The Mission
Nearly 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States today, and states spend well over $100 billion a year running the systems that hold people. Corrections is one of the fastest growing line items in almost