Principal Product Manager (IC)

Zen Educate • Chicago, IL

13d • Hybrid

About The Position

Zen Educate is seeking an outcome-focused, data-savvy Principal Product Manager to help scale the systems that connect schools, educators, data, and processes. This is an individual contributor role, not a people-management position, but it requires substantial leadership. The successful candidate will define problems, identify opportunities for leverage, and turn ambiguity into momentum.

At Zen, product includes more than software: solutions may involve product features, operational changes, improved metrics, or changes in how people work. The role focuses on achieving outcomes, working across product, people, and processes, and improving how Zen delivers its mission of placing the right educator in the right classroom at the right time.

The position is based in Chicago and follows a hybrid schedule with three days in the office. The role offers the opportunity to work on a product and operating system intended to improve school efficiency and children’s futures.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of experience building and scaling digital products or systems with measurable impact in a marketplace business.
• Experience running discovery, experiments, and delivery end-to-end across a portfolio of product lines.
• Experience setting strategic goals and driving delivery of products or experiences that achieve them.
• Comfort working with data, including spreadsheets, dashboards, BI systems, or SQL as needed.
• Strong collaboration skills with engineering, design, operations, sales, and growth teams.
• Evidence of making complex problems and systems simple and usable.
• Able to mediate differing perspectives, maintain composure in challenging situations, and help teams find alignment.
• Curiosity, a willingness to learn, and an ability to turn ambiguity into actionable work.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in EdTech or adjacent verticals.
• Experience in a hybrid physical and digital environment.

Responsibilities

• Frame real problems and find the shortest path to proving or disproving them.
• Combine qualitative insight with quantitative data to guide priorities.
• Work closely with design, engineering, and operations teams to ship, learn, and repeat.
• Define success metrics that connect to business outcomes.
• Improve product practices at Zen through better tools, habits, and feedback loops.
• Shape and test ideas, speak with users, untangle blockers, and help teams focus on work that moves the needle.
• Run discovery, experiments, and delivery end-to-end across a portfolio of product lines.
• Set strategic goals and drive delivery of products or experiences that achieve them.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and stock options.
• 25 days of holiday plus bank holidays.
• Health and life insurance.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Electric Vehicle scheme.
• Coaching and development support.
• Work that directly improves children’s futures.
• A culture that values clarity, pace, sustainability, human kindness, and understanding.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: No Education Listed