Production Manager (Studio)

Job description

ABOUT US Our mission is to reinvent the way people learn, starting with language. Learning a language can change a life by opening doors to new cultures, careers, and communities. Two billion people around the world are actively trying to learn a language, but the best way to learn (one-on-one tutoring) is hard to access at scale and hasn’t been meaningfully improved in decades. Speak is building a human-level, AI-powered tutor in your pocket: a conversation-first experience that lets learners actually speak, get instant feedback, and progress through carefully designed lessons. The result is a complete path from beginner to confident speaker across multiple languages. Speak first launched in South Korea in 2019, where Speak has now become the number one language learning app, and we now serve learners across many markets and 15+ languages. Speak is one of the world’s leading AI companies, with over $150m raised in venture investment from OpenAI, Accel, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, and more, with a distributed team across San Francisco, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, and Ljubljana. ABOUT THIS ROLE We're seeking a Production Manager to lead Speak's LA video production studio. You'll establish a distinct visual standard across all video lessons while managing studio operations and team. You'll implement a cohesive style through operational oversight, attend shoots to provide strategic direction, and document creative standards enabling team sustainability. You'll also pilot AI tools to improve post-production efficiency — understanding when AI enhances versus compromises quality. If you're energized by elevating production standards, building systems, and exploring AI workflows in media production, we'd love to meet you. WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING - Oversee Execution of Creative Style — Implement and maintain a cohesive creative style through operational oversight, collaborating on studio, editing, and hiring changes that ensure quality control while documenting standards in a comprehensive style guide. - Oversee Shoots with Production Management Expertise — Attend shoots to provide strategic oversight and creative direction, empowering the studio team on day-to-day tasks while intervening on critical decisions related to vision and on-screen quality. - Build a Repeatable Creative Playbook and Foster Team Growth — Document creative standards, workflows, and quality checklists to enable independent execution, building systems that increase output velocity and streamline collaboration while partnering with post-production to ensure edits, pacing, graphics, and sound align with creative vision. - Introduce AI-Enhanced Production Workflows — Identify and pilot AI tools that improve efficiency or creative output, focusing on post-production tools, video generation platforms, and AI-assisted editing while understanding when AI enhances versus compromises quality and documenting recommendations with tested tools and workflows. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR MUST-HAVES - Production Management: Working knowledge of the full production pipeline — pre-production planning, shoot-day logistics, and post-production oversight. Comfortable managing the operations of production, our team of editors or post-production work, and drive the production team to execute goals/ meet deadlines - Ownership Without Bureaucracy: Takes full accountability for creative output quality. Operates with urgency and independence — doesn't wait for permission to fix what's broken. Designs efficient systems and workflows that enable faster collaboration between studio and learning designers - On-Set Authority & Execution: Comfortable commanding a set, redirecting talent mid-take, and making fast creative decisions under time pressure. Has worked closely with directors, producers, and DP’s on set and can step in when needed. - Creative Vision & Directing: Proven ability to define and execute a visual style across a body of video content. Deep understanding of what makes educational or digital-first video feel premium, can articulate "what good looks like" for overall tone and direction of the end product, and consistently delivers at that standard. - AI & Emerging Tools Knowledge: Genuine enthusiasm for integrating AI into video production workflows. Familiarity with AI video generation, editing tools, or automated post-production techniques is strongly preferred. NICE-TO-HAVES - EdTech or language-learning content experience - Familiarity with multi-language production (managing script supervisors, cultural nuance across language pairs WHY WORK AT SPEAK 1. Join a fantastic, tight-knit team at the right time: we're growing very quickly, we've most recently raised our Series C from some of the top investors in the valley, and we've achieved product-market fit in our initial markets. You'd join at a magical time when a single person could significantly change the course of the company. 2. Do your life's work with people you’ll love working with: we care strongly about our craft and want every person at Speak to feel like they're growing every day. We believe in the idea that working with people you both enjoy and have respect for makes everything better. We hire thoughtfully and only work with people we admire deeply. 3. Global in nature: We're live in over 40 countries and launching in a number of new markets soon. We have dedicated offices in San Francisco, Ljubljana, Seoul, and Tokyo, and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to users in each of these regions on a regular basis as well as travel. 4. Impact people's lives in a major way: Learning a language is one of the single most life-changing skills one can learn, and right now 99% of people never achieve their goal because the process is broken. We’re helping millions of people achieve their goals and improve their lives. Speak does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.