Principal Product Manager

Job Description

Principal Product Manager (IC) | Zen Educate

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at Zen Educate, located in London HQ (Oval) with a hybrid work model (3 days in office). Zen Educate is dedicated to transforming the education system by addressing inefficiencies that impact children’s futures. The company’s core mission is to ensure every child has the right educator in the right classroom at the right time, leveraging technology to help schools save millions and empowering educators to find rewarding work. This Principal Product Manager (IC) role is pivotal for building the ‘machine’ that delivers this critical outcome at scale across the UK and US, requiring significant leadership in defining complex problems, identifying strategic leverage points, and converting ambiguity into tangible momentum as an individual contributor.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Hybrid – London, United Kingdom

• Team: Individual Contributor, reporting to the Chief Product Officer.
• Mission: Build the scalable system that consistently places the right educator in the right classroom at the right time.
• Tech Stack: Spreadsheets, dashboards, BI systems, SQL (if needed).

What You’ll Actually Do
• Frame real problems and identify efficient validation paths, which may include features, operational tweaks, or process changes.
• Integrate qualitative insights with quantitative data to set priorities and guide solutions.
• Collaborate closely with design, engineering, and operations teams to ship, learn, and repeat effectively.
• Establish clear success metrics that directly link to desired business outcomes and system improvements.
• Continuously enhance product development processes, tools, habits, and feedback loops across the organization.

The Must-Haves
• Background: This is a senior-level Individual Contributor (IC) role for a Principal Product Manager who operates as a savvy Product Operator, focused on building and scaling digital products or systems within marketplace businesses.
• Experience: A minimum of 10 years of experience building and scaling digital products or systems with measurable impact. This includes running discovery, experiments, and delivery end-to-end across a portfolio of product lines. Demonstrated ability to set strategic goals and drive the delivery of products or experiences that successfully achieve those objectives.
• Skills: Comfort working with various data sources and tools, including spreadsheets, dashboards, BI systems, and potentially SQL. Strong collaborative abilities to work effectively with diverse teams such as engineering, design, operations, sales, and growth. Proven track record of simplifying complex problems and intricate systems into clear, usable solutions.
• Bonus: Prior experience in EdTech or adjacent verticals, or within a hybrid physical and digital environment, is considered extra credit.