HR Product Engineer

Company Introduction

WorldStrides is the global leader in educational travel and experiential learning. The company was founded in 1967 to provide middle school travel programs to Washington, D.C. and has grown to provide a wide range of programs for more than half a million students annually to over 100 countries around the world. WorldStrides offers experiential learning programs in educational travel, performing arts, language immersion, career exploration, service-learning, study abroad, and sports. Each of these experiences helps students to see beyond the classroom and to see the world – and themselves – in new ways.

Job Description :

The HR Product Engineer is a hybrid builder who finds the highest-leverage problems inside the HR function, prototypes working solutions with AI-assisted development, and partners with IT engineering to secure deployment approval and ongoing production support.

This is a Product Engineer role scoped to HR. Part product manager, part developer, part HR domain expert. Embeds with HRBPs, Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, People Ops, and L&D to find where HR can create value, then builds it. That value might be a job architecture platform, an automated comp band tool, a smarter recruiting workflow, or an AI-assisted decision support system for HRBPs. Owns the outcome, not the ticket.

Responsibilities:

Discovery: Find the Leverage
• Embed with HR stakeholders to understand how work actually gets done and where the real opportunity is: an unmet HRBP need, a missing capability, a manual process ready for automation.
• Identify and frame opportunities, then qualify them: is the problem material, real, measurable, and feasible to build.
• Build the case for the work. Quantify the prize (hours saved, error reduction, faster cycle time, better HRBP or employee experience) and pressure-test it with Finance and HR leadership before committing build time.

Build: Prove It Works
• Design and build both front-end and back-end capabilities to support HR proof-of-concept and pilot work. Example: a job architecture platform for HRBPs to manage job titles, descriptions, compensation bands, and job levels.
• Use AI-assisted development to move fast. Speed and learning matter more than polish at the POC stage.
• Embed AI directly into HR workflows: automation of manual tasks, decision support tools, chatbots, predictive analytics where the use case earns it.
• Connect prototypes to real systems of record (HRIS, ATS, M365/Dataverse) through approved integration patterns, reading and writing only via sanctioned product-owner requests.
• Run pilots with real HR users, instrument outcomes, and iterate against evidence.

Deploy: Partner with IT, Not Hand Off
• Build to meet IT's security, architecture, and support standards from day one, so deployment approval is a review, not a redesign.
• Partner with IT/engineering to secure deployment approval: security review, data governance sign-off, and production readiness within the org's SDLC.
• Retain ownership of the solution after launch. IT provides infrastructure, security, and support scaffolding, not a full transfer of accountability.
• Establish a clear support model with IT: who owns break/fix, who owns feature evolution, and the escalation path when something breaks.
• Document architecture, decisions, and data flows so IT can support confidently without you being the single point of failure.
• Ensure every solution meets data privacy, security, and compliance standards before it touches real HR data.

Feed the System
• Every project is a live R&D loop for the HR technology roadmap. Surface the patterns, edge cases, and insights that should shape it.
• Label the maturity of what you produce honestly: concept, preliminary, or committed. Directional work should never get mistaken for a commitment.
• Support change enablement so new tools get adopted, not just shipped. Adoption over mandate.
• Partner across HR functions and leadership levels, appreciating differing priorities and ways of working.

Requirements:

• Strong HR domain literacy: understands how work actually happens across HRBP, Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, People Ops, or L&D.
• 3+ years in HR technology, HRIS administration, HR systems development, or a builder role where you owned outcomes rather than executed tickets. Strong candidates from adjacent technical or product roles with real HR systems exposure will be considered.
• Demonstrated full-stack build ability: you can stand up a working front end and wire it to back-end logic and data.
• Evidence you've run discovery with HR stakeholders: talked to HRBPs or People leaders, understood their problem, translated it into something you built. State the outcome explicitly.
• AI-assisted development fluency: you build with AI tools (coding agents, LLM application patterns), not around them. We weight your ability to learn new AI tooling fast well above which specific tools you've used before.
• Hands-on experience with at least one HRIS/HCM platform (ADP, Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM, or similar).
• Technical proficiency in data analysis, system configuration, and troubleshooting.
• Clear written and verbal communication. You can explain a tradeoff to an HR leader and a data model to an engineer in the same afternoon.
• Bias toward shipping. A rough working prototype in front of an HRBP this week beats a perfect plan next month.
Strongly Preferred
• Experience integrating applications with enterprise systems of record via APIs (HRIS, ATS, payroll).
• Familiarity with the Microsoft ecosystem (Azure, Azure DevOps, Dynamics/Dataverse, M365) or the ability to ramp into it quickly.
• Exposure to LLM application development: prompt design, retrieval-augmented patterns, agent/tool-use chains, and especially evaluation design (catching hallucinations and regressions before they reach a pilot or touch employee data).
• Knowledge of AI/ML applications in HR: predictive attrition or retention models, chatbots, comp and job-architecture automation, candidate matching.
• Knowledge of ADP, Greenhouse, and/or Docebo is a plus.
• Proficiency in SQL, Power Query, or similar tools for HR data manipulation.
• Project management experience running HR technology initiatives end to end.
• Comfort working inside messy, real-world HR constraints: legacy workflows, fragmented data across systems, and compliance gates like pay equity and data privacy.

