[Hiring] Product & Systems Manager @Merit America

Role Description

Merit America is seeking a Product & Systems Manager to take ownership for how core systems behave as programs evolve, ensuring that decisions are translated into reliable, coordinated system behavior. This role ensures that workflows function reliably end-to-end, data is captured accurately, and changes to the program are reflected cleanly in the tools that teams use every day.

Merit America operates across a small number of interconnected platforms that support admissions, coaching, learning, and evaluation. As programs evolve, this role is responsible for turning decisions into working systems, maintaining clear ownership boundaries, and ensuring execution stays aligned with capacity and priorities.

This is a hands-on role focused on execution, clarity, and follow-through. The Product & Systems Manager reports to the Head of Data & Technology and works closely with leaders across Growth, Programs, Operations, College, and Engineering.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end workflows across systems
• Develop a deep understanding of learner and staff workflows from start to finish across tools and teams
• Identify breakdowns, duplication, and manual effort caused by system boundaries or unclear ownership
• Propose improvements that increase reliability and reduce operational friction
• Translate decisions into executable work
• Partner with functional leaders to understand new initiatives, program changes, and operational needs
• Surface technical, data, and process implications early
• Help shape work so it is staged appropriately, aligned with current capacity, and realistic to deliver
• Clarify system responsibilities and sequencing
• Help define which systems are responsible for which functions at a given point in time, and what assumptions must be true before responsibilities shift
• Document dependencies and tradeoffs so teams can move forward with shared understanding and fewer surprises
• Support delivery and alignment
• Work closely with engineers, data team members, and external partners to keep work moving
• Track dependencies, flag risks, and surface decisions that require alignment
• Ensure completed work aligns with original intent and downstream reporting and evaluation needs

Qualifications

• Committed to Merit America’s mission to pave pathways to family-sustaining careers, break the poverty cycle, and create upward mobility for low-wage workers
• Demonstrated history of embodying our values, which inform our work and drive our organization's culture
• Shared sense of responsibility and ownership for our collective work in making a positive impact on the community we support, true to our value of Win & Lose Together
• Committed to continuous learning and growth in advancing inclusive excellence and closing gaps across lines of difference
• Passionate about fostering a workplace culture that embraces and values individual differences, aligned with our core value of inclusivity

Requirements

• Experience owning or coordinating complex work across multiple systems or teams, with the ability to map end-to-end workflows and identify where things break down
• Clear, practical communication with both technical and non-technical partners
• Strong judgment about tradeoffs, sequencing, and prioritization under constraint
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguity and introduce clarity without heavy process
• Experience translating business/program needs into technical requirements and actionable work
• Ability to work directly with engineers, data teams, and external partners to drive delivery
• Technical fluency sufficient to work credibly alongside engineers and evaluate feasibility of proposed solutions
• Hands-on experience with AI productivity tools (e.g. Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot) applied to real product and systems work

Benefits

• Medical, Dental and Vision insurance (100% Paid Employee Only Coverage)
• Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account
• Dependent care Flexible Spending Account
• Health Reimbursement Account fully funded by Merit
• Education & personal development reimbursement
• Catalog of courses for professional learning and development
• Short and long-term disability
• Unlimited vacation (after a 90-day introductory period)
• Paid Parental Leave and Adoption benefits (after 1 year of employment)
• 11 federally recognized holidays
• 2 week holiday office closure in December/January
• 401(k) retirement plan with automatic Merit contribution
• Wellness Benefits/Wellness Resources
• Discount perks at work program
• Phone/technology stipend
• Home office setup stipend
• Affinity groups and community building via virtual, in-person, and/or regional meetups