Communications Lead

Kaizen Labs; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

One Medical membership

401(k) company match

Parental leave 16 weeks

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Kaizen Labs seeks a Senior Communications Leader to own how we present the company to federal decision makers and the public. You will drive major announcements, coordinate with reporters, and shape Kaizen's voice across press, events, and executive briefings.

You will lead campaigns that blend earned, owned, and paid media, manage external agencies, and ghostwrite for founders to clearly articulate our government‑tech perspective. This role demands strategic thinking and hands‑on execution.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in press relations and media strategy.
• Experience running press for at least one major announcement from plan to coverage.
• Go‑to‑market campaigns combining earned, owned, and paid media around a launch or milestone.
• Hands‑on paid media experience: plan/manage ad buys, sponsorships, or placements.
• Ability to ghostwrite for founders across formats.
• Experience directing PR agencies or outside vendors against scope and timelines.

Responsibilities

• Own Kaizen's major announcements end to end: federal contracts, products, partnerships, funding.
• Serve as Kaizen's primary media contact and coordinate with reporters covering federal tech and defense.
• Build campaigns across earned, owned, and paid media and report on ROI.
• Write in the founders' voice: op-eds, long-form posts, social, and speaking materials.
• Manage press events and conferences, brief leadership for key stages.
• Collaborate with Head of Federal Strategy & External Affairs on outreach to Congress and agencies.
• Maintain brand consistency across website, collateral, and channels.

Skills

Press relations

Media strategy

Campaign planning

Ghostwriting

Agency management

Security clearance

Job description

Government technology has failed citizens, public servants, and service members for decades.

Kaizen powers America’s application layer. We replace the legacy systems federal agencies run on with modern software, built with craft. The ticketing platform a resident uses to visit a presidential library. The marketplace DoW uses for counter-drone procurement to protect lives and critical infrastructure. The system a Veteran uses to access benefits. We build systems of record, of national consequence. Our AI-native modules and harness allow us to do so in weeks and months, not years.

This year, our revenue has grown 35x. Next year, our software will serve over 100 million Americans across dozens of federal agencies.

Founded in 2022 and based in New York City and DC, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital.

Location

Washington, D.C.

The Role

Kaizen is winning federal work that matters, and every award is proof that government technology can be built to a higher standard. Right now there are more of those stories than there is capacity to tell them well. You'll own how Kaizen shows up in the press, on stage, and in front of federal decision makers. You'll run our biggest announcements, shape the founders' voice, and work our Head of Federal Strategy & External Affairs, to build Kaizen's presence with Congress and the administration. When it works, the people who run public services know who we are before we ever pitch them.

What You’ll Do

• Own Kaizen's major announcements end to end: federal contract awards, product launches, partnerships, and funding, from plan and embargo to coverage and follow-through.
• Serve as Kaizen's primary media contact. Build relationships with the reporters who cover federal technology and defense, and direct our PR agency on pitching, materials, and timelines.
• Build campaigns that pair earned, owned, and paid media, including ad buys, sponsorships, and placements, and report on what each dollar returned.
• Write in the founders' voice: op-eds, long-form posts, social, and speaking materials that make Kaizen's point of view on government technology hard to ignore.
• Run comms for events and conferences, from executive dinners and stakeholder briefings to launch events, and put leadership on the right stages.
• Partner with Head of Federal Strategy & External Affairs on outreach to congressional offices, committee staff, administration stakeholders, and industry associations.
• Keep the brand consistent across the website, collateral, and every channel, so the story agencies read matches the software the public actually uses.

What You’ll Bring

• 6+ years in press relations and media strategy, or equivalent experience, including running press for at least one major announcement from plan to coverage.
• Go-to-market campaigns that combined earned, owned, and paid media around a launch or milestone.
• Hands‑on paid media experience: you’ve planned and managed ad buys, sponsorships, or placements and can explain what the spend returned.
• Writing strong enough to ghostwrite for founders. You can move from a press release to an op‑ed to a rapid‑response statement in the same afternoon.
• Experience directing PR agencies or outside vendors against scope, timelines, and results.
• Eligibility to obtain a Secret clearance.

Strong Candidates May Also...

• Hold an active Secret clearance or higher.
• Have worked on the Hill, on a committee, or in an agency public affairs office, with working knowledge of authorizing and appropriations. Ability to register as a federal lobbyist is a plus.
• Bring product marketing experience, translating technical capability into clear stakeholder narratives.
• Have planned industry events, from executive dinners to major conferences.

Don't Apply If...

• You need a team of coordinators to execute. Here you write the release, brief the reporter, and book the room.
• You measure success in press release volume instead of the right story in the right outlet.
• You've only worked agency-side and don't want to own outcomes in-house.
• Agency approvals, embargoes, and a customer who controls the calendar sound like obstacles instead of the job.

What Kaizen Offers

Health & Insurance

• 100% coverage across the board: medical through Oxford/United (Gold and Platinum PPO plans), dental through Guardian PPO, and vision through Beam — all fully covered for employees, with 100% coverage for dependents.
• $100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA.
• One Medical membership, on us — same-day primary care, 24/7 virtual visits, and offices all over the city.
• Fertility and family-building support through Carrot.
• 401(k) through Guideline, with a 2% company match.

Family & Time Off

• 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents.
• Unlimited PTO, with a two-week minimum (we mean it when we say take time off!)
• Closed for all federal holidays.
• Company-wide winter break the week of Christmas.
• Company offsites throughout the year.

Office & Remote Setup

• Up to $750 one-time home office or desk setup stipend for NYC-based employees. $500 for remote employees.
• $50/month commuter benefit (company contribution).
• Expensed lunch while in the office.
• Company-provided laptop of your choice.

Wellness

• NYC employees: Fully covered gym membership at Grindhouse — right across the street from our office at 47 W 17th St (and in Williamsburg). A $225/month value, on us.
• Non-NYC employees: $100 per month, dedicated to gym / physical fitness reimbursement.

Stipends

• $100/month utility stipend.
• $500/year professional development.
• $250/year recreation.
• $300/quarter pet care stipend.

The agencies we serve are trusting us with services millions of Americans depend on. How we tell that story shapes who trusts us next.