Qualifications:

Technical
• Front-end: React, modern JS/TypeScript, responsive UI.
• Back-end and data: API design and integration, SQL, relational data modeling, comfort reading and writing to HR systems of record under governance.
• AI-assisted build: coding agents and AI development tools; LLM application patterns including prompting, RAG, tool and agent orchestration, and eval design.
• Engineering hygiene: version control and trunk-based development, PR and peer review, secrets kept out of source control, SSO/AD-based identity. CI/CD and observability familiarity is a plus.
• Environment: Microsoft-ecosystem aligned (SSO/AD, Azure DevOps, M365), with HRIS/HCM and ATS platforms as the primary systems of record.

HR Domain and Product

• Deep understanding of core HR processes: job architecture, compensation bands and leveling, performance management, recruiting and ATS workflows, workforce planning.
• Discovery and problem framing with HR stakeholders, getting to the real need behind the ask.
• Distillation of complex HR workflows, including knowing when to simplify or eliminate steps while preserving compliance and outcome quality.
• Opportunity qualification and prioritization against a clear value framework.
• Value modeling: sizing impact credibly enough to defend with Finance.
• Outcome ownership: defining success metrics (adoption rate, cycle time, error rate) and holding to them after launch.

Human
• Stakeholder empathy and the ability to earn trust quickly with HRBPs and functional leaders you don't report into.
• Adaptability. HR tooling and AI capability will change under you, repeatedly. You stay ahead of it.
• Change enablement instinct. You measure success by what gets adopted, not by what you personally built.
• Judgment on data sensitivity. You treat employee data with the discretion and compliance rigor it requires.

Work Perks

• Comprehensive health benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, accident, critical illness, disability insurance, FSA/HSA options with employer HSA contributions, and a generous 401(k) match.
• Generous paid time off including 11 paid company holidays, 25 PTO days the first year (prorated), 1 paid volunteer day, 4 mental health days, and bereavement
• Professional development support, including up to $5,250 annually for tuition reimbursement and up to $1,000 for certifications annually
• Opportunities for paid and discounted travel
• Flexible work schedule providing on-site, remote, and hybrid office opportunities
• Encouraged participation in a wide variety of Employee Resource Groups
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and wellness resources, including fitness centers at select locations
• Paid parental, caregiver, and disability leave
• Team Member Discount Program
• Engaging, collaborative, and fun work environment

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount WorldStrides is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

California Salary Range

$70,000—$70,000 USD

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount WorldStrides is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

Maryland Salary Range

$70,000—$70,000 USD

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount WorldStrides is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

New York Salary Range

$70,000—$70,000 USD

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount WorldStrides is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

Massachusetts Salary Range

$70,000—$70,000 USD

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount WorldStrides is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

Virginia Salary Range

$70,000—$70,000 USD

WorldStrides, a global organization, is committed to educate and serve communities worldwide. Our commitment is fueled by the passion of our team members and partners to make experiential learning accessible, while also being socially, environmentally, and ethically responsible. Together, we accomplish this by investing in initiatives to promote inclusion, diversity, and sustainability.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, WorldStrides is committed to building a diverse workforce, supported by an environment that promotes inclusion and belonging. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

WorldStrides will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States. This is not a position for which sponsorship will be provided. Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1, J-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J or TN, or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire. Select seasonal roles may consider students on J-1 or F-1 visas.