecture: sections, dependencies, timelines, custom fields, and how to build a project that actually reflects the work rather than a wishful approximation of it.
• Clear, confident written communication. You'll be the primary voice clients hear from on active projects. Your messages should be direct, professional, and never make a client feel like they have to chase you for an update. You know when to hold a line and when to gracefully accept a detour and roll with it.
• Comfort using AI tools (especially Claude) as a collaborator: building project timelines, drafting client updates, summarizing discovery notes, and editing output rather than just accepting it. You treat AI as a capable assistant, not an oracle.
• Experience managing client relationships and difficult conversations about things like late feedback, scope creep, timeline resets. You've had these conversations before and you don't avoid them.
• Financial awareness at the project level: you're comfortable tracking budgets, spotting when hours are outpacing estimates, and initiating the conversation before it becomes a problem.
• Strong organizational instincts. You track details without being asked, follow up without being reminded, and maintain a clear picture of every active project without needing a status meeting to get there.
• Familiarity with WordPress web projects is a strong plus: understanding what's involved in a site build helps you sequence work accurately and ask the right questions.
• Experience leading CRM implementations or automation projects is a plus. We do a lot of HubSpot and integration work, and a PM who understands that world can move faster with less translation.
• Day-to-day familiarity with Asana, Notion, and Google Workspace.

How we work

We respect our contractors as a crucial part of our business and do everything we can to support their best work: clear project documentation, access to necessary tools, defined processes, and a team that actually enjoys working together. We never hand off a project and disappear; we're collaborative but aim for asynchronous work when possible.

We're looking for a project manager who wants to grow with us, not just execute tasks but help us build the operational foundation that lets us take on more and deliver better. Responsiveness and clear communication matter, but we don't engage in unnecessary back-and-forth.

Details

• Compensation: We pay based on experience and location. We're open to project, hourly, and retainer engagements with the right candidate.
• Getting started: Once we've completed interviews and decided to move forward, we'll kick things off with a paid test engagement to make sure it's a good fit before making an ongoing commitment.
• Location: This is a fully remote position. Our team works across US time zones, from Eastern to Pacific and everything in between. Candidates may be located anywhere, but must be able to accept payment in USD.

We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. Valerian is committed to building an inclusive team and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national original, disability, or any other protected status.

Interested?

Please submit our application form to be considered for this position. Do not email us, DM us, or contact us through any other channel. Submissions sent outside our form will be immediately disqualified.