Head of Program, ScienceFair

Job description

ScienceFair is a Indigo Research affiliate program that helps ambitious STEM students produce publication-ready research while competing for top honors at leading science fairs, including Regeneron ISEF, Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge, National JSHS, 3M Young Scientist Challenge, Regeneron STS, and other prestigious regional and national competitions that follow ISEF format such as Genius Olympiad. ScienceFair combines Indigo's research mentorship with coaching from recent science fair champions and subject-matter experts, supporting students not only to conduct rigorous research but to strategically position that research for competitive submission, presentation, and judging to win awards and qualify for national and international level fairs. We are building ScienceFair into a high-quality, scalable offering for students who want to combine research excellence with competition success. Role Overview The Product Director will own ScienceFair end-to-end — growing the business, ensuring exceptional student outcomes, building a scalable operating model, and acting as product owner for the program. This is a true GM / business-owner role rather than a program operations role: you will hold the full ScienceFair P&L and growth engine, student outcomes, operating model, and the Indigo/Crimson Education relationship. This is a highly entrepreneurial role that requires moving comfortably between strategy, sales, product, operations, student experience, and execution — working closely with Crimson Education, Indigo Research, country sales teams, mentors, and internal operations. You are accountable not simply for running the program, but for making it work and sellable. Key Responsibilities Revenue Growth Own the commercial growth strategy for ScienceFair across global markets Partner with country teams and sales leadership to increase ScienceFair penetration among eligible students, and build clear sales processes and enablement so country teams can execute consistently Identify opportunities to increase attach rates to Indigo Researcher and Innovator, and grow the higher-value ScienceFair International and LevelUp offerings Monitor pipeline, conversion, revenue, attach rates, and market-level performance, intervening where performance falls below target Own the ScienceFair P&L, including budget, unit economics, and cost management, ensuring sustainable margins as the program scales Identify new commercial opportunities, markets, partnerships, and product extensions Student Outcomes Own the quality and outcomes of the ScienceFair student experience, including research quality, Indigo handoff, competition submissions, advancement, and awards won by students Build systems to identify students falling behind and ensure appropriate intervention Own the handoff between ScienceFair and Indigo so the two mentorship experiences operate as one integrated student journey Establish feedback loops from students, mentors, judges, and competition outcomes to continuously improve the program Build a culture of accountability around student outcomes, rather than hours delivered or sessions completed Operations Build and manage the operational infrastructure required to deliver ScienceFair at scale, including mentor allocation, scheduling, student progression, and submission processes Lead the ScienceFair operations team, establishing clear ownership, workflows, SLAs, and escalation processes Build processes for managing compliance requirements, including IRB, consent, and competition eligibility Create dashboards and reporting for visibility into student progress, commercial performance, and operational health Anticipate operational bottlenecks and build systems to prevent them, ensuring the program can scale without compromising quality People Leadership (as the role grows) This role is an individual-contributor position today, working through mentors, sales teams, and cross-functional partners rather than direct reports. The person in this role will be expected to manage the contractors who deliver the service. As ScienceFair scales, this role is expected to grow into building and leading a dedicated ScienceFair team, with responsibility for hiring, coaching, and performance management of full timers Early decisions about workflows, ownership, and operating rhythm should be made with a future team in mind, so the program is ready to absorb headcount as it grows Product Ownership Act as product owner for ScienceFair, with end-to-end responsibility for what is sold and how it works Continuously evaluate and improve the ScienceFair Regional, ScienceFair International/ISEF, and LevelUp offerings Define the ideal student profile, positioning, and program structure for each offering, ensuring ScienceFair remains the clear pathway for students pursuing major science competitions Use student outcomes, mentor and sales feedback, and competition results to drive product iteration and roadmap decisions Maintain a high bar for what constitutes an ISEF-ready research project, ensuring the program does not over-promise outcomes Qualifications 4+ years of experience owning a business, product, program, or significant revenue line end-to-end Demonstrated ability to grow revenue through sales teams and cross-functional execution Experience building and scaling operational systems and processes Experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects (e.g. students, mentors, sales teams, internal operations) Background in education, academic programs, research, STEM, competitions, or youth programming is a plus Familiarity with ISEF, Regeneron STS, JSHS, Thermo Fisher, or other science competitions is a plus Experience taking a relatively new product or business line from early-stage execution to scalable growth is a plus Skills 1. Commercial & Revenue Ownership Owns revenue growth end-to-end, not just delivery — thinks like a business owner Uses pipeline, conversion, and attach-rate data to diagnose performance and prioritize interventions Builds sales enablement that country teams can execute consistently 2. Outcomes & Quality Orientation Strong instinct for what a genuinely competitive, ISEF-ready student outcome looks like Able to spot risks to student outcomes early and intervene appropriately Maintains a high bar while balancing scalability and operational constraints 3. Operational & Product Thinking Identifies inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and points of failure in systems Moves beyond surface-level fixes to implement scalable, repeatable solutions Acts as a true product owner — uses evidence to drive roadmap and iteration decisions 4. Analytical & Data-Driven Uses data to track performance, identify trends, and inform decisions across revenue, outcomes, and operations Diagnoses issues in student outcomes, mentor performance, or commercial workflows Strong attention to detail without losing sight of the bigger picture 5. Stakeholder Management & Communication Works effectively across Indigo Research, country sales teams, mentors, and internal operations Communicates clearly and proactively, especially in high-stakes or time-sensitive situations Manages expectations and resolves issues with both internal and external stakeholders 6. Ownership, Resilience & Adaptability Takes complete ownership of a complex business and figures out how to make it work Performs well under pressure and in fast-moving, ambiguous environments Open to feedback and continuously looking to improve systems and outcomes