AI Product Lead

AI Product Lead About Education Companion At Education Companion, we’re building tools that help schools and multi-academy trusts manage complex, high-stakes administrative work more simply - starting with complaints. Complaints are difficult, time-consuming and often emotionally charged. School leaders have to manage deadlines, policies, evidence, correspondence, investigations and governance requirements, usually using a mixture of inboxes, spreadsheets and shared documents. Companion brings that work into one clear, structured workflow, using AI carefully where it can genuinely save time and improve the quality of decision-making. Why Companion? We’re early-stage, but we’re not starting from zero. We have real schools using the product, strong early traction, direct customer feedback and a clear problem to solve. We now need someone who can take real ownership of the product and help shape what comes next. This is not a role where you inherit a large team, an established roadmap and several layers of process. It is a hands-on role for someone who wants to: * Work closely with users * Make important product decisions * Turn messy, real-world workflows into clear software * Build and test quickly * Take meaningful responsibility * Help shape both the product and the company You will work closely with the founders and our development team, with substantial influence over what we build, how we build it and what we choose not to build. The Role You will take ownership of the product roadmap and help turn Companion’s early traction into a scalable, valuable product for schools and trusts. Your work will include: * Speaking directly with school leaders and trust teams * Understanding how complaints and other complex administrative workflows operate in practice * Identifying the most important user problems to solve * Translating user needs into clear product requirements and priorities * Owning and maintaining the product roadmap * Working closely with developers to move from idea to delivery * Using prototypes, AI tools and lightweight experiments to test ideas quickly * Deciding where AI can genuinely improve the product - and where it should not be used * Balancing speed, usability, commercial priorities, safeguarding and data protection * Reviewing product usage and customer feedback to improve the product over time * Helping us decide which adjacent problems and workflows Companion should tackle next This is a role for someone who is comfortable moving between strategy, user research, product decisions and practical delivery. About You The ideal person is not simply a project manager, and does not need to be a traditional developer or product person. You are an all-rounder who enjoys unfamiliar problems, learns quickly and takes satisfaction from figuring things out. You understand users and care about what they actually need, rather than simply delivering a predefined feature list. You can take real-world complexity and turn it into software that feels clear, practical and easy to use. You are likely to be someone who: * Has strong product judgement * Can distinguish between what users ask for and what they actually need * Is comfortable making decisions with incomplete information * Communicates clearly with both technical and non-technical people * Can prioritise ruthlessly and explain those priorities * Enjoys working closely with customers * Is technically literate enough to work effectively with developers * Is comfortable taking responsibility rather than waiting for detailed instructions * Cares about building products that are useful, safe and commercially viable * Is already experimenting seriously with AI-assisted product development Relevant Background You might be: * A strong product manager or product lead with good technical literacy * A product leader who has worked closely with small development teams * A technical founder or builder who thinks deeply about users * Someone who has built software for schools or multi-academy trusts * Someone with experience in edtech, govtech, legaltech, compliance, case management or workflow software * Someone who has used AI tools to prototype, test or accelerate product development Direct edtech experience would be useful, but it is not essential. What matters most is your ability to understand complex users, make good product decisions and get the right things built. What This Role Offers * Genuine ownership of an important early-stage product * Direct access to users and decision-makers * The chance to shape the product, roadmap and wider company strategy * A small team with little bureaucracy * The opportunity to build with modern AI tools rather than simply talk about them * Meaningful work in a sector where better software can save school leaders significant time and stress * A likely package of around £80,000 plus equity options , depending on experience and fit This role will suit someone who wants to get close to users, make decisions, build quickly and help turn successful early traction into something much larger. If that sounds like you, or someone you know, send us a message.