Product Manager – Contractor (1099)

At InStride, people are our purpose. We believe that investing in people is the most powerful way to drive success—for individuals and organizations alike. As a public benefit corporation, we partner with leading employers to unlock opportunities for their employees, providing access to top-tier education programs that align with their employees’ career goals and the company’s business goals. Our mission goes beyond skill-building; we're here to empower our partners’ employees to advance their careers, elevate their expertise, and achieve meaningful personal and professional growth. No matter the team you’re on, our dedication to the success of our partners and their employees is what drives us. If you're passionate about making a difference and driving educational and professional advancement, InStride is the place for you. To get a better feel for our culture, watch more here . Candidates must be located in one of the following states to be considered eligible for employment: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, VA, WA, WI. What we're looking for: Working closely with the Sr. Manager, Product, the Product Manager will be accountable for a roadmap of capabilities that will help InStride scale innovative workforce education solutions across all of our users: corporate partners, academic partners, working adult learners, and internal teams. The ideal candidate will be able to seamlessly collaborate across product lines and partners and is passionate about building solutions to help our business grow. The role requires a combination of strategic problem solving, analytical prowess, and cross-functional leadership. As the role will likely focus on technical product pods, this Product Manager must be comfortable operating deeply in technical problem spaces – partnering closely with engineering to drive platform, architecture, and internal tooling initiatives – while translating that work into durable business and user outcomes. Skills we’d love to see you show off: Translating : Ability to translate complex market and business needs into clear product requirements. Technical Product Leadership: Comfort leading highly technical initiatives such as platform enhancements, internal tools, system integrations, and architectural or framework migrations; able to engage engineers in detailed discussions and understand tradeoffs. Systems Thinking: Ability to reason about complex systems, dependencies, data flows, and long-term scalability when defining product direction. Data-driven Decision Making : Strong analytical skills and inclination to use data (or proxy data) to inform decisions and prioritization Clear, Tailored Communication : Strong verbal and written communication across a diverse set of partners and team members; writes clearly, succinctly, and in a compelling manner Relationship Management : Able to build rapport and trust across stakeholder groups; strong listener who displays emotional intelligence Cross-functional Leadership : Experience partnering cross-functionally to effectively ask questions, listen, uncover perspectives, present options, build consensus, and effectuate new ideas; Proven experience working closely with engineering teams to shape solutions, sequence work, and balance technical health with business outcomes. Planning and Execution : Designs strong project plans, effectively mobilizes colleagues across teams, and ensures the work is completed on time and to a high standard Who you are: 5+ years of product management or similar experience, preferably in edtech or HR tech Bachelor’s degree or relevant work experience Experience with agile software development practices and experience crafting epics, user stories, building agile processes, backlog management, and roadmap planning Experience leading or significantly contributing to platform, infrastructure-adjacent, or internal product initiatives (e.g., APIs, internal tools, system integrations, migrations). Comfortable context-switching between deeply technical problem spaces and customer- or partner-facing feature development. Experience leading technical conversations with less technical internal and external stakeholders (e.g., corporate and/or higher education leaders) Understands the value of strong documentation, knowledge management, and impact measurement Enjoys tackling open-ended, ambiguous problems and delving into new topics, domains, and techniques; can process a large amount of information and distill into recommendations "No job too small" attitude / “roll up sleeves” mentality; proactive with a bias for speed and action; able to handle multiple, competing (and sometimes unexpected) demands How you will create impact: Product development and execution Lead end-to-end product lifecycle from discovery through launch, ensuring timely execution and high-quality delivery Accountable for a roadmap of features and capabilities to ensure a scalable and high-quality experience for learners and/or corporate partners Lead product work for pods focused on technical initiatives, including internal support tools, partner eligibility management, core platform/API evolution, and front-end framework migration. Partner closely with engineering to define scope, sequence work, manage dependencies, and make informed tradeoffs that balance delivery, scalability, and technical quality. Ensure technical initiatives are clearly tied to business outcomes, operational efficiency, or future product capabilities. Lead partnership with other departments to ensure proper triage, review and prioritization of feature and/or bug requests from internal and external stakeholders Define, track, and report on key product metrics; leverage data analytics and user research to guide decisions and to continuously improve product performance and user experience Support exploration and go-to-market of new business solutions and features in collaboration with other teams, including representing the product team in strategic partnership conversations Understanding of the market and business Maintain a solid understanding of the problems and needs of working adult learners and employer partners, by proactively reviewing and analyzing available market data and internal data (e.g., A/B testing, learner survey data, platform usage data) and seeking opportunities to obtain firsthand learnings (e.g., watch Gong recordings of sales calls, join/lead user experience interviews) Translate market and business needs into product solutions and features The benefits listed within this career page are for full-time positions only and may not apply to this job posting. We are looking for someone who is not only technically skilled, but also enthusiastic about making a meaningful impact. If this description resonates with you, we're excited about the possibility of having you on our team. As a skills-driven employer, we encourage you to apply if there is a skill-fit, even in the absence of years of experience. Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At InStride, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role, but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this role! Benefits @ InStride As an organization that champions investing in people, it’s critical we walk the talk. That’s why InStride employees are eligible to enroll in 2,800+ online certificate and degree programs through our Step Forward program . Unlike traditional tuition reimbursement programs, InStride covers your tuition upfront, regardless of your course of study, degree type, or school - eligible to employees starting Day 1. This role is also eligible for the following benefits: 401(k) plan with company match Flexible vacation policy Paid family leave Best-in-class health care benefits And more! InStride Diversity and Inclusion Statement At InStride, we foster a culture of belonging, we support authenticity and intersectionality, and we embrace and appreciate our differences. We do this by building a diverse pipeline of talent and ensuring equitable access to opportunities, information and leadership. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let your recruiter know. Policies & Disclosure InStride recommends employees have their COVID vaccinations. InStride may require employees to have COVID vaccination before entering the office or attending any InStride-related even in the future. However, we do not require this at this time. For questions on how we use personal information of job applicants, please refer to InStride's Job Applicant Privacy Policy. Beware of recruiting scams. InStride does not require a financial transaction or any financial account information to be eligible for employment. If you receive a message purporting to be from InStride asking you for a financial transaction, your financial account information, or any other sensitive information, please do not respond and let us know immediately at [email protected] . About InStride InStride is a human capital management company that helps organizations retain talent, upskill employees, and fill critical workforce roles through education programs. By breaking down barriers to learning, fostering career growth aligned with organizational goals, and simplifying program management, InStride delivers lasting impact. Partnering with forward-thinking companies like Labcorp, Adidas, and SSM Health, InStride drives meaningful social and business outcomes by providing access to life-changing education. Visit instride.com or follow InStride on LinkedIn for more information and up-to-date news.