Ambitio
Website:
ambitio.club
Job details:
About Ambitio: Copilot for Education Abroad
At Ambitio, we're building India's first AI-powered global admissions platform that helps students get into their dream schools. Our mission is to democratize access to quality global education by making the admissions process 10x easier through personalized AI guidance. We combine advanced AI technology with alumni mentorship to help students build stronger profiles and craft compelling applications.
We're a founding team of IIT BHU alumni who have experienced firsthand the challenges of global higher education admissions. More than 100,000+ users have explored our platform and have received admits from top institutions like Stanford, Oxford, NYU, Cornell, Columbia and other leading universities. We're backed by notable investors including BLinC Invest, First Cheque and We Founder Circle.
About the Role
As the Program Manager – PhD & Research Admissions at Ambitio, you will own the strategy, content, operations, and student experience for our PhD admissions vertical. You will work closely with students, mentors, content teams, and product teams to build the most trusted PhD admissions guidance platform for aspiring researchers worldwide.
You will combine domain knowledge of graduate admissions with strong program management and student success capabilities to create scalable systems that help students navigate one of the most complex journeys in higher education.
This role is ideal for someone who has worked closely with graduate admissions, research-focused students, academic counseling, study abroad consulting, university partnerships, student success, or edtech program management and is excited about building products and programs that impact thousands of students at scale.
Key Responsibilities
PhD Program Strategy & Ownership
- Define and own Ambitio's end-to-end PhD advisory framework — from profile building and research statement guidance to advisor outreach and program selection.
- Identify gaps in the current PhD student journey and drive structured improvements across content, tooling, and mentorship.
- Stay current on global PhD program trends, funding landscapes, and admission patterns across the US, UK, Europe, Canada, and beyond.
Student Guidance & Mentorship
- Directly mentor and advise high-intent PhD aspirants through 1:1 sessions, group workshops, and asynchronous reviews.
- Review and provide expert feedback on Statements of Purpose, research proposals, and academic CVs.
- Help students identify research fit, shortlist programs, and navigate advisor communication strategies.
Content & Curriculum Development
- Build and maintain a comprehensive PhD knowledge base : guides, templates, frameworks, and session curricula that can scale across thousands of students.
- Collaborate with the content and product teams to translate your expertise into structured, reusable assets on the platform.
- Represent Ambitio in webinars, panels, and student-facing events as the PhD domain authority.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Work closely with the Product team to inform features specific to PhD workflows research fit tools, advisor tracking, SOP builders, and more.
- Partner with Operations and Student Success to ensure smooth program delivery and high student satisfaction.
- Feed qualitative insights from student interactions back into product and content roadmaps.
What Makes You a Great Fit?
This makes you a fit
- 3–8 years of experience in program management, student success, academic counseling, study abroad consulting, admissions consulting, higher education, or edtech.
- Strong understanding of graduate admissions, research programs, higher education ecosystems, or international student journeys.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Experience managing programs, cohorts, communities, or student-facing initiatives at scale.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to operate in a fast-paced environment.
Relevant Backgrounds We Would Love
- Program Managers at edtech companies focused on higher education or study abroad.
- Student Success Managers working with master's, PhD, or research-focused applicants.
- Admissions Consultants specializing in graduate or doctoral admissions.
- Academic Counselors from universities or higher education organizations.
- Research Program Coordinators or University Partnerships professionals.
- Former PhD applicants, researchers, postdocs, or PhD graduates interested in building student-focused products.
This Sets You Apart
- Direct experience advising students on PhD, Master's, or research-based applications.
- Experience building scalable playbooks, curricula, or student programs.
- Exposure to AI products, edtech platforms, or education operations.
- Strong writing and content development skills.
- Experience working cross-functionally with Product, Operations, and Growth teams.
Why Join Us?
- You will redefine how India approaches PhD admissions Your expertise doesn't end with one student or one class — it scales across thousands of doctoral aspirants navigating one of the most complex journeys in higher education.
- You get full ownership of a high-stakes vertical This is not a support role. You are the domain authority. You shape the strategy, the content, the mentorship frameworks, and the product direction for everything PhD at Ambitio.
- Your academic expertise finally meets real-world scale You've spent years building deep knowledge. Here, that knowledge becomes a platform feature, a curriculum, a student outcome compounding in ways a single lab or classroom never could.
- You work with people who move fast and care deeply A small, sharp team of builders who respect domain expertise and give you the space and trust to own your work end to end.
Hiring Process
We're looking for domain experts who are ready to build, not just advise. Here's how we approach hiring:
- Domain & Problem Solving How you break down a real PhD advising challenge, identify the student's underlying need, and structure a clear path forward.
- Strategy & Framework Thinking How you would approach building Ambitio's PhD vertical from content and mentorship to product inputs and scale.
- Ownership & Communication How you operate with accountability, communicate with clarity, and make sound judgment calls in ambiguous situations.
- Final In-Person Catchup A conversation on working style, values, and how you think about transitioning your academic expertise into a high-velocity product environment.
- Offer If your expertise, clarity, and values align - we move fast.
Click on Apply to know more.