Director of Product, ELA

Director of Product, ELA Level is a learning technology company dedicated to helping students build real academic and life skills with confidence and joy. We combine proven curriculum principles with world class interactive design to make meaningful practice something students want to come back to, not something they struggle through. We support what teachers, schools, and parents are already doing by increasing student engagement with high quality, standards aligned practice that reinforces classroom learning. That’s why we’re building: For students: Rewarding and motivating learning experiences that meet students where they are to build real academic proficiency. For educators: Tools that fit naturally into instruction and help students stay engaged while reducing teacher workload. For parents: Activities that help your kid catch up or get ahead, build confidence, and minimize homework battles, whether learning at school or at home. We are committed to helping every person maximize their potential and live a life of meaning. It’s a difficult problem that requires brilliant people and tremendous effort over time. If you want to use your skills to make a difference for the world, please check out our latest job opportunities. We're seeking a Head of Product for ELA to lead the development of exceptional English Language Arts content. This role mirrors our successful math curriculum leadership model, where you'll be the vision holder, leading a team of learning science experts, educators, and developers ensuring the highest quality ELA content and experiences possible. You'll lead preproduction for all ELA content and manage active development. You'll bring our virtual classroom assistant to life through engaging pedagogy rooted in learning and motivational science, notably Self-Determination Theory (SDT) . This is a leadership role requiring someone who can bridge the worlds of education, learning science, behavioral psychology, and product development, translating research and theory into scalable, motivating digital learning experiences that work. What You Will Do Curriculum Leadership & Preproduction - Lead preproduction for all ELA content, including instructional design frameworks, lesson sequencing, and learning progressions. Design curriculum architecture that balances cognitive development, prerequisite knowledge, and mastery learning principles. Apply expertise in literacy development, reading comprehension strategies, writing instruction, and language skills to create effective learning pathways. Anticipate common misconceptions and learning challenges specific to ELA, building corrective scaffolding into the curriculum. Active Development - Manage and mentor a cross-functional pod including technical designers, ELA content specialists, UX/UI artists, animators, and engineers. Maintain the quality bar during active development, providing expert review and feedback on all content. Collaborate effectively with engineering teams on our content creation tools (light-technical fluency required). Create efficient workflows and repeatable systems for producing hundreds of high-quality learning modules at scale. Learning Science & Motivation Design - Collaborate with motivational and behavioral science teams to apply Self-Determination Theory, growth mindset, self-efficacy, and other evidence-based motivational frameworks to increase engagement and learner well-being. Leverage principles of cognitive load theory, spacing effects, retrieval practice, and formative assessment to optimize learning outcomes. Partner with our research team to translate findings into actionable product features. Vision & Strategy - Establish or collaborate with Subject Matter Experts to develop the learning vision and pedagogical approach for all ELA content, initially for grades 3-6 with expansion to K-12. Establish and maintain quality standards for curriculum development, ensuring alignment with learning science principles and bes ... (truncated, view full listing at source)