About the Role

We're hiring a Product Manager in San Francisco who can work at the intersection of technical engineering and exceptional design. You'll own some of our hardest product problems, partnering closely with engineers and designers to turn frontier AI capabilities into experiences that feel simple, intuitive, and even magical for children.

The best PMs for this role think like engineers, care like designers, and obsess over the child using the product. They're equally comfortable debating system architecture, refining interaction details, and making difficult product tradeoffs that turn complex technology into deceptively simple experiences. As we scale, we need more capacity, more clarity, and more taste - this person brings all three. You'll partner closely with our engineers on the hardest and most exciting parts of the product, turn fuzzy possibilities into a concrete plan, and ship experiences that feel deceptively simple on the surface while solving incredibly complex problems underneath.

One month you might be inventing a new way for children to learn math with an AI teacher. The next, you might be redesigning how the AI teacher responds when a child gets stuck. In every case, your job is to bridge what's technically possible with what feels effortless for a child.

You'll work across product, design, engineering, research, and leadership in San Francisco and Nairobi. You'll own meaningful parts of the product experience, from identifying user needs and product hypotheses, to testing with children and families, to shipping improvements that make the product better and more joyful to use.

We care more about the quality of your experience than the exact number of years on your resume. We're looking for someone who clearly learns fast and has the drive to grow into whatever the role demands. The best PMs at Ello are equal parts product strategist, systems thinker, designer, and child advocate - if that sounds like you, you could be a great fit.

Exciting Things About This Role

• You'll own mission-critical product areas end-to-end and directly shape how children experience learning.
• You'll partner directly with world-class ML engineers on some of the most interesting frontier product work in AI and education.
• You'll shape not just what we build, but how it feels - sweating the details that make the difference between a feature children use and one they genuinely love.
• You'll work on one of the most important applications of AI: helping children learn.
• You'll ship weekly and test directly with the children and families you're building for.
• You'll help a fast-scaling product org move with more momentum and more order.
• You'll collaborate with world-class engineers, designers, and researchers across continents - and if you're excited about spending meaningful time in our Nairobi office, even better. We'd love for this role to help strengthen the bridge between our two hubs.

Key Requirements

• 3-5+ years of experience in product management or closely adjacent roles (engineering, design, or UX research). AI-forward candidates coming from engineering with fewer years of formal PM work are welcome; quality of experience matters more than years.
• Track record of shipping high-quality products from concept to launch, including large or complex efforts you carried through ambiguity.
• Hands-on experience using AI-native prototyping tools (e.g., Claude, Bolt, Replit, etc.) to build quick demos, test product ideas, and accelerate workflows.
• Strong design sense: able to recognize great UX and collaborate closely with designers to create simple, delightful experiences.
• Technical fluency: comfortable getting into system tradeoffs, partnering closely with ML and engineering teams, and making sound decisions on technically complex work.
• Ability to bring structure to ambiguous, fast-moving projects: aligning stakeholders, sequencing the work, and keeping momentum without adding process for its own sake.
• Deep curiosity about users: comfortable talking to users, observing behavior, identifying patterns, and turning insight into product direction.
• Structured thinker: naturally able to break ambiguous problems into clear decisions and thoughtful tradeoffs.
• Creates clarity: communicates decisions, tradeoffs, and context in a way that brings teams together and accelerates execution.
• Demonstrated ownership mindset: proactive, accountable, and outcome-driven.

Nice to Have

• Software engineering experience or equivalent experience building highly technical products.
• Experience working closely with ML or AI teams on production features.
• Experience with data analytics tools (A/B testing tools, visualization tools, basic ability to write queries).
• Past experience working on consumer products for kids/families or the education market.
• Familiarity with game design mechanics, engagement loops, and motivation frameworks.
• Experience conducting UX research or play testing with real users, and using those insights to drive product decisions.
• Comfortable mocking up ideas directly in Figma

We Look for Candidates Who

• Want to build products that create impact with delight.
• Move with urgency because opportunities like this don't come around often.
• Default to ownership instead of waiting for permission.
• Obsess over craft -from interaction details to product strategy-because children deserve exceptional experiences.Experiment constantly, especially with AI, because yesterday's workflows won't build tomorrow's products.
• Have a strong, opinionated sense of what good design looks and feels like
• Are excited to build engaging and educational experiences for children worldwide.
• Build meaningful relationships and communicate with honesty, empathy, and respect.