Program Director, Surgical Services

Stepful, Inc.; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Meaningful equity stake

Subsidized medical/dental/vision

401(k)

Learning stipend

Open vacation policy

Job summary

Stepful is seeking a Program Director to lead Surgical Technology and Sterile Processing programs with accountability for curriculum, lab operations, and client partnerships nationwide.

The role is remote with travel to employer partner sites (up to 20–25%). You will hire and develop instructors, ensure NCCT/ NBSTSA standards, and drive student outcomes from certification through placement.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience teaching surgical technology and/or sterile processing fundamentals, including course delivery, assessment, and student support.
• 5+ years of clinical or operational experience in a surgical technology or sterile processing clinical setting
• 2+ years in healthcare education, training program administration, or clinical operations with instructional oversight (certification/regulatory experience preferred)
• Demonstrated experience managing or leading a team, including contractors or adjunct instructors.
• Experience with enterprise clients, clinical sites, or healthcare employer partners; strong relationship skills.

Responsibilities

• Own the day-to-day operations of the Surgical Technology and Sterile Processing programs across online, in-person labs, and clinical education components.
• Safeguard program approvals and regulatory standing by maintaining key outcomes: certification pass rates, graduation rates, and job placement.
• Hire, onboard, and manage a team of full-time staff and a growing contractor/adjunct instructor pool.
• Lead client site visits, calibrate clinical skills, and support program expansion with enterprise partners.
• Collaborate with curriculum teams to keep content current and monitor student progress and success.

Skills

Teaching experience

Leadership

Enterprise partnerships

Cross-functional collaboration

Adaptability

Travel readiness

Education

NBSTSA Certified Surgical Technologist or NCCT TS-C

Job description

About Stepful:

Stepful is a workforce platform redefining how America's largest health systems build, train, and retain their talent. Since our founding in 2021, Stepful’s trained over 32,000 practice-ready healthcare workers.

Layering onto our successful direct-to-consumer training, Stepful partners with leading healthcare institutions to address the growing national shortage of healthcare workers. We’re improving access to quality healthcare for everyone, everywhere, and improving access to healthcare career ladders for those who need them most.

Our students form the talent pipelines for major employers such as NY-Presbyterian, Mt. Sinai, HCA, Providence, CVS, and Walgreens. We have partnerships with half of the top 10 health systems in the US and are in process with many more.

Stepful is backed by Y Combinator, Reach Capital, and AlleyCorp, with a recent $55M Series C led by Oak HC/FT. We were named the #1 EdTech company in the U.S. by TIME for 2025.

Our values:

We credit much of our success to our exceptional team. We’re looking for mission-driven builders who thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments, and embody our four core values:

• Care first: We do whatever it takes for our students to succeed.

• Learn quickly: We test, learn with data, and iterate.

• Build together: We win when we rely on each other.

• Own it: We show up, take initiative, and show pride.

The opportunity:

We are seeking a highly motivated Program Director to lead Stepful's Surgical Services programs — Surgical Technology and Sterile Processing. This is a high-impact, portfolio-level role for someone who is passionate about healthcare education and committed to expanding access to surgical careers for working adults across the country.

The Program Director, Surgical Services will own the full operational and quality lifecycle of both programs — spanning curriculum, skills lab and clinical operations, instructor team leadership, and enterprise client partnerships across 12+ healthcare employer partners in multiple states. Success in this role is measured by student outcomes (certification pass rates, graduation rates, and job placement) and the quality and depth of Stepful's relationships with its clinical and employer partners.

This remote role will require occasional travel to employer partner clinical sites and reports to the Senior Director, Operations.

If you're energized by the chance to shape how the next generation of surgical technologists and sterile processing technicians are trained — and to do it at scale — we'd love to hear from you.

What you'll do:

Program Operations

• Own the day-to-day operations of both the Surgical Technology and Sterile Processing programs across didactic (online), skills lab (in-person), and clinical education components.

• Safeguard NCCT program approval and applicable state regulatory standing by protecting key outcome thresholds: certification pass rates, graduation rates, and job placement.

• Conduct ongoing program evaluation and assessment, using data to surface improvement opportunities and drive continuous improvement across both programs.

Instructor Team Leadership

• Hire, onboard, and manage a team of full-time staff and a growing contractor/adjunct instructor pool across both programs.

• Set quality and performance standards; lead performance calibration to ensure instructional consistency and excellence.

• Coach and develop team members, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and shared ownership of student outcomes.

Enterprise Partnerships & Clinical Operations

• Partner closely with the Customer Success team to support multiple healthcare employer partners across multiple states, managing ongoing relationships and ensuring strong program alignment.

• Lead client site visits and clinical skills calibration independently, ensuring graduates are practice-ready from day one.

• Partner with Stepful's enterprise team to support program expansion and onboarding of new employer partners.

Curriculum & Student Success

• As the Subject Matter Expert, collaborate with internal curriculum teams to continuously review and strengthen content across both programs, keeping it current with industry standards and employer expectations.

• Oversee student progress and performance, including progress monitoring, academic advising, and program completion support.

• Experiment with AI tools and other technologies to improve program workflows, reporting, and student outcomes — documenting and sharing what works.

What you'll bring:

• 3+ years of experience teaching surgical technology and/or sterile processing fundamentals, including course delivery, assessment, and student support

• Active NBSTSA Certified Surgical Technologist or NCCT TS-C certification

• 5+ years of clinical or operational experience in a surgical technology or sterile processing clinical setting

• 2+ years of experience in healthcare education, training program administrative, or a clinical operations role with instructional oversight — experience with regulatory or certification compliance strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated experience managing or leading a team, including contractors or adjunct instructors.

• Experience working with enterprise clients, clinical sites, or healthcare employer partners - a collaborative, relationship-first approach is essential.

• Strong cross-functional skills; comfortable working alongside instructors, students, clinical partners, and internal Stepful teams across multiple states.

• Comfort in a fast-growing organization where priorities evolve and initiative is valued.

• Willingness to travel to our employer partner sites around the US, up to 20-25% of the time

Bonus points if:

• You have experience in EdTech or online/hybrid healthcare training environments.

• You've participated in NCCT program reviews, accreditation processes, or state authorization compliance activities.

• You hold dual certification across both surgical technology and sterile processing.

Interview Process:

• Introductory call with Talent Acquisition team member

• Interview with Hiring Manager

• Take-Home Assignment

• Virtual Assignment Review

• Virtual Team Interview

• Final Onsite Interviews (at our NYC office)

Benefits and Compensation:

• Meaningful Equity Stake

• Subsidized Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plan options

• 401(k)

• FSA, HSA and commuter benefits

• Learning stipend

• Open vacation policy, including:

  • Guidance of 15 days PTO annually

  • Stepful closed the last week of December

  • 15 work-from-anywhere days

  • 10 public holidays observed for 2026

• 10 public holidays observed for 2026

Stepful is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.