Senior Director, Product Engineering
Overview:
The Senior Director, Product Engineering leads Nerdy's unified Product, Design, and Engineering organization, responsible for building and scaling our core learning products end-to-end. This is a senior leadership role accountable for product vision, design quality, engineering strategy, technical excellence, and team growth — there are no walls between "product," "design," and "engineering" here. You will own roadmap execution across multiple teams and cultivate a high-performing culture of builders who move fast and own outcomes.
About Nerdy:
At Nerdy (NYSE: NRDY) - the company behind Varsity Tutors - we’re redrawing the blueprint of learning. Our Live + AI™ platform fuses real-time human expertise with proprietary generative-AI systems, setting a new bar for measurable academic impact at global scale.
We recruit the kind of technologists and operators you’d bet on as solo founders - people who turn ambiguous problems into shipping code, iterate faster than markets move, and compound their advantage with every data point. In an era where great employees can deliver 10-times the leverage of the merely good, we back those who play to win.
Fortune favors the bold. Join us.
How we compete:
AI-Native at every levelFrom the CEO to day-one hires, everyone builds and ships with generative AI. If you’re not wielding AI, you’re not done.
Entrepreneurial velocityMove at founder speed, prototype in hours, and measure in real user outcomes. Slow teams die.
Free-market rigor Ideas rise or fall on merit and results - no committees, no politics, no cap on upside.
Full-stack ownership You design, build, and run what you ship; accountability is a feature, not a bug.
Reward for contributionPay rises with impact, not years. Outstanding results earn outsized rewards. We evaluate both what you achieve and how you achieve it: living our leadership principles and using AI effectively are formally measured and rewarded.
Relentless explorationPush the frontier of generative AI in live learning and - because only the paranoid survive - questioning every legacy assumption along the way.
Is ApoliticalYou stay focused on mission-aligned outcomes, not distractions or unrelated causes.
If you’re a technically minded builder who thrives on open competition, personal responsibility, and the chance to redefine how the world learns - while continually stretching the limits of what generative AI can do - come do the most ambitious and rewarding work of your career here. Learn more at nerdy.com.Nerdy’s shareholder letters below explain our latest products and strategy:
Qualifications:
12+ years of software engineering experience, including 6+ years leading engineering teams.
Proven experience managing managers and scaling engineering organizations of 20+ people.
Strong technical background in building and operating large-scale distributed systems and web applications.
Track record of delivering complex product initiatives in partnership with cross-functional stakeholders.
Experience embedding AI tools into engineering workflows to accelerate development, and championing AI-native practices across teams.
Experience defining technical strategy, architecture standards, and engineering processes.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence executive and technical audiences.
Demonstrated ability to recruit, develop, and retain high-performing engineering talent.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Responsibilities:
Define and drive the product roadmap, engineering strategy, and technical vision for Nerdy's product engineering organization.
Champion AI-native development practices, ensuring teams build and ship with generative AI at every level of the organization.
Model AI-native behavior by personally building and shipping with AI tools alongside your teams.
Guide teams in defining and integrating AI-powered features thoughtfully — prioritizing user value and reliable outcomes over novelty.
Lead, mentor, and grow multiple engineering teams, including managers and senior individual contributors.
Own delivery outcomes across teams, ensuring quality, reliability, security, and on-time execution.
Establish engineering best practices, architecture standards, and operational excellence across systems.
Manage organizational planning, hiring, headcount, and budget for the product engineering group.
Drive scalability, performance, and reliability improvements across large distributed systems.
Report on engineering health, progress, and risks to executive leadership.
Champion an inclusive, collaborative, and results-oriented team culture.
Unleash Your Potential at Nerdy:
At Nerdy, you'll earn your success through meritocracy and exceptional outcomes. Our benefits reward performance and initiative:
Competitive Compensation & Advancement: Market-leading salary paired with clear promotion pathways and equity (RSUs) - become an owner in our success.
Retirement Made Simple: 401(k) plan with company match and immediate vesting.
A Remote-First Culture: We embrace flexibility across time zones and working styles to attract top talent and meet learners where they are.
Flexible Time Off: Recharge on your terms, ensuring maximum productivity.
Continuous Learning: Access an all-inclusive learning membership for you and your household, including 1:1 tutoring hours, unlimited on-demand classes, and our full suite of learning products and services.
Supercharge with AI: Leverage cutting-edge AI tools to accelerate your workflow.
You’re Covered: Medical, dental, vision, life, STD & LTD plans plus strong maternity, paternity, and adoption leaves - numerous options for you and your family.
The Bottom Line:
If you're driven by impact, energized by ownership, and excited to help shape what’s next, you’ll thrive here. We move fast, think big, and reward those who deliver. This isn’t a traditional corporate environment - it’s a place to do the most meaningful work of your career.
