Lead Project Manager / Senior Lead Project Manager

Application Deadline: Thursday, July 31, 2025

This position is open to candidates based in the United States only.

At Upstatement, we're evolving how we think about project management—moving from traditional delivery-focused roles to strategic engagement leadership that drives both creative excellence and business growth. As a Lead Project Manager or Senior Lead Project Manager, you'll be at the forefront of this transformation, serving as the connective tissue between Upstatement's craft, business performance, and client experience.

Currently, this fully remote position will focus on optimizing creative excellence through thoughtful project management while building the strategic and relationship skills that will define your future engagement leadership role. You'll:

• Lead multiple high-stakes projects while developing strategic client relationship skills
• Own and adapt tools, processes, and systems with an eye toward scalable engagement frameworks
• Build and maintain healthy client relationships that inspire continued collaboration and growth
• Collaborate with project leadership to shape work, guide teams, and solve complex problems
• Mentor team members while developing your own leadership capabilities for the transition ahead

Last but not least: People who succeed here are empathetic teammates who are candid, kind, caring, and embody our core values. We believe that diverse, inclusive teams make the most impactful work. Upstatement is deeply invested in ensuring that we have a supportive, growth-oriented environment that works for everyone.

Looking ahead: This role is designed to evolve into an Engagement Lead or Senior Engagement Lead position in 2026, as we transition our project management function into a comprehensive engagement model that emphasizes strategic client partnerships, account growth, and organizational leadership.

Upstatement is a digital product studio with an editorial mindset. We use the tools of design, engineering, and journalism to enrich lives and create a more just society. Our 40-person team works with established leaders (MIT, ESPN, PBS, Microsoft) and emerging companies who are about to change the world. We are members of the kyu Collective and combine the energy of a boutique studio with the business maturity of an established global innovation leader.

• Meaningful work with mission-driven organizations
• High-trust environment empowering strategic ownership
• Clear growth path from execution to strategic leadership
• Small studio culture with top industry talent
• Flexibility to evolve your role and impact as we transform our engagement model

• Own & adapt process: Apply process with purpose to help your project teams deliver effectively. Be a steward of agile methodologies while adapting approaches to suit team and client needs
• Align people and teams: Design and facilitate meetings, workshops, and standups that help clients and project teams collaborate effectively
• Strategize about the work: Collaborate with Strategy, Design, and Engineering team members to shape projects and make decisions that keep work moving forward
• Watch for risks and opportunities: Maintain awareness of long-term schedules, anticipate challenges, and apply creative problem-solving to mitigate risks

• Provide exceptional client experience: Lead communication efforts, encouraging direct expert conversations, clarifying details, and making complex decisions feel manageable
• Build strategic partnerships: Develop deep understanding of client business needs and guide strategic conversations that position Upstatement as a trusted advisor
• Identify growth opportunities: Recognize and develop opportunities for account expansion, proposing extensions and new scopes of work

• Be the heartbeat of projects: Ensure team engagement and clarity while creating environments where talented people can do their best work
• Mentor emerging talent: Guide junior team members while developing your own leadership capabilities for future engagement responsibilities
• Shape department evolution: Contribute to the transformation of project management into engagement leadership, helping define new processes and best practices

• 5-8 years of progressive project management experience with digital products and client services
• Strong foundation in agile methodologies with experience adapting processes to fit different teams and project types
• Proven client relationship management with demonstrated ability to build trust and drive satisfaction
• Experience mentoring others and developing team capabilities

• Business acumen and strategic thinking with ability to understand client needs beyond immediate project scope
• Strong communication and facilitation skills with comfort leading difficult conversations and driving clarity
• Growth mindset with demonstrated ability to identify and develop new opportunities
• Leadership presence with ability to guide teams through complex challenges

• Autonomous and initiative-driven: You see problems and work to solve them, comfortable trying new approaches
• Reliable and detail-oriented: You love systems and processes, paying attention to specifics while managing multiple priorities
• Empathetic and conflict-comfortable: You challenge directly and care personally, framing difficult situations constructively
• Adaptable and forward-thinking: You're excited about evolving your role and contributing to organizational transformation

As we evolve toward engagement leadership in 2026, you'll gradually take on increased responsibilities in:

• Strategic account planning and long-term client relationship development
• Business development and growth opportunity identification
• Team leadership and cross-functional collaboration
• Process innovation and organizational development

We're looking for someone excited about this journey—someone who sees project management as a foundation for strategic client partnership and organizational leadership.

Upstatement is committed to helping our people grow and providing transparent salary benchmarks. This job fits two possible levels in our skill progression framework (something we’d love to share during the interview process). The level depends the candidate’s unique qualifications, to be determined during the interview process.

Level: PM4

Official Title: Lead Project Manager

Department: Project Management

Salary Range: $100,000 - $120,000

Level: PM5

Official Title: Senior Lead Project Manager

Department: Project Management

Salary Range: $120,000 - $140,000