Director of M&A Integration and Operational Strategy

Overview

Instacart’s Corporate Development team partners across the company to identify, evaluate, and integrate acquisitions that strengthen our products, expand our capabilities, and accelerate growth. As the Director of M&A Integration and Operational Strategy, you will be the senior individual contributor responsible for translating deal theses into concrete, measurable outcomes through world-class integration execution.

In this role, you will lead highly visible, needle-moving transactions in a fast-paced environment with high deal flow. You will collaborate closely with product, engineering, commercial, HR, legal, finance, operations, and communications leaders, influencing across functions to deliver Day 1 readiness and sustained value creation. This is a hands-on role within a lean, high-impact integration function, where you will roll up your sleeves, put it all on the table, and help us go far together.

About the Job

• Own end-to-end integration strategy and execution for multiple acquisitions annually, from diligence input through post-close value realization across revenue, cost, product, and talent.
• Stand up and run the Integration Management Office (IMO) for each deal; define governance, workstream charters, decision rights, and operating cadence (e.g., Day 1/100 plans, weekly executive readouts, risk/issue logs).
• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Commercial, HR, Legal, Finance, Operations, and Communications to deliver Day 1 readiness and seamless experiences for customers, shoppers, retailers, brands, and partners.
• Build and maintain integration playbooks, KPI frameworks, and dashboards; track milestones, budgets, dependencies, and synergy targets, and drive timely course corrections to keep outcomes on track.
• Lead TSA scoping and management; coordinate systems and data integration priorities (e.g., ERP, CRM, billing, identity), along with change management and internal/external communications.
• Serve as the primary executive liaison for integration, preparing and presenting materials for leadership reviews and aligning senior stakeholders around decisions and outcomes.
• Conduct integration diligence and provide input to deal models and theses to ensure feasibility, sequencing, and resourcing aligned to value capture prior to signing.
• Partner with deal team in shaping inorganic strategy as a part of company wide long range planning process.
• Support company-wide strategic initiatives / investments (i.e partnerships, transformational projects, etc.) during lower M&A activity.

About You

Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in M&A integration, corporate development, strategy/operations, or management consulting with a focus on post-merger integration in technology, e-commerce, logistics, or marketplace businesses.
• Led 6+ full-cycle integrations (from diligence to post-close) as an IMO lead or major workstream owner with direct accountability for outcomes.
• Proven experience coordinating 10+ cross-functional stakeholders and leaders without direct authority, driving decisions and execution in high-ambiguity environments.
• Expertise in integration governance, Day 1/Day 100 planning, synergy modeling and tracking, TSA negotiation/management, and systems/process integration.
• Advanced proficiency with analytics and program tools: Google Sheets/Excel (financial and KPI modeling), Slides, and project management platforms (e.g., Asana, Jira, Smartsheet).
• Exceptional executive communication and storytelling skills, including experience preparing and presenting materials for C‑suite and Board-level audiences.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Engineering, or a related field.
• Ability to travel up to 25% based on deal needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or advanced degree.
• PMP, PgMP, and/or Prosci Change Management certification.
• Experience integrating product and technology roadmaps, data platforms, and GTM motions in software or marketplace environments.
• Hands-on experience with carve-outs, standing up newco operations, and integrating public company controls (e.g., SOX) post-close.
• Domain experience in grocery/retail tech, ad tech, or last‑mile logistics.
• Built or scaled integration playbooks and standards within a small, high-performing integration function.