AI Automation Specialist :Use Claude Code & other AI to Streamline Operations ( up to 20 hrs/wk)

I'm a founder running a fast moving company [a members only social network that also does IRL events in over 5 cities and growing]. I move fast and generate a lot of operational drag: manual data pulls, repetitive outreach, scattered processes, and bottlenecks that eat my team's time. I want one sharp, autonomous person to spend ~20 hours a week hunting those down and killing them with automation and AI. This is not a "build me one chatbot" gig. It's an ongoing "make my business run itself" engagement. I have a few tasks to start with. What you'll actually do Audit how work currently gets done and find the highest-leverage things to automate. Build automations and internal tools using AI dev tools-Claude Code, Cursor, and no/low-code platforms (n8n, Make, Zapier, Lovable, Supabase, Airtable). Wire up APIs and connect the tools we already use so they talk to each other. Replace manual VA work and spreadsheets with reliable pipelines (e.g. data scraping → enrichment → CRM → outreach). Build simple dashboards so I can see what's happening without asking anyone. Document what you build so it doesn't break the moment you step away. What I'm looking for You're genuinely fluent with AI coding tools (Claude Code / Cursor) and can build real things with them, not just chat with an LLM. You think like an operator, not just a coder - you care about the business outcome, not just the technical task. You're autonomous. I'll point at a problem; you figure out the solution and ship it. You communicate clearly and proactively in writing. You have a portfolio of automations you've built - ideally with a before/after on time or cost saved. Nice to have Experience automating sales/marketing outreach, scraping + data enrichment (Apify/Outscraper), or cold-email infrastructure (Smartlead/Instantly). Comfort with light scripting (Python/JS) when no-code hits its limits. Engagement details ~20 hours/week, 3-month engagement to start, with strong potential to extend if it's working. Fully remote. Some overlap with EST in the US preferred for quick syncs. Hourly via Upwork, weekly hours capped at 20. I'd like to start with a small paid trial task before the full engagement so we both know it's a fit. To apply Start your proposal with the word "AUTOMATE" so I know you read this. In 3–4 sentences, describe one specific bottleneck you automated, the tools you used, and the result (time or money saved). Tell me your hourly rate and your real weekly availability. Generic copy-paste proposals will be ignored. I'm looking for one person I can trust to take things off my plate - show me you're that person.