Brand Scientist - Consultant

About La BarraLa Barra is a media venture founded by Mike Berland — the Momentum Master — built on storytelling, conversation, and commentary at the intersection of sports, entertainment, culture, and AI-driven brand intelligence. Mike previously founded Decode_M (acquired by Penta) and served as CEO of Edelman Berland, spending his career helping the world's leading companies uncover the unknowable and think, market, and invest differently. Under La Barra, we're building something radically new at the intersection of AI, marketing, and strategic communications — and we're looking for someone who wants to help build it from the ground up.The OpportunityThis engagement begins as an initial 3-month consulting arrangement, with the strong possibility to extend and convert to a full-time role based on fit and business growth. We're looking for a Brand Scientist — not a traditional analyst, not a social media manager. This is a 0-to-1 opportunity for someone who is entrepreneurial, curious, and genuinely excited about what AI makes possible. You'll serve as a translator between data and ideas, turning signals from social listening platforms and large language models into clear, client-ready intelligence. You'll work closely with Mike and move fast. This role is fully onsite, five days a week at our New York City office.This role is part analyst, part strategist, part builder. If you're someone who gets excited about what Claude can do, knows how to find answers before they're obvious, and wants to help shape what brand intelligence looks like in the age of AI — this is for you.What You'll Be DoingRunning brand perception audits using Talkwalker or Claude — monitoring conversation volume, sentiment, trends, and competitive positioning across Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, and beyondConducting LLM/AI brand presence audits using Profound — assessing how large language models describe, rank, and recommend brands relative to competitorsSynthesizing findings into clean, insight-forward slide decks built for sophisticated business audiences — PE firms, executives, and strategic advisorsUsing Claude and other AI tools daily to streamline research, surface patterns, and accelerate deliveryHelping develop and codify proprietary methodologies that define how La Barra operates in the agentic economyManaging project timelines and keeping multiple workstreams organized and on trackSupporting business development by helping turn one-time audits into repeatable, scalable offeringsEventually managing and mentoring interns as the team growsWhat We're Looking ForBuilder mindset with a bias toward action — you're scrappy, self-directed, and energized by building something newGenuine passion for AI, especially hands-on experience with Claude and an eagerness to push what it can doComfortable operating in ambiguity and shaping something that doesn't have a playbook yetHands-on Talkwalker experience — please specify in your application how long and in what context you've used itStrong project management skills — you can juggle multiple priorities, hit deadlines, and keep things moving without being chasedA sharp eye for insight — you don't just report what happened, you explain why it mattersStrong deck-building skills — you can turn messy data into a clean, compelling narrativeNetworked, credible, and driven to lead in your domainExperience in beauty, CPG, or consumer lifestyle categories is a plusFamiliarity with Profound or similar LLM auditing tools is a plus, but not requiredAn interest in eventually mentoring and managing junior talentBased in or able to commute to New York City — this role is fully onsite, five days a weekWhat Makes This Opportunity DifferentThis is a rare chance to work directly with a founder who has spent decades at the frontier of brand intelligence and public opinion research — at the very beginning of something new. You won't be a cog in a large agency machine. You'll have direct access to leadership and decision-making, real ownership over high-impact work with top-tier clients, and the opportunity to help define what this practice becomes. For the right person, this consulting engagement is the start of something much bigger.Compensation$50-$100 per hour, commensurate with experience. Strong potential to extend and convert to a full-time role with equity for the right candidate.