[Hiring] Senior Director, Product and Technology @Propel America

Role Description

Propel America is undergoing an exciting phase of growth and technological transformation, marked by the development of our signature Fellow Portal and the integration of cutting-edge AI technologies into our program delivery. To lead this effort, we are seeking a highly skilled and strategic Director, Product and Technology.

This role sits within our newly formed Solutions Team and reports directly to the Vice President of Solutions. The Director will serve as our core technology lead, managing the technical implementation of our product roadmap, maintaining the integrity of our overall technology stack, and directly supervising our technical staff (Salesforce Administrator and Junior Product Developer).

Key Responsibilities

• Product leadership (40%)
• Technology stack management and development (40%)
• Cross Functional Collaboration (20%)

Product Leadership

• Develop technology roadmap and set vision for Propel's technology products including the Applicant and Fellow Portal to ensure they are responsive to fellows and employer needs.
• Directly manage the Junior Product Developer in building and iterating on the Fellow Portal, ensuring coding standards, version control, and security practices are rigorously maintained.
• Guide the technical implementation of AI-integrated tools within the Fellow Portal to accelerate development, improve portal functionality, and enhance the user experience.
• Establish and enforce development workflows (e.g., Agile Scrum/Kanban, code reviews, deployment pipelines) to minimize technical debt and streamline release cycles.
• Work collaboratively with the VP of Solutions and key stakeholders to translate strategic product requirements into clear, prioritized technical backlogs.
• Work closely with Director, Content Solutions and Product Director, Apprenticeship to develop technology requirements for Propel suite of products including PropelRecruit, Apprenticeship, TTE and Hire Ready Content.
• Define and track success measures for the Fellow Portal and other products, such as adoption, engagement, completion and time-to-placement.
• Run discovery with fellows, applicants and employers (interviews, usability testing, feedback loops).
• Oversee QA, testing, release management and technical documentation.

Tech Stack Management & Architecture

• Own the strategic and operational direction of IT infrastructure, software development, and data systems.
• Ensure the reliability, scalability, and security of core enterprise systems (Salesforce, Google Cloud, Forms software, virtual private servers, website hosting, code management workflows).
• Lead architecture and platform decisions in partnership with VP, Solutions.
• Evaluate and select software and vendors, and negotiate contracts and renewals.
• Directly manage the Salesforce Administrator to ensure Propel's CRM is optimized to support programmatic operations, student tracking, and data-driven decision-making.
• Conduct regular audits of the organizational tech stack to eliminate overlaps, consolidate licenses, and ensure optimal data flow across departments.
• Define and implement standards for cybersecurity, information security, and data privacy, safeguarding fellow, staff, and donor data, including oversight of all data flows between systems (e.g. FERPA, health information and funder requirements).
• Act as the primary technical point of contact and relationship manager for Propel's outsourced Managed IT Service Provider.
• Ensure the MSP successfully resolves Level 1 help desk tickets, user account maintenance, and daily IT support requests, completely offloading this burden from Propel's executive leadership.
• Collaborate with the MSP to maintain healthy network infrastructure, ensure data backups and disaster recovery plans are active, and manage device lifecycles.
• Identify budgetary needs for technology and work closely VP, Solutions to develop the annual budget.
• Set responsible-AI guidelines, covering acceptable use, data handling, bias review and human oversight.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with the entire solutions team to support the integration of technology into the development of products and solutions.
• Work closely with the Senior Director of Evaluation and Learning to ensure that Salesforce is the source of truth for all data.
• Work closely with the Partnerships team to ensure that employer and fellow feedback is incorporated into the technology priorities and solutions development.
• Lead technology team to support cross functional and organization priorities by modeling Propel's core values.
• Train staff on systems and lead change management when tools are rolled out.

Qualifications

• 6-8 years in product or technology, including 3+ years managing people; experience in discovery, writing and developing technology requirements and bringing products to market.
• Demonstrated experience directly managing technical staff (developers, database admins, or system engineers) and fostering a collaborative, high-performance team culture.
• Deep understanding of the Salesforce ecosystem, database schemas, and cloud-based integrations.
• Proven track record of managing technology vendors, software developers, and external IT consultants or MSPs.
• Strong familiarity with Agile software development methodologies (Scrum/Kanban).
• Experience leveraging AI, APIs or machine learning integration in customer-facing products.
• Experience with managing PII and other secure data.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working in the nonprofit, workforce development, or education technology (EdTech) sectors.
• Product engineering experience or knowledge of coding.
• Salesforce certification (Admin, Platform App Builder), or Nonprofit/Education Cloud experience.
• Experience designing products for young adults or mobile-first users.
• Experience with low-code/no-code tools.

Success Profile

• Exceptional ability to translate education and business requirements into pragmatic, scalable technology plans.
• Practical understanding of cybersecurity protocols, access control frameworks, and compliance auditing.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, with a focus on simplicity, clarity, and active listening, and effective collaboration across functional teams.
• Strong alignment with Propel America's values of innovation, courage, joy, team, equity, and impact.

Compensation

The salary for this position is between $113,000-$153,200 annually. We consider candidate experience and location when determining where a candidate may fall within that range. Propel America offers a competitive total rewards package including coverage of 90% of health insurance premiums, unlimited PTO, and a flexible work environment.

Interested in applying?

Please submit your application here. The application deadline to apply for this position is November 1, 2026. After this date we do not guarantee review of submissions.

Propel America is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

We encourage candidates from historically underrepresented backgrounds to apply.