Program Manager, Break Through Tech (NYC) - Temporary, Full-time

About Break Through Tech

Break Through Tech, an initiative of Cornell Tech, works with high potential undergraduate students from across the country to train, empower and connect them to influential tech opportunities.

About Cornell Tech

Cornell Tech is Cornell University's state-of-the-art campus in New York City that develops leaders and technologies for the AI era through foundational and applied research, graduate education, and new ventures. Located on Roosevelt Island, the growing campus was founded in partnership with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and in close collaboration with the NYC Economic Development Corporation after Cornell won a worldwide competition initiated by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's administration to create an applied sciences campus in New York City. More than 1,000 Cornell students are now educated annually on the campus, including 700 in Cornell Tech programs. Since opening in 2012, nearly 120 new companies have spun out from startup programs at Cornell Tech, and 95 percent of them are based in New York City. Cornell Tech continues to have a transformative economic impact on the region's tech sector.

Position Summary

We are seeking a Program Manager to oversee the successful delivery of Break Through Tech's innovative work-based learning programs. In this role, you will onboard and manage industry professionals, graduate students and other temporary staff who will in turn work directly with our students as they build their professional and technical skills.

This is a temporary, full-time position beginning on March 1, 2026, and ending on June 30, 2026, with the potential to convert to a permanent role after that date.

This is a hybrid in-person position. The ideal candidate will be based in New York City and work from the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island weekly on Wednesdays. The remote location must be within the United States.

Starting salary range: $96,750 - $102,750

Visa sponsorship is not available.

This position is not eligible for Cornell's benefits.

Essential Functions Include:

Program Operations

- Plan and manage the successful delivery of program activities for one or more cohorts of participants:

• Collaborate with other program staff to assist in developing long range goals, action plans and measurement/evaluation processes; regularly review and analyze program data to assess effectiveness of the program; determine any adjustments needed.
• Develop, manage and monitor program budget; ensure that all grant obligations and reporting duties are met.
• Assist in developing and implementing programmatic policies and systemic procedures.
• Participate in and recommend strategic and operational planning for programs.
• Coordinate and administer programs both in-person and online

- Ensure program health metrics and outcomes meet or exceed our benchmarks for quality and efficiency.

• Track and report on program health metrics and outcomes data.
• Produce regular program reports and develop special reports as needed.

- Monitor student engagement and progress towards goals; partner with other staff to ensure we intervene appropriately to maximize retention, completion and outcomes attainment.

• Ensure all student issues are resolved in partnership with Program leadership and supporting teams
• Advise and serve as a resource and liaison to students, connecting students with support resources as appropriate within Break Through Tech and beyond.
• Provide guidance, advice, and oversight to student groups and organizations.
• Oversee the facilitation and development of the student community to drive retention.

- Plan and execute key events and program components for participants including orientation sessions, training workshops, social events and other core experiences.

• Work behind-the-scenes with other team members to produce events and experiences
• May facilitate activities or present information during events and experiences
• Partner with other teams to ensure all challenges are addressed in a timely fashion to drive program success; may include the resolution of complex concerns and problems

- Partner with our Product Design team to inform changes to our program model over time.

Volunteer Management

- Partner with other Break Through Tech teams to cultivate and maintain strong partnerships with corporate and university partners who supply volunteers and temporary staff for our programs:

• Share data and insights with the Industry Partnerships team and partners themselves in order to drive retention and expansion of strategic corporate relationships.
• Coordinate with the Instruction team to support strong relationships with our university partners.

- Recruit, select and onboard volunteers, host companies and/or temporary staff in advance of program delivery:

• In advance of each cohort, ensure each program has the right number of volunteers, host companies and/or temporary to adequately support our target student numbers.
• Partner with other teams to source and recruit potential volunteers and/or temporary staff
• Participate in Business Development calls with potential new partners and help with existing partner renewal

- Manage volunteers, host companies, and/or temporary staff to deliver an excellent program experience for students:

• Guide volunteer Challenge Advisors through the project development process and preparation.
• Guide mentors in preparing for monthly mentorship sessions.
• Guide AI Studio Coaches in preparing for instructional and other support roles in the
• Ensure all contributors are trained and supported to perform well in their roles
• Intervene to address issues or challenges with volunteer, host company and/or temporary staff performance; ensure all volunteer, host company and/or temporary staff issues are resolved in partnership with Program Delivery leadership and supporting teams at Break Through Tech
• Facilitate the development of a strong team culture for contributors. Drive positive team health and long-term retention and satisfaction of top performing contributors.

Other position-related responsibilities as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree and 3 to 5 years relevant experience or equivalent combination

• Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive and equitable working relationships with students, faculty, staff, volunteers and community members.

• Passionate about working in an organization that values and promotes a community of belonging.

• Strong program management experience, preferably in the early career, internship or higher educational space.

• Demonstrated experience successfully delivering work-based learning programs in-person and online.

• Prior experience managing volunteers and/or temporary staff to deliver excellent experiences.

• Data-driven decision maker with experience leveraging tools including Microsoft Excel / Google Sheets, Microsoft PowerPoint / Google Slides to evaluate and report on impact and effectiveness.

• Excellent written and verbal communications skills, particularly when working with high level internal and external stakeholders.

• Detail-oriented and organized systems thinker.

• Ability to thrive in a fast-moving, quickly changing work environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep expertise with early career programs (internships, apprenticeships, mentorships, new grad programs) in the technology industry

• Experience working with highly technical audiences (software development, computing, data science, AI)

• Experience leading programs for and with undergraduate students

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