Over the last 14 years, Ellevation Education has built a thriving business serving the educators who support English Learners. Today, nearly 2,000 districts across the country use Ellevation software to drive English Language Development (ELD) in their schools. We are a successful, growing business with a real mission: helping ELLs achieve their highest aspirations.
We're hiring a Director of Design to lead this function as we pursue our goal of being the premier and most impactful ELD solution on the market. This role reports to our Chief Product & Technology Officer and serves on the R&D Leadership team, where Design sits alongside Product and Engineering as an equal partner in developing strategy and setting direction. As we evolve from a suite of point solutions into an integrated ELD platform, design plays a central role in defining what the experience should be, not just what it looks like.
You'll inherit a team of four product designers (with one to two open roles to fill) supporting work across four product domains. The core challenge is how to is how to connect our compliance, instruction, and assessment tools into a set of unified workflows that drive impact in the classroom and across the district. Doing this requires a design leaders who can think strategically, scale design craft, and influence peers across R&D. The right candidate will bring a sharp recruiting eye, strong people leadership, and enough hands-on judgment to set the bar. The job requires not only the ability to identify and nurture talent, but also to build belonging and deliver through others.
Product Culture
We are organized into small, durable product teams that develop solutions in specific domains. Our teams are cross-functional—product, design, and engineering work so closely together that we call ourselves DevPro and rarely meet in functional silos. We focus on outcomes over output, which means we engage users early, validate hypotheses through research and prototyping, and iterate rapidly toward high-confidence solutions.
While we work in separate teams, we prioritize integration and consistency of our solutions meaning consistency isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a critical part of our end goal.
We expect AI tools like Claude Cowork and Claude Code to be central to designers’ workflows as on-demand collaborators that can help explore ideas quickly: generating variations, stress-testing concepts, and moving from problem to prototype faster than traditional methods allow. This isn't about replacing craft; it's about using AI to expand what's possible within constraints.
We value Product Designers who think strategically and are able to look at problems from multiple angles, weigh tradeoffs, and articulate how a solution meets the needs of both users and the business. We celebrate accountability to outcomes: conducting experiments, adjusting strategy based on learnings, and delivering products that change behavior and drive real value.
Are you passionate about growth and eager to learn? Do you possess a drive to excel and make a difference? Ellevation values diversity, creativity, and a hunger for new perspectives. While our job postings outline preferred qualifications, we believe that talent comes in various forms. If you're motivated, adaptable, and ready to contribute, we encourage you to apply. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences, recognizing that unique skills and fresh outlooks are invaluable assets to our team. Don't let a checklist of requirements deter you – take the leap, and let's explore the possibilities together!
About Us:
At Ellevation, we develop world-class software to help educators serve the fastest growing population of K-12 students: English Learners (ELs). Ellevation helps school districts transform their Multilingual Learner programs and ensure all students can achieve their highest aspirations. Our product suite includes a best-in-class data and instructional planning platform, resources to build teacher capacity, and student-facing programs to teach academic language.
We are a fast-growing, mission-driven technology company partnering with over 1,500 school districts and more than 2 million current and former English Learners. Over the next five years, we plan to double the number of ELs we serve and drive measurable outcomes for students. Ellevation merged with Curriculum Associates in 2021 to accelerate impact for Multilingual Learners. Our company continues to operate independently and is well-capitalized to support our ambitious social and financial objectives.
Why Ellevation?
In addition to our great benefits and competitive salaries, here are some things that make us unique:
+ Mission-driven organization where team members are empowered to make a significant impact
+ Opportunities to join Employee Resource Groups and support building a culture of belonging
+ Professional development and growth opportunities
+ Company and team offsites in various cities across the United States
+ Collaborative workspace in the heart of Boston - a stone's throw from many central T stops (Downtown Crossing, Government Center, and Aquarium). Free snacks, beverages, and local organic fruit provided
+ Remote and in-person engagement opportunities, including happy hours, themed events, and competitions
+ Remote and in-person wellness programming to support team’s mental and physical wellbeing
Here at Ellevation, we champion diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging. We strive to build a team that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values a range of ideas and opinions.
We believe in building a culture where productivity can flourish, one that is empathetic, respectful, and inclusive. We are proud to have been recognized in prior years as “Best Tech Workplace for Diversity” by the Timmy Awards for investing in training around inclusive behaviors, microaggressions, unconscious bias, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and feedback across the company. We are encouraged by our progress, but there’s more work to be done.
Benefits – Benefits eligible employees (and qualifying dependents) are covered by medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance. Employees can enroll in our company's 401(k) retirement plan and receive an employer match up to 50% on the first 7% of your contribution, with pre-tax and Roth options. Employees have access to flexible paid time off for vacations, sick and disability policy, additional 10 paid company holidays, 2 floating holidays and a winter office closure between Christmas and New Year's. In addition, we provide a generous parental leave benefit, back-up childcare or eldercare, and a variety of other perks to support the health and well-being of our employees.
Additional Information: Ellevation operates under Curriculum Associates, LLC, an Equal Opportunity Employer. Curriculum Associates, LLC will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by law. Curriculum Associates, LLC will grant employment, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by law. Such action shall include, but not be limited to, the following: employment, upgrading, demotion, transfer, recruitment or recruitment advertising, layoff or termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.
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