Growth Product Manager

About Extern

The age of higher education is ending. Employers no longer hire based on degrees — they hire based on skills and experience. But in today’s market, getting real experience is nearly impossible. Internships are disappearing, entry-level jobs demand years of experience, and AI is reshaping the workforce faster than universities can keep up.

At Extern, we’re building the world’s first subscription to professional experience where learning never stops and every experience moves you forward. Through Externships — hands-on remote projects in AI, product strategy, data, finance, and more — students and career switchers learn by doing while working with top companies.

Our platform makes real-world experience accessible to anyone, anywhere by providing companies with a less burdensome way to engage young talent than high touch internships programs. At Extern, we are helping college students and early career professionals not just land an internship or job, but continuously upskill and stay ahead in their careers through real-world experience.

Our Impact

• Strong Growth: Over 35,000 learners gained real-world experience last year (300% YoY growth). Our new B2C subscription model launched in late 2024 and is already driving fast adoption and strong unit economics.
• Top-Tier Externship Partners: PwC, Home Depot, Beats by Dre (Apple), HP, Expedia, Epic Games, Unity, Macquarie, Pfizer, and National Geographic trust Extern to connect them with emerging talent.
• Career Outcomes That Matter: 70% of externs land internships or jobs within six months.
• Strong Backers: We’re funded by Y Combinator, Jason Calacanis, Foundation Capital, Learn Capital, and University Ventures — who all believe in our vision to replace outdated education models with continuous, experience-based learning.

If you’re excited about shaping the future of education and work—and want to drive growth at startup speed — read on.

The Role

As our Growth Product Manager, you’ll own top-of-funnel user acquisition and fuel our organic, viral, and product-led growth engine. You’ll experiment relentlessly, drive improvements in conversion and retention, and collaborate closely with engineering, design, and marketing to scale our B2C subscription platform. This role is perfect for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, early-stage environment and is motivated by mission-driven impact.

What You’ll Do

1. Drive Viral & Referral Loops

• Design, implement, and analyze growth experiments to boost virality, shareability, and social proof.
• Develop self-sustaining growth loops (e.g., user referrals, content sharing, community engagement).
• Identify and execute product-led growth (PLG) strategies that increase acquisition through in-product features.

2. Optimize Acquisition & Activation

• Own the visitor-to-subscriber funnel; increase sign-up conversion and minimize drop-off points.
• Improve “aha moment” experiences via social proof, peer recommendations, and streamlined onboarding flows.
• Leverage analytics to refine messaging, landing pages, and user flows for higher activation and retention.

3. Scale Content & Community

• Partner with marketing to expand content-driven growth, including SEO, user-generated content, and community referrals.
• Leverage expert Q&As, community discussions, and other high-value content to generate leads and organic inbound traffic.
• Identify opportunities for AI-driven content and personalization to fuel scalable, individualized user experiences.

4. Lead Data-Driven Experimentation

• Develop and maintain a rigorous experiment framework (A/B tests, multivariate testing).
• Define, measure, and report on key growth KPIs (e.g., CAC, activation rate, referral conversion, viral coefficient).
• Collaborate with engineering and data teams to ensure robust tracking, attribution, and analytics across the product.

Success in This Role Looks Like

• Driving High-Intent Traffic: Position Extern’s brand, content, and messaging so that new users arrive with strong motivation to convert, sustaining or improving on our already high free-to-paid conversion.
• Sustaining Rapid Growth: Maintain or accelerate our 15%+ weekly user growth by expanding organic, referral, and product-led acquisition strategies.
• Strengthening Product Positioning & Retention: Collaborate closely with product and marketing to ensure Extern’s unique value proposition resonates with prospects, leading to continued high retention (currently 80%) and user satisfaction.

What We’re Looking For

Must-Have

• 6+ years of product management experience, with at least 2 years in growth-focused roles at B2C subscription or marketplace companies.
• Proven track record in SEO, content-driven growth, referral loops, and product-led acquisition strategies.
• Hands-on experience with A/B testing, growth analytics, and experimentation frameworks (Mixpanel, Metabase, BigQuery, etc.).
• Strong understanding of user behavior, activation, and retention metrics; comfortable with SQL or partnering closely with data teams.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to execute swiftly in an early-stage environment.

Nice-to-Have

• Prior experience in marketplaces or consumer subscription businesses.
• Exposure to AI-driven personalization or community-led growth strategies.
• Background in growth engineering, martech automation, or building viral content loops.

Why Join Extern?

This isn’t just another job—it’s an opportunity to redefine the way people build careers. If you’re a data-driven, growth-obsessed product leader who thrives on fast iteration, bold ideas, and real impact, this is your chance to build something that will change millions of lives.

Ready to help shape the future of experiential learning? Let’s build the new standard for lifelong career acceleration—together.

• Mission-Driven Impact: Help thousands of students and career switchers access the real-world experience they need to succeed.
• High-Growth Startup: Be part of a rapidly scaling B2C platform with strong early traction.
• Product-Led Growth Focus: Build organic, self-sustaining acquisition loops instead of just “buying” users.
• Ownership & Autonomy: Work in a high-ownership environment where decisions are made quickly, and you can see the impact of your work in real time.
• World-Class Team & Backing: Join a mission-driven team, guided by investors like Y Combinator, Foundation Capital, and more.

Apply here: https://jobs.gusto.com/postings/extern-growth-product-manager-93a914b3-d9f9-4858-b5f3-d03034c94ae1