Product Manager (Nairobi)

Our mission at Ello is simple and urgent: maximize the potential of every child, everywhere. We’re building the world’s first AI teacher to close that gap: one that listens, speaks, adapts, and inspires, just like the best human educators.

Our first product, Read with Ello, is already helping tens of thousands of kids each week learn to read. It listens as they read aloud, offers support when they stumble, and generates magical, personalized stories. It works, and kids love it.

Now, we’re scaling that success into something even bigger: a complete AI teacher for all children. Our new app combines language, speech, and memory to deliver interactive learning for kids worldwide – check it out here. We’re moving fast: we ship weekly, test directly with kids, and push the boundaries of what AI can do in education.

With the resources of the world's top investors and the heart of a public benefit corporation, we’re here to revolutionize how children learn globally. Featured on TIME’s Best Inventions and Fortune’s Change the World, Ello is a small, mission-driven team taking on one of the most important challenges of our time: to democratize education.

About the Role

We’re hiring our first Product Manager in Kenya to help build Ello’s Nairobi hub into a strong, independent product organization.

This is not a “local execution” role. This person will be a founding product leader for Ello in Kenya: someone who can understand children, families, schools, and local market dynamics deeply; translate that insight into strong product decisions; and help establish the team, systems, and operating rhythms that allow the Nairobi hub to make decisions and iterate quickly.

You’ll work closely with our product, design, engineering, research, and leadership teams across Nairobi and San Francisco. You’ll own meaningful parts of the product experience end-to-end, from identifying user needs and product hypotheses, to testing with children and families, to shipping improvements that make the product better.

Over time, this person should help build the foundation for a world-class product team in Kenya: one that has strong judgment, high standards, clear processes, and the ability to make decisions close to the users we serve.

This is a highly autonomous role for an AI-forward product builder who is comfortable operating in ambiguity, creating structure where none exists yet, and turning real-world learning into shipped product.

Exciting Things About This Role

• You’ll help the Nairobi hub become a strong product organization with real decision-making power.

• You’ll work at the intersection of AI, education, and a market that is massively underserved — and where the opportunity is enormous.

• You’ll build global product experiences from Nairobi, grounded in direct contact with children and families.

• You’ll work directly with one of Ello’s most important launch markets while shaping experiences that can scale worldwide.

• You’ll work on one of the most important applications of AI: helping children learn.

• You’ll help create processes, team culture, and product standards that can compound for years.

• You’ll collaborate with world-class engineers, designers, and researchers across continents.

Key Requirements

• 3–5 years of experience in product management or closely adjacent roles (engineering, design, or UX research).

• Track record of shipping high-quality products from concept to launch.

• Hands-on experience using AI-native prototyping tools (e.g., Claude, Bolt, Replit, etc) to build quick demos, test product ideas, and accelerate workflows

• Strong design sense: able to recognize great UX and collaborate closely with designers to create simple, delightful experiences.

• Strong user insight: you are comfortable talking to users, observing behavior, identifying patterns, and turning insight into product direction.

• Analytical and problem-solving skills with a structured approach to decision-making.

• Comfortable working with technical teams and understanding system tradeoffs.

• Ability to bridge Nairobi user context with global product standards — you understand what's different about building for Kenyan families, and you bring that into every product decision.

• Excellent communication skills and the ability to lead through clarity and context.

• Demonstrated ownership mindset — proactive, accountable, and outcome-driven.

Nice to Have

• Software engineering experience or equivalent experience with highly technical products.

• Experience with data analytics tools (A/B testing tools, visualization tools, basic ability to write queries)

• Past experience working on consumer products for kids/families or the education market.

• Familiarity with game design mechanics, engagement loops, and motivation frameworks.

• Experience conducting UX research or play testing with real users — and using those insights to drive product decisions.

We Look for Candidates Who

• Want to build products that create an impact with delight.

• Are self starters with a strong sense of ownership, and are driven to improve and elevate business processes that empower other teams.

• Thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and can quickly adapt to change.

• Are highly organized and have an eye for detail.

• Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work with cross-functional teams.

• Are deeply curious about the rapidly evolving world of AI

• Are excited to build engaging and educational experiences for children worldwide

• Value building strong and meaningful relationships with their colleagues and teammates.

About Ello

Ello is a public benefit corporation on a mission to maximize the potential of all children. We’re currently around 45 people, headquartered in San Francisco with a second office in Nairobi, Kenya.

Our team has deep expertise in artificial intelligence, K-12 education, and child development across institutions such as Stanford, Berkeley, Google, Apple, and more. We were part of Y Combinator’s W20 batch and are funded by world-class investors including Goodwater Capital, Homebrew, Reed Hastings, Common Sense Growth, Ravensburger, Project A Ventures, Reach Capital, Khosla Ventures, WndrCo, Visible Ventures, and K9 Ventures.

We’re a small, collaborative team that takes each other’s voices very seriously. Because our mission is to support all children, it is critical that our team is representative of the communities we work in; we place significant emphasis on ensuring diversity in our team and inclusion in our culture. If you have questions about immigration, reach out to us at [email protected].

We feel enormously privileged to be one of the few companies that has the opportunity to take a shot at truly revolutionizing education with AI at this inflection point in technology. We don’t take it for granted, so we work quite hard to turn that vision into reality with urgency. We want to create an environment in which we can all be our best selves, use our strengths to take Ello forward, and develop our own skills.