Founding Filmmaker & Video Lead

Kaizen Labs; New York (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & Insurance

Family & Time Off

Office & Remote Setup

Wellness

Stipends

Job summary

Kaizen is hiring a Filmmaker/Content Lead to build Kaizen Studio, the creative function that captures our work for customers, candidates, and investors. You will own production end-to-end, from concept to final edit, and will collaborate directly with founders to craft a distinctive narrative.

Based in New York City, this hybrid role requires periodic travel to federal sites and client locations. You will shape the visual identity and storytelling approach for high-impact government technology

Qualifications

• Experience producing and directing video solo or with a small crew, from concept through final edit.
• A demonstrated point of view on visual storytelling beyond technical execution.
• A portfolio showing range: cinematic storytelling, documentary-style capture, content for multiple audiences.

Responsibilities

• Build and run Kaizen Studio and set the creative direction for all audience-facing content.
• Produce cinematic customer films and recruiting content that showcases deployments and mission.
• Shoot behind-the-scenes footage illustrating collaboration and trust with agencies.
• Lead recurring recruiting films and founder pieces tied to new federal contracts.
• Manage end-to-end production, including editing and delivering finished content.

Skills

Video production

Directing

Storytelling

Founder collaboration

Contractor briefing

Travel readiness

AI tooling

Team leadership (future)

Tools

Camera ops

Job description

Government technology has failed the public for decades, and Americans have been conditioned to expect websites from the 90s for essential public services.

Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use. We partner with local, state, and federal agencies to replace legacy systems with modern, AI-native software that is worthy of the people they serve. We started in outdoor recreation, and now we are building toward something much larger - the software layer that powers how Americans access any government service.

Our platform reaches 55 million Americans across 50+ agencies. Our goal: build technology that touches the lives of 100 million residents by the end of the year.

Founded in 2022 and based in New York City, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital. We are builders, designers, and operators who believe that beautifully designed software shouldn't be a luxury in government. It is how you earn trust back.

The Role

Every American has had a frustrating experience on a .gov site. Almost nobody has seen what it looks like when one gets fixed - a veteran filing a claim in minutes that used to take hours, a park ranger seamlessly checking in families at the gate, a military family getting orders to relocate 3,000 miles and feeling supported in the process.

Kaizen builds the modern alternative to government technology, and is on track to power federal technology serving 100 million residents and public servants within the next 12 months. Almost none of that story is captured today.

We are hiring a Filmmaker/Content Lead to fix that. You will build and run Kaizen Studio (open to naming suggestions): the creative function that captures Kaizen's work across customers, tells the story of the team building it, and defines how Kaizen shows up to candidates, customers, and investors alike.

This is an individual contributor role to start, and not a marketing generalist role where you inherit a demand-gen calendar. You drive creative efforts with video: customer films, recruiting films, founder pieces, launch content, and whatever else you can dream up to tell these stories well. You get a real budget, real equity, and a real say in the emotion Kaizen evokes.

Location

This is a hybrid role based out of our New York City HQ. Candidates must reside in New York or be able to commute to New York City to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays). Periodic travel to be on site with the team (agency visits, offsites, DC trips).

What You Will Do

• Build and run Kaizen Studio. Set the creative direction and visual identity for how Kaizen shows up across every audience: customers, candidates, and investors

• Produce cinematic customer films capturing Kaizen's deployments in the field: the ranger at the gate, the veteran filing a claim, the parent enrolling in benefits, the family relocating across the country

• Shoot documentary-style, behind-the-scenes footage of the team on the road such as the hours before a big meeting, how various teams collaborate on the ground, and what it looks like to build trust with an agency in person

• Run a recurring recruiting film series, covering team events, offsites, day-to-day culture, and the stories behind what draws people to Kaizen’s mission

• Produce founder pieces and launch content tied to new federal contracts and deployments as Kaizen scales past 100 people

• Own production end-to-end on lean shoots: filming, editing, and delivering finished content without waiting on a crew

• Direct and brief contractors (editors, camera operators) on larger productions, making sure their output matches our bar for quality and creativity

What You Will Bring

• Experience producing and directing video solo or with a small crew, from concept through final edit

• A demonstrated point of view on visual storytelling - not just technical execution, but a clear sense of what makes content feel distinct

• A portfolio that shows range: cinematic storytelling, documentary-style capture, and content built for different audiences (customer-facing, recruiting, executive)

• Comfort working directly with founders to shape how a company's story gets told, without needing a brief handed to you

• Experience briefing and directing contractors on larger shoots, including holding their work to a creative standard

• Good judgment on scoping a shoot - knowing when something can be shot solo and when it needs a hired crew

• Willingness to travel periodically to be embedded with the team on site, including federal sites

• Experience leveraging AI tooling for pre-viz, assembly, and cleanup, with a clean POV on where it provides the most value in your work

• The ability to eventually lead and grow an in-house team for production and editing

Strong Candidates May Also...

• Be comfortable stepping in front of the camera themselves for lighter, scrappier content

• Have built an in-house creative studio or content function from scratch, not just contributed to an existing one

• Have experience with motion design and graphic design in video contexts

• Have experience filming in sensitive, access-limited, or bureaucratic environments (government, healthcare, defense)

• Bring a point of view shaped by B2B creative studios doing something in this spirit (in-house brand/content teams at tech companies, for example)

Don't Apply If...

• You only want to own production - this role may require scrappy shoots where you are also the one behind the camera and guiding creative direction

• You r a freelancer looking for one-off gigs, not someone who wants to embed with a team long term

• You d rather have someone else set the creative vision and just execute against a brief

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

• 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. For remote employees, $100/month dedicated to gym or physical fitness reimbursement.

Stipends

• $100/month utility stipend.

• $500/year professional development.

• $250/year recreation.

• $300/quarter pet care stipend.