Product Manager

About Niche

Niche is the leader in school search. Our mission is to make researching and enrolling in schools easy, transparent, and free. With in-depth profiles on every school and college in America, 140 million reviews and ratings, and powerful search tools, we help millions of people find the right school for them. We also help thousands of schools recruit more best-fit students, by highlighting what makes them great and making it easier to visit and apply.

Niche is all about finding where you belong, and that mission inspires how we operate every day. We want Niche to be a place where people truly enjoy working and can thrive professionally.

About The Role

We are looking for a driven Product Manager to develop new communication features on Niche, enhancing the experience for our student users researching colleges and our educational institution partners. In this role, you will lead the development of innovative communication features that improve the user experience while driving high-quality leads and revenue growth.

Your primary responsibility will be to improve how students and schools communicate on our platform through experimentation and testing. You will own a backlog of hypotheses, leveraging user research, data analysis, experimentation, and iterative development to validate opportunities and solutions that effectively serve both sides of our marketplace. You will develop features that enhance how students discover and engage with educational institutions while ensuring our school partners receive quality leads that convert to enrollment. Through continuous testing and refinement, you'll help optimize the platform's value proposition for all stakeholders.

As the Product Owner for your team, you'll work closely with software engineering and design, leading product development efforts and ensuring alignment with business objectives. You'll drive discovery work across both student users and school partners, uncovering insights that inform your product roadmap. Additionally, you'll analyze user behavior data, track key performance metrics, and communicate findings to stakeholders, using these insights to evolve your team’s strategy as your understanding of the opportunity area changes.

What You Will Do

During the First Month:

• Learn about Niche by meeting with various team members to learn more about our company through our Onboarding meetings
• Work with members of the Product Management and Marketing teams to begin to understand the current state of our communication tools
• Attend product team meetings to begin to understand the team strategy and workflow and build relationships across the product development organization 
• Collaborate with product managers and peers in the product development organization to learn about our tools and analytics processes
• Shadow product management team members to learn more about how we collaborate with other areas of the business and how your role fits with external stakeholders and teams

Within 3 Months:

• Assume the role of Product Owner on a product team; this includes identifying tests and optimizations that drive our business goals, communicating and gathering requirements from stakeholders, maintaining and prioritizing a product backlog, and running bi-weekly sprint planning meetings
• Conduct thorough discovery work across both sides of our marketplace, understanding the needs of both student users and our educational institution partners
• Begin to analyze key user and business metrics and monitor results of various releases

Within 6 Months:

• Begin to fully own a product backlog; this includes research and development of new features/initiatives and aligning to product and business strategic initiatives
• Responsible for analyzing and reporting on team metrics across the company; turn analysis into actionable next steps and enhancements
• Have an understanding of the tech stack and an ability to work and communicate effectively with developers on the team

Within 12 Months:

• You will have deep knowledge of all aspects of the products you manage and how they integrate with company strategy 
• Use data-driven and user insights to inform overall product and business strategy
• Continue to develop long term strategy; expand our product offerings as Niche evolves and expands

What We Are Looking For

• Minimum 2+ years of relevant work experience as a product manager
• Proven track record of shipping successful products
• Experience working with and leading cross-functional teams
• Strong analytical skills with an ability to make data-driven decisions
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Experience in conducting user research and applying insights to product development
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, remote environment
• Proficiency with SQL (experience with Snowflake is a plus)
• Familiarity with Jira
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
• Experience with Braze is beneficial but not required

What Would Make You a Great Fit

• You're a problem-solver who finds ways around obstacles rather than making excuses
• You're energized by our mission to revolutionize the college search process
• You thrive in an environment that values iteration and continuous improvement
• You're comfortable with ambiguity and can navigate complex marketplace dynamics
• You play to win and consistently drive results

Compensation 

Our national target base salary range is $111,000-$138,000, plus participation in our Annual Bonus and Stock Option Program. Base compensation will be commensurate with experience and skills.

At Niche, our Total Rewards Philosophy is centered around creating a workplace environment that attracts, motivates, and retains top talent by providing a comprehensive and competitive rewards package.  This philosophy is built on the principles of performance-based compensation, best-in-class benefits and work-life balance, and employee well-being.

Interview Process

Candidate experience is a top priority for our talent and hiring teams.  We believe in providing a transparent, authentic and comprehensive interview process where you have the opportunity to learn about us while we get to know you and your experience.  The interview process is outlined here:

• Phone Screen with Talent Acquisition Partner - 30 Minutes

• Video Interview with Hiring Manager - 45 Minutes

• Team Interview - 45 Minutes (1 Panel with Engineering Manager, Designer, and Product Manager)

• Case Study - 45 Minutes (Presentation to Panel)

• Leadership Interview - 30 Minutes 

Why Niche?

• We are a fully flexible workforce empowering our employees to choose to work remotely, in our Pittsburgh office or whatever combination suits you
• Full time, salaried position with competitive compensation in a fast-growing company
• Best-in-class 100% paid employee health plan, including vision and dental and supplemental coverage
• Flexible Paid Time Off Policy
• Stipend that allows you to build your work from home office in a style and function that suits your personal preferences
• Parental leave for all employees (12 weeks fully paid) in addition to short term disability for birthing parents
• Meaningful 401(k) with employer match
• Your ideas and work will make an immediate impact on our company and millions of users
• You will join a team that cares about you, our mission, our work - and celebrates our wins together!

Niche will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future for this opening.  

We are currently hiring in states where we currently have employees: AZ, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, DC, WV.

Candidates only.  No recruiters or agencies, please. Sorry, we do not offer relocation assistance.

Niche is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. Therefore, we provide employment opportunities without regard to age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

All interviews are being held remotely. If there are preparations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please let us know.