Lab Schools Learning Partner

About Playlab

Playlab is a tech non-profit dedicated to helping educators and students become critical consumers and creators of AI.

We believe that an open-source, community-driven approach is key to harnessing the potential of AI in education. We equip communities with AI tools and hands-on professional development that empowers educators & students to build custom AI apps for their unique context. Over 40,000 educators have published apps on Playlab – and the impact is growing every day.

At Playlab, we believe that AI is a new design material - one that should be shaped by many to bring their ideas about learning to life. If you're passionate about building creative, equitable futures for students and teachers, we hope you’ll join us.

The Role

Playlab is launching a rigorous, design-forward, 24-month cohort for visionary learning community leaders—heads of school, district/network leaders, CEOs, and founders—who are building AI-enabled learning environments that shift real agency to students.

We’re hiring a Lab Schools Learning Partner to architect and run this cohort end-to-end. In close partnership with Learner Studio and other ecosystem collaborators, you’ll serve as the connective tissue across:

• School and system leaders and their design teams

• Playlab’s product, engineering, and research teams

• Partner design organizations (like Learner Studio)

• Funders and field-facing intermediaries

If you’ve built innovative schools or systems, thrive at the intersection of design and execution, and want to help leaders reimagine schooling around AI and student agency, this role is for you.

What You’ll Do

Cohort Design & Strategy

• Design a 24-month, high-rigor cohort where leaders design, prototype, and refine AI-enabled learning environments that elevate student agency.

• Co-create cohort structure, norms, and the learning arc with partners like Learner Studio—integrating leadership development, design thinking, and practical implementation.

• Define clear outcomes, milestones, and evidence routines that track shifts in student roles, adult practice, and system design.

Partner & Ecosystem Collaboration

• Serve as the primary point of contact for Learner Studio and key ecosystem partners.

• Align sessions, workstreams, and artifacts so leaders experience a coherent, integrated program.

• Convene and manage multi-organization working groups to tackle shared problems of practice (e.g., talent/role redesign, student advisory models, community-embedded projects).

Learning Community Leadership Support

• Coach and support heads of school, district/network leaders, CEOs/founders to articulate ambitious visions for AI-enabled, student-driven models.

• Translate those visions into concrete pilots, staffing plans, instructional models, and role shifts.

• Ensure work is tied to academic goals, equity commitments, and community priorities.

Program Delivery & Facilitation

• Design and facilitate high-quality convenings—virtual and in-person—including design studios, build sprints, cross-community learning, evidence reviews, and reflection cycles.

• Build a culture of candor, co-creation, and shared practice so leaders learn deeply from one another—not just from Playlab.

• Manage logistics, communications, and cadence to ensure a smooth, predictable program experience.

AI Applications, Product, and Evidence

• Help leaders identify high-leverage AI use cases (e.g., student-facing tools, educator co-pilots, student advisory tools, family engagement supports).

• Coordinate co-build cycles with Playlab’s product and engineering teams to rapidly prototype and iterate.

• Partner with research colleagues to define and measure student agency, instructional change, and system redesign across the cohort.

Storytelling, Artifacts, & Field Influence

• Guide learning communities in developing reusable artifacts (playbooks, staffing models, schedules, role descriptions, cases, custom apps).

• Curate stories of student agency, new learning environments, and AI-enabled practice to share through showcases, convenings, and publications.

• Ensure the cohort contributes meaningfully to national learning about how AI can support agency, equity, and deeper learning.

You Might Be a Fit If You Have...

• Significant K–12 leadership experience, including:

  • Founding or leading a school

  • Leading a network, region, or system portfolio

  • Serving in a senior district/CMO role

• A track record of system-level implementation (not just pilots) that changed practice and outcomes.

• Experience in multiple schooling contexts, including:

  • At least one traditional public district

  • At least one charter network or innovative environment (lab schools, microschools, project-based models)

• Strong program and project management skills and comfort owning a complex, multi-site initiative.

• Deep belief in student agency, equity, and public education.

• Comfortable with AI/edtech and translating between educators and technical teams; excited to deepen your technical fluency.

• Exceptional facilitator and relationship-builder with senior leaders and school teams alike.

• Strong conceptual and practical thinking—able to help leaders envision new models and then back-map to schedules, roles, and constraints.

• High bias for action, flexibility, and comfort in a fast-evolving environment.

Bonus Points For...

• Experience running or supporting fellowships/cohorts for school founders or system leaders.

• Background in research, continuous improvement, measurement, or evaluation of student-centered outcomes.

• Experience working with design studios, intermediaries, or philanthropy.

Why Join Us?

• Build the Future of Public-Serving, Human-Centered AI in Education: You’ll build one of the country’s first AI-enabled lab school learning networks, helping shape how schools adopt AI to expand student agency; you’ll work at the cutting edge of school design, learning innovation, and AI literacy.

• Impact: Your work will directly influence visionary leaders who are redefining what learning can look like for thousands of students.

• Collaborate Across Partners: You’ll work across Playlab—product, engineering, research, and partnerships—and with world-class design partners.

• Mission-Aligned Team: Join a small, passionate group committed to equity, creativity, and joyful learning.

• Flexible Work: Enjoy a remote-first environment with autonomy and a strong culture of collaboration.

• Competitive Pay & Benefits: Includes salary, healthcare, retirement, generous time off, and opportunities for professional growth.