About Pursuit

Our mission is to create economic transformation. By training low-income adults to launch and advance careers as software engineers, we help our Fellows go from earning $18,000 to over $90,000 starting salary on average, adding an estimated $2M in lifetime earnings. Pursuit partners with leading companies like Blackstone, USV, Citi, Peloton, and Uber to employ Fellows in career-defining engineering roles and supports them with on-the-job training to ensure potential translates to performance. Since 2013, Pursuit has created ~$1B in total lifetime wage gains, creating lasting economic mobility that spans generations. 

Pursuit’s proven solution is built on two interconnected components: training (which includes community development, Core pre-job training, and Commit on-the-job training) and a financial product (known as Bond). However, growing training alone will not meet the magnitude of need nor solve new societal challenges ahead. The typical expectation is to expand our training to other cities, but this will not come anywhere close to creating good jobs for millions of low-income Americans. Instead, our strategy for scaled impact is to evolve our financial product and create tools for other organizations, jobs, and places. We believe that this will not only create good jobs for millions of low-income Americans but will also generate a new trillion-dollar market directly tied to results in the long term.

Head of Core Product 

As the Head of Core Product at Pursuit, you’ll lead the design and strategy of our core training product, pivotal in helping Fellows achieve economic transformation, building a replicable program model, and facilitating Pursuit’s 5 year growth objectives. The Head of Core Product is responsible for packaging the Fellowship into a replicable product, including leading the design of an immersive Fellowship experience tailored to empower individuals from underserved backgrounds to thrive as tech industry leaders and incorporating the latest AI developments into Fellowship content and delivery.  As a key member of the Core Leadership team, you’ll report to the soon-to-be-hired General Manager (with interim reporting to the COO), manage a product team, and collaborate closely with other Core Leaders responsible for the delivery of the Core training and job search. The ideal candidate possesses experience in leading product or program management for initiatives that drive behavioral and attitudinal shifts and is passionate about Pursuit’s mission and business model.

As a Head of Core Product, you will: 

• Develop the Core Fellowship into a replicable product, ensuring its design elements and mechanisms are adaptable for other workforce development programs enabling them to drive significant economic outcomes similar to Pursuit’s.
• Design and develop products through an AI strategy/perspective, keeping Pursuit and Fellows at the forefront of innovation.
• Develop an interdisciplinary product, integrating experiences, curriculum, culture,  relationships, and pedagogy to drive necessary behavioral and cultural shifts for Fellows as well as higher-order skill development, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, to succeed in the tech industry.
• Define the perspective and strategy for the Fellowship content and curriculum, and oversee its design, ensuring it integrates training delivered by both tech leaders and Pursuit staff, and equips Fellows with the skills and knowledge needed for leadership roles.
• Establish metrics and assessment criteria for evaluating Fellows’ job readiness, aligned with job market and industry feedback.
• Collaborate closely with the Core Delivery and Operations team and Employment team to ensure the program design is aligned with industry expectations and is being delivered with fidelity to the model.
• Scope, hire and develop a team of product managers and curriculum developers.
• Develop messaging and communications around the Core Fellowship product for various stakeholders.

What you need to be considered for the Head of Core Product role: 

• 12-15 years of overall experience, with at least 5 years in owning program or product development for complex initiatives. MBA is a plus
• Experience managing complex program or product development, either through full cycles or major overhauls, showcasing the ability to navigate challenges and design products that drive successful outcomes.
• Proven track record of leading the design of programs or products that drove primary business outcomes, 
• Proficiency in building metrics to measure complex factors that align with industry standards for effective evaluation and continuous improvement.
• Ability to design a cultural experience that drives changes in attitudes and behaviors, demonstrated through prior projects or programs that have successfully influenced such changes. Alternatively, experience in a program, coupled with a clear perspective on effective approaches, showcases an understanding of driving behavioral and attitudinal transformations.
• Demonstrated experience maintaining a high bar of excellence without compromising standards.
• Skill in synthesizing inputs from various stakeholders into a comprehensive program or product design, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
• Track record of working in innovative tech environments and/or high caliber environments.
• Enthusiasm for AI developments and understanding of its future impact on the workforce
• Excitement for Pursuit’s mission and business model, and a belief in the potential of anyone to learn to code and become leaders in tech.

Where you’ll work: 

• On-site in our Long Island City Office ~4 days/week

Salary & Benefits:

The salary range for this role is $225-250k base + incentive compensation.

The compensation range above is for the expectations as laid out in the job description, however, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this job description as posted.  If that ends up being the case, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate.

Pursuit offers: 

• Great culture where transparency, respect, teamwork, and kindness are valued
• Competitive compensation in base, plus bonus and a full benefits package
• 401k Match
• Unlimited PTO and an all-Pursuit summer break the last week of August and a week-long holiday the last week of December
• Flexible, hybrid work schedule with catered lunches once a week and delicious snacks
• An opportunity to work at the intersection of tech and social impact, and make a direct impact on the communities of those we serve.

Pursuit values diversity: 

Our team has a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, and we value the richness that diversity brings to our organization. We welcome new perspectives and affirm that all employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, age, familial or marital status, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuit is an equal opportunity employer.