Program Manager, Product

Justworks; New York (NY); On-site; USD 131,000 - 169,000; Full time

Job summary

Justworks is seeking a Program Manager on the Technology team in New York City. You will lead complex, cross‑functional programs tied to product, customer, and business outcomes, coordinating across Product, Engineering, Design, Data, Operations, and customer-facing teams to deliver measurable impact.

You will define success, identify teams and dependencies, and build an operating model to move programs from ambiguity to execution, while communicating progress and risks to stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of program management, strategy, operations, product, or equivalent experience leading cross‑functional work in a modern technology business.
• Strong ability to break down ambiguous problems and translate business needs into coordinated execution.
• Experience building programs, processes, or operating models from the ground up.

Responsibilities

• Independently own complex programs from definition through execution, focusing on customer and business outcomes.
• Translate ambiguous problems into clear program objectives, workstreams, ownership, milestones, and success measures.
• Build programs from the ground up with operating rhythms, governance, and stakeholder engagement.
• Partner with Product and Technology leaders to understand strategy and connect dependencies.
• Establish ownership and decision-making across teams; ensure progress aligns with roadmaps.
• Identify and manage dependencies, risks, and priorities; escalate when leadership decisions are required.
• Use data to diagnose problems, inform decisions, and measure impact.
• Communicate complex work clearly across audiences and maintain alignment.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Analytics

Communication

Stakeholder management

Problem solving

Job description

At Justworks, you’ll enjoy a welcoming and casual environment, great benefits, wellness program offerings, company retreats, and the ability to interact with and learn from leaders in the startup community. We work hard and care about our most prized asset - our people.

We’re helping businesses get off the ground by enabling them to focus on running their business. We solve HR issues. We’re data-driven and never stop iterating. If you’d like to work in a supportive, entrepreneurial environment, are interested in building something meaningful and having fun while doing it, we’d love to hear from you.

We're united by shared goals and shared motivations at Justworks. These are best summed up in our company values, which are reflected in our product and in our team.

Our Values

If this sounds like you, you’ll fit right in.

Who We Are

At Justworks, you’ll enjoy a welcoming and casual environment, great benefits, wellness program offerings, company retreats, and the ability to interact with and learn from leaders in the startup community. We work hard and care about our most prized asset - our people.

We’re helping businesses get off the ground by enabling them to focus on running their business. We solve HR issues. We’re data-driven and never stop iterating. If you’d like to work in a supportive, entrepreneurial environment, are interested in building something meaningful and having fun while doing it, we’d love to hear from you.

We're united by shared goals and shared motivations at Justworks. These are best summed up in our company values, which are reflected in our product and in our team.

Our Values

If this sounds like you, you’ll fit right in.

About the team

The Justworks Technology Program Management team advances our mission by leading the complex, cross-functional programs that turn our most important Product and business strategies into outcomes for our customers. Sitting within the Product organization, our Program Managers help teams navigate some of the most complicated challenges facing Justworks — connecting work across FinTech, Healthcare, HRTech, and the technology and operations that power our products.

Our Program Managers lead highly collaborative, cross-functional endeavors, bringing together stakeholders across Product, Engineering, Design, Data, Operations, and customer-facing teams to solve problems that extend beyond any single team or roadmap. They deeply understand the business and customer outcomes behind the work, connect threads across teams and priorities, and create the clarity, structure, and alignment needed to move from strategy to execution.

By joining us, you’ll be part of an experienced Program Management team with a track record of leading large-scale transformations and strategic initiatives that impact how Justworks builds products, serves customers, and operates as a business.

About the role

As a Program Manager on the Technology team, you’ll lead complex, cross-functional programs tied to important Product, customer, and business outcomes. You’ll work across Product, Engineering, Design, Data, Operations, and customer-facing teams to bring together the people and work required to deliver outcomes that no single team can achieve alone.

You’ll take programs from ambiguity to execution — deeply understanding the problem, defining what success looks like, identifying the teams and dependencies involved, and building the operating model that allows the organization to move forward. You’ll connect work across roadmaps, establish clear ownership and decision-making, and adapt the program as priorities shift and new information emerges.

