Product Director - Early Careers Platform
Location: US Hoboken (Hybrid)
About the Role
As the Product Director, you will serve as the functional leader responsible for defining, delivering, and scaling our Early Careers Platform. You will demonstrate high accountability for product outcomes, making decisive choices about feature prioritization and risk tradeoffs to maximize impact for learners and partners. Your leadership will set the standard for cross-functional collaboration, strategic vision, and operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities
Define Product Vision & Strategy
Develop and champion the product vision and multi-year roadmap for Pearson's Early Careers Platform, ensuring alignment with business objectives and market needs.
Take ownership of prioritizing product features, balancing innovation with feasibility, and making clear, accountable decisions about which initiatives to advance or defer.
Identify and evaluate opportunities to connect learning to employment outcomes through skills mapping, credentials, and career guidance, weighing potential risks and benefits.
Lead Product Lifecycle
Manage the entire product lifecycle, from discovery and design through launch and scale, with a focus on disciplined execution and measurable results.
Own KPIs around learner engagement, skill acquisition, employability outcomes, and partner adoption, holding yourself and your teams accountable for achieving ambitious targets.
Lead Product Execution and Delivery
Define and own the product roadmap, making transparent and well-communicated decisions about feature prioritization and resource allocation.
Write user stories and JIRA tickets for engineering teams, ensuring clarity of requirements and alignment with strategic priorities.
Proactively assess and manage risks throughout the delivery process, making tradeoffs as needed to ensure timely and high-quality product releases.
Drive AI-Powered Innovation
Collaborate with AI research, data science, and engineering teams to embed personalization, recommendations, and skills-matching capabilities into the platform.
Ensure ethical and transparent use of AI to support learners in their career journeys, taking responsibility for risk mitigation and compliance.
Market & User Research
Conduct competitive analysis, user research, and stakeholder interviews with students, educators, and employers.
Translate insights into actionable product requirements and feature priorities, demonstrating leadership in synthesizing diverse perspectives and making tough prioritization decisions.
Go-to-Market & Partnerships
Partner with marketing, sales, and strategy teams to design GTM plans, including integration with Pearson's existing ecosystem and external partners (schools, universities, employers).
Support corporate and institutional partnerships that drive platform adoption, taking accountability for partnership outcomes and risk management.
Cross-Functional Leadership
Lead and inspire cross-functional teams across product, engineering, design, marketing, and business development.
Serve as a visible leader and evangelist for Pearson's Early Careers vision, internally and externally, modeling accountability and decisive leadership in all interactions.
Skills & Qualifications
10+ years of product management experience, with at least 3 years in platform products, career readiness, or EdTech. K12 market knowledge would be a plus; learning platforms experience is recommended.
Experience in delivering learning platform solutions in any of the following markets:
K12 career education
Higher Education non-degree programs and/or vocational-based programs
Workforce development solutions
Demonstrated success building and scaling B2C and/or B2B2C digital platforms, with clear examples of accountable leadership in feature prioritization and risk management.
Strong understanding of AI/ML applications, personalization, and skills/competency frameworks.
Ability to engage deeply with engineers, data scientists, and UX designers, providing clear direction and accountability for outcomes.
Proven ability to balance short-term execution with long-term strategic vision, making informed tradeoffs and owning the results.
Strong analytical skills, with experience using data to drive product decisions and assess risk.
Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to align diverse stakeholders and justify prioritization decisions.
Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree or relevant experience in education, business, or technology preferred.
Ideal Qualities
Customer-Centric: Empathy for students, educators, and employers navigating the skills-to-careers transition.
Curious & Bold: Excited to explore new models of education-to-employment and willing to test, learn, and iterate, while taking responsibility for outcomes.
Mission-Driven: Passionate about Pearson's role in shaping the future of learning and work, demonstrating unwavering accountability and leadership.
Compensation:
Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington DC laws, the pay range for this position is as follows:
The minimum full-time salary range is between $180,000 - $220,000.
This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, and information on benefits offered is here.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates are invited to submit their resume and a cover letter outlining their qualifications and experience to https://pearson.jobs/.
Pearson is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Application Deadline:
Applications will be accepted through December 29 th , 2025. This window may be extended depending on business needs.
Who we are:
At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. We are the world's lifelong learning company. For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are. To learn more: We are Pearson.
Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.
If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing TalentExperienceGlobalTeam@grp.pearson.com.
Job: Product Management
Job Family: PRODUCT
Organization: Higher Education
Schedule: FULL_TIME
Workplace Type:
Req ID: 21839
