The posting
The Sr. Product Manager, Sophia Learning serves as a senior product and technology leader, responsible for defining and executing the long-term vision for Sophia Learning's product ecosystem. This role drives the strategy that makes Sophia Learning's platform user-centric, scalable, intelligent, and future-ready - centralizing data, enabling predictive analytics, and applying artificial intelligence to enhance every aspect of the learner and partner experience.
Operating at the intersection of product strategy, software/data engineering, and AI innovation, this leader partners with senior executives, business partners, data scientists, and engineering leaders to deeply understand user behavior and identify opportunities to move Sophia towards our future vision for learning, including implementing an enterprise-grade architecture and driving the strategic application of AI across all Sophia Learning products.
The Sr. Product Manager, Sophia Learning operates as a senior leader in the product organization, influencing company-wide priorities, mentoring product peers, and aligning investments to Sophia Learning’s mission of delivering education benefits at scale. Beyond execution, this role carries accountability for product direction: developing an evidence-based view of which problems Sophia should solve and in what sequence, and securing executive alignment behind that view through structured trade-off analysis rather than consensus. The Sr. Product Manager forms a substantiated point of view on emerging learner, institutional, and market needs and translates it into a compelling multi-year product vision, sequenced into measurable initiatives that deepen value for Sophia's established subscriber base while positioning the platform for its next generation of growth.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Define and lead the multi-year product strategy for Sophia’s online learning platform, ensuring alignment with business goals and executive priorities.
- Establish and defend product priorities, developing evidence-based positions on what Sophia should build, when, and what it should not build, and securing executive and cross-functional alignment through structured options and trade-off analysis.
- Guide the organization’s AI product vision and roadmap, collaborating with engineering, data science, and design leaders to align AI initiatives across multiple product areas.
- Lead initiatives to embed machine learning, natural language processing, and generative AI models into core Workforce Edge applications, driving automation and intelligent user experiences.
- Serve as a strategic advisor to executive leadership, translating technical opportunities into business value and influencing portfolio-level decisions.
- Maintain a first-hand understanding of Sophia's learners and institutional partners through direct customer conversations, user research, market analysis, and behavioral data, translating that understanding into prioritized opportunity areas and owning the resulting initiatives end-to-end with a high bar for quality and post-launch measurement of impact.
- Own the product strategy for the AI pipeline, from data ingestion and model training through inference and feedback loops, ensuring responsible, secure, and performant AI systems.
- Oversee the design and delivery of scalable, governed data ingestion pipelines that centralize structured and unstructured data, establishing schemas, lineage, and security models that make data AI-ready.
- Partner with Engineering, Data/Analytics and AI teams to implement a semantic data layer and metadata governance framework that supports predictive analytics, personalization, and automation.
- Mentor and coach other Product Managers, elevating product strategy, technical fluency, and customer-centric thinking across the team.
- Represent Sophia Learning as an industry thought leader, contributing to the company’s credibility in AI for online learning, ethical AI, and data-driven learning experiences.
Job Skills:
- Deep expertise in product management, AI-driven product strategy, and large-scale platform systems.
- Demonstrated product judgment, including the ability to make and defend high-stakes prioritization decisions with incomplete information, articulate the rationale for declining work, and adjust course as evidence warrants.
- Ability to translate customer insight into product direction, synthesizing qualitative research, market signals, and quantitative data into clear problem statements, personas and opportunity sizing.
- Proven ability to bridge technical depth and executive influence, communicating complex technical concepts with clarity and confidence.
- Demonstrated success leading cross-functional AI initiatives that span data engineering, product, and data science.
- Skilled in defining AI governance frameworks and ensuring responsible, compliant use of data and models.
- Experience leading the productization of machine learning, NLP, and generative AI in multi-persona SaaS environments.
- Exceptional leadership and mentoring skills; able to develop product talent and foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and technical excellence.
- Thought leadership in AI product strategy, personalization, and data ethics, with a focus on driving measurable impact for customers.
Work Experience:
- 6+ years of product management experience in SaaS, data platform, or AI-driven product environments. EdTech product management experience preferred.
- Demonstrated success collaborating with executive stakeholders and technical leaders to deliver transformative business outcomes.
- Proven track record leading product initiatives, including customer-facing AI initiatives from concept through implementation.
- Working familiarity with cloud data ecosystems (GCP, AWS, or Azure) and modern data and AI tooling- sufficient to partner credibly with data science and engineering teams on feasibility, sequencing, and trade-offs. Hands-on depth is welcome but not required. Experience with SQL/behavioral analytics tools preferred.
- Track record of setting product direction rather than only executing it, including ownership of a product vision and multi- year roadmap and the executive alignment required to fund and sequence it.
- Demonstrated success both deepening value for an established user base at scale and introducing new capabilities that extended growth beyond the existing offering.
- Direct experience conducting customer delivery, including interviews or usability testing, and applying it to change a roadmap decision preferred.
- Prior experience in education technology preferred.
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science/Analytics, Business/Economics, Design, Cognitive Science, Learning Science, or a related field preferred (Master’s preferred).
Certificates, licenses and registrations:
- Generative AI Solution Development (preferred)
- Product strategy or continuous discovery coursework (e.g., Reforge, Pragmatic Institute, Continuous Discovery Habits) (preferred)
Other:
- Must be able to travel occasionally should a business need arise. For most roles travel would not be common. Travel may involve plane, car or metro. In accordance with ADA policies, reasonable accommodations regarding travel limitations can be provided. Travel will be more common for roles such as Account Executives (25 - 50%), senior leaders (10 – 20%) or Capella Core Faculty (5 – 10%).
- Ability to work onsite in Corporate or Campus location (in a typical office environment) may be required based on role. If so, this would include being mobile within the office, including movement from floor-to-floor using elevators or stairs.
- If offsite or hybrid role, must have access to work in setting which enables meeting all requirements of the role (including privacy, reliable internet access, phone, ability to video conference, etc.) at a remote location.
- Faculty and Federal Work Study roles require access to work in setting which enables meeting all requirements of the role (including computer, privacy, reliable internet access, phone, ability to video conference, etc.) at a remote location.
- This role may require lifting, however reasonable accommodations will be provided in accordance with our ADA policies.
- Must be able to meet critical thinking and problem solving aspects aligned to job duties, as well as effectively communicating with co-workers.
- Must be able to work more than 40 hours per week when business needs warrant. Accommodations related to schedule may be considered.
- Able to access information using a computer.
- Other essential functions and marginal job functions are subject to modification.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
$160,000-$180,000 is the expected starting pay for this position. This offer is based on current budgetary guidelines and the additional factors outlined below.
SEI offers a comprehensive package of benefits to employees scheduled 30 hours or more per week. In addition to medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans, SEI employees may take advantage of well-being incentives, parental leave, paid time off, certain paid holidays, tax saving accounts (FSA, HSA), 401(k) retirement benefit, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, tuition assistance as well as entertainment and retail discounts. Non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime pay, if applicable.
Careers - Our Benefits, Strategic Education, Inc
SEI is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture where individuals can grow their careers and contribute fully. We strive to attract talent with broad experiences, skills and perspectives. We welcome applications from all. While it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top end of the pay range at SEI, we offer a competitive salary. The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate may vary depending on multiple factors including, but not limited to, job-related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, geographical location, and internal pay equity. Our Talent Acquisition Team is ready to discuss your interest in joining SEI. The expected salary range for this position is below.
$133,600.00 - $200,400.00 - Salary
If you require reasonable accommodations to complete our application process, please contact our Human Resources Department at [email protected].