As a champion for the program’s outcomes, you’ll build alignment across teams with different priorities and perspectives, surface risks and tradeoffs early, and ensure execution remains connected to the customer and business problem we’re solving. You will operate independently within your programs and clearly articulate your reasoning, recommendations, and decisions to peers, leaders, and cross-functional stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Independently own complex programs from definition through execution, maintaining focus on the customer and business outcomes they exist to deliver
• Translate ambiguous business and customer problems into clear program objectives, workstreams, ownership, milestones, and measures of success
• Build programs from the ground up, establishing the operating rhythms, decision‑making mechanisms, stakeholder engagement, and governance needed to move work forward
• Partner deeply with Product and Technology leaders to understand strategy and roadmaps, connect dependencies across teams, and coordinate work toward broader outcomes
• Build strong relationships across functions by demonstrating curiosity, empathy, sound judgment, and a commitment to shared outcomes
• Identify and proactively manage dependencies, risks, and competing priorities, helping teams make clear tradeoffs and escalating when leadership decisions are required
• Use quantitative and qualitative data to understand program health, diagnose problems, inform decisions, and measure customer and business impact
• Adapt program scope, sequencing, and ways of working as the organization learns and priorities change
• Communicate complex work clearly across audiences, creating shared understanding of progress, decisions, risks, and outcomes
• Build repeatable mechanisms that reduce organizational friction and help teams execute more effectively over time
• Take on opportunities beyond core responsibilities to strengthen Program Management practices and drive impact across Technology

What you’ll need

• 3–5+ years of program management, strategy, operations, product, or equivalent experience leading cross‑functional work in a modern technology business
• A strong commitment to problem‑solving, with demonstrated ability to break down ambiguous problems and translate business needs into coordinated execution
• Experience building programs, processes, or operating models from the ground up rather than solely executing within established structures
• Meaningful experience partnering with Product and Engineering teams and an understanding of how strategy, roadmaps, prioritization, and delivery connect to customer and business outcomes
• Strong business acumen and a willingness to deeply understand Justworks’ products, customers, business model, and organizational context
• Demonstrated ability to build trust, influence without authority, and create alignment across stakeholders with different priorities and perspectives
• Strong analytical skills and comfort using quantitative and qualitative data to frame problems, measure progress, and inform decisions
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to use clear frameworks and storytelling to make complex work understandable
• Curiosity, adaptability, and the ability to learn unfamiliar domains quickly
• Technical acumen and experience working in complex or regulated technology environments are a plus

The base wage range for this position based in our New York City Office is targeted at $131,000.00 - $169,000.00 per year.

Use of AI Tools.

We may use artificial intelligence and other automated tools to process your personal information as part of the recruitment process. For example, we may use these tools to record, transcribe, and summarize interviews, to help organize and review applications, and to help us assess candidates by comparing their skills, experience, and qualifications against the criteria for open roles. These tools support, but do not replace, human review. We do not make hiring decisions based solely on automated processing, and all final hiring decisions are made by Justworks recruiters and hiring managers. Depending on where you reside, you may have rights regarding our use of automated tools. For more information, please contact us at [e-mail].

Actual compensation is based on multiple factors that are unique to each candidate, including and not limited to skill set, level of relevant experience, and specific work location. Salary ranges for positions based in other locations may differ based on the cost of labor in that location.

For more information about Justworks’ Total Reward Philosophy, including all of the perks and benefits we are proud to offer our team members, please visit Total Rewards @ Justworks .

Diversity At Justworks

Justworks is committed to maintaining a workplace where diversity of identity, culture, and life experience is the norm and is celebrated authentically and respected consistently. Diversity in our work, our people, and our product drives creativity and innovation, entrepreneurial leadership and integrity, competitiveness, and collaboration throughout our business and in the market. We depend on our differences to make our team stronger, our workplace more dynamic, and our product accessible to all of our customers.

We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer open to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or familial status, disability, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status. Justworks is fully dedicated to providing necessary support to candidates with disabilities who may require reasonable accommodations. We also provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on their sincerely held religious beliefs, as well as for other covered reasons consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. If you're in need of a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at [e-mail]. Your comfort and success matter to us, and we're here to ensure an inclusive experience.

Our DEIB Report