Principal Technical Program Manager, Education

The Team

At Learning Commons, we operate at the intersection of technology, research, and philanthropy. We pair product development with grantmaking to scale proven teaching and learning practices for the benefit of every learner. We aim to bring learning science into the tools educators and students use every day.

Our work is grounded in a deep belief: when technology reflects the realities of classrooms and the science of how students learn, it can meaningfully strengthen teaching and unlock new possibilities for students. The rise of generative AI offers us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to dramatically accelerate the translation of research insights into practical, classroom-ready tools; tools that honor teachers’ expertise, adapt to students’ needs, and make effective learning practices easier to access, implement, and sustain.

In today’s fragmented edtech landscape, school districts are often left piecing together products that don’t always align with curricula or instructional needs. While AI holds enormous potential to support teachers and students, it can only deliver on that promise when grounded in research, high-quality educational data, and expert evaluation. That’s why we’re building open, public-purpose infrastructure — datasets, rubrics, and resources — that help raise the standard for educational tools and create more consistent, impactful learning experiences for all students and teachers.

The Opportunity

Across our Technology and Initiative teams, we design, build, and scale software and data systems that power research, products, and grantmaking efforts. As our portfolio grows, we are seeking a Principal Technical Program Manager to bring clarity, structure, and strategic executional rigor across complex, high-visibility cross-functional technical initiatives.

This role sits at the intersection of engineering, data, product, learning science, and operations. You will lead large, multi-disciplinary programs — including data pipeline initiatives and internal tooling efforts — while strengthening how teams plan, prioritize, and execute work.

You will shape and scale our technical program operating model — including governance standards, Jira and planning systems, roadmap transparency, release coordination, and cross-team dependency management — ensuring programs move from concept to delivery with measurable impact and executive-level visibility.

You will act as a strategic partner to Product, Engineering, and Initiative leadership, influencing how we structure, prioritize, and deliver complex technical work — without formal authority, but with significant cross-functional impact.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in ambiguity, can translate strategy into structured execution, and brings both technical fluency and strong program leadership.

What You'll Do

Technical Program Leadership

• Own, lead and deliver complex, multi-quarter, high-visibility technical programs spanning engineering, data science, product, and external partners
• Proactively identify systemic risks, structural gaps, dependencies, and tradeoffs early; propose mitigation strategies and drive resolution at both program and operating-model levels
• Establish clear success metrics and reporting mechanisms across programs
• Influence sequencing, prioritization, and resource tradeoffs across concurrent initiatives in partnership with leadership.

Data Pipeline & Infrastructure Initiatives

• Coordinate projects related to building, buying, or partnering to obtain critical datasets
• Partner with engineering and data teams to align on architecture, sequencing, and delivery milestones
• Support vendor evaluation and procurement processes when external data or tooling is required
• Ensure appropriate documentation, compliance, and scalable data governance standards are embedded in delivery and aligned with organizational risk frameworks.

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