Vice President of Engineering

About Activate Learning

Activate Learning is a leading provider of investigation-centered K-12 STEM curricula, including OpenSciEd and other K-12 science and math curricula. Our materials combine rigorous, phenomenon-based instructional design with a digital platform that supports teachers, students, and district administrators across the country. We operate a full-service model which includes physical curriculum kits, print consumables, and a growing digital subscription platform serving hundreds of districts in active adoption cycles.

We are growing rapidly and have reached an inflection point in how we develop and own our digital platform. This role sits at the center of that evolution.

The Opportunity

In the near term, you will take ownership of an existing platform, grow the in-house engineering team over time, and ensure the platform runs reliably while reshaping how development gets done. Looking further out, you will lead the technical thinking about where the platform needs to go — what the next generation of Activate Learning’s digital infrastructure looks like, and how to get there without disrupting what exists today.

This role reports to the Chief Product Officer and works in close partnership with the product, curriculum, IT and customer support teams.

WHAT YOU WILL OWN

Platform Ownership & Transition

•      Audit the existing platform: codebase quality, architecture, documentation, and technical debt

•      Define and lead the right model for platform development going forward, which may include a restructured relationship with our current development partner, expanded in-house capability, or both

•      Maintain and extend the current platform through the transition

•      Own platform operations, DevOps, uptime, and incident response

Technical Strategy & Architecture

•      Develop and maintain a long-term technical vision for the platform that supports Activate Learning’s curriculum model as it grows in scale and complexity

•      Evaluate and guide adoption of AI capabilities: standards alignment tooling, assessment generation, virtual science investigations, and lesson customization features

•      Identify opportunities to evolve platform architecture in ways that reduce technical debt, improve scalability, and expand what the product team can build

•      Ensure the platform architecture supports deep district integrations, rostering, and administrative workflows

Team Building

•      Grow and develop the in-house engineering team

•      Establish engineering culture, standards, and practices that scale with the organization

•      Build a team capable of owning near-term platform operations while investing in longer-term technical progress

IT, Security & Compliance

•      Own internal IT infrastructure: employee devices, systems access, software licensing, and onboarding/offboarding workflows

•      Lead the company’s information security program, including policies, access controls, vulnerability management, and incident response

•      Drive SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001:2022 compliance and maintain certification on an ongoing basis

•      Ensure platform and data practices meet FERPA, COPPA, and district Data Privacy Agreement requirements

•      Manage vendor security reviews and third-party risk assessments

Cross-functional Partnership

•      Partner with the CPO on roadmap feasibility, technical cost, and sequencing

•      Collaborate with curriculum leadership on platform features that meet the evolving needs of teachers while preserving curriculum fidelity

•      Work with QA and Product Support to maintain a clear, efficient bug escalation workflow

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Required

•      Genuine engineering background with the ability to engage credibly at the code and architecture level

•      Experience leading an engineering team through a period of significant change — platform migration, vendor transition, or team build-out

•      Demonstrated ability to hire and develop strong engineers and build team culture

•      Comfort with full-stack web platforms; familiarity with modern deployment pipelines, and cloud infrastructure

•      Clear, direct communicator who can translate technical complexity for non-technical stakeholders

Preferred

•      Experience in edtech, curriculum publishing, or a domain where the product has instructional or content integrity requirements

•      Hands-on experience with SOC2 and ISO27001 compliance and information security program management

•      Familiarity with K–12 data privacy requirements (FERPA, COPPA, district DPA frameworks)

•      Experience with AI-assisted product features, not necessarily as a builder, but as a technical leader who has navigated AI integration decisions

•      Prior experience working alongside or transitioning from an external development partner

BENEFITS

•      Excellent benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, matching 401K and PTO.