Chief Product Officer

Pittsburgh, PA preferred, or remote within the U.S.
Salary: $130,000–$160,000/year · 40 hours/week · Start: August 2026
Apply at OpenLiteracy.com/jobs

Who is OpenLiteracy

Right now, only 33% of all students and just 18% of low-income students are reading proficiently by the end of third grade. That statistic should bother you as much as it bothers us. At OpenLiteracy, we're not content to watch another generation fall through the cracks. We built a 1:1, high-impact tutoring model that puts certified teachers directly in front of the kids who need them most, and we're proving it works. Our recently completed randomized control trial with Johns Hopkins puts us on track for ESSA Tier 1 STRONG evidence, the highest bar in education research. We're a small team doing work that matters, and we're just getting started.

Why this Role Matters

We have a beta version of our product that's almost ready for prime time. We need someone who can take it there.

This is a senior leadership role reporting directly to our CEO, and it's a genuine seat at the table. You won't be handed a finished roadmap and told to execute it. You'll build the vision for our Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention curriculum, shape how it comes to market, and closely track data to understand how this tool changes the work for teachers and outcomes for kids. If you've ever wanted to lead product at a company small enough that your fingerprints are on everything and you can have a real transformative impact, this is that job.

What You'll Actually Do

Own the vision, strategy, and roadmap. Take our beta tool from where it is to where it needs to be, and chart the course to get there.

Know the market cold. Stay ahead of what's happening in ed-tech, understand the competitive landscape, and let that knowledge sharpen every product, design, and development decision.

Think like a business owner. Build the go-to-market strategy for our curriculum product, bring us cost analysis and investment recommendations, and manage the budget so our resources go where they'll have the biggest impact.

Work across our team. Partner closely with curriculum, assessment, and engineering to build new features and sequence what gets built when.

Test relentlessly. Design pilots, run interviews and focus groups, build advisory relationships, and let real user feedback drive real product decisions.

Design and build alongside your team. Collaborate with designers, our Director of Curriculum, and engineering to keep iterating. Show up for human-centered design work, follow the data and the prototypes, and lead your cross-functional team from idea to shipped product.

Be our product expert. Work hand in hand with marketing, sales, and implementation. Show up for customer conversations, sales meetings, and pilot support when it counts.

Why You'll Want to Work with Us

Location that works for you. Based in Pittsburgh or remote anywhere in the U.S., though we do give priority to Pittsburgh-based applicants.

Real influence. As part of our executive team, your decisions will shape the direction of a growing, mission-driven company, not just a product line.

Work you'll be proud of. This is a rare shot at building an education product that's directly improving literacy outcomes for kids across the country with proven documented impact already in the books.

Solid pay and benefits. We're a small, growing Pittsburgh-based company that takes care of our people: 15 company paid days off, 401(k) with company contribution, and health care options.

Work with a team who cares. We are a women-owned, women-led business. We value diversity and prioritize a work-life balance. We are not a grind it out at all hours of the night tech start-up.

Qualifications

Required

• BA/BS degree and at least 5 years of relevant product management experience in education technology or a related field, including K-12 curriculum
• Demonstrated strategic mindset with the ability to set vision and drive execution
• Data-driven approach to product decisions and measuring success
• Experience working in the K-12 education sector
• Experience managing engineering teams
• U.S. work authorization

Preferred

• Experience taking a curriculum product to market
• Familiarity with literacy or intervention programs
• Fluency in state supplementary curriculum adoption markets
• Advanced degree
• Classroom teaching experience
• Familiarity with K-12 tutoring services, ed-tech, or similar fields
• Strong experience in leadership roles
• Understanding of the MTSS landscape from both the buyer and user perspective

How to Apply

1. Complete the online application at OpenLiteracy.com/jobs
2. Answer a few role-focused questions
3. Meet with our leadership team for an initial conversation
4. Meet with our CEO for a final interview
5. Complete references, a criminal background check, and educational verification

If this sounds like the role you've been waiting for, we'd love to hear from you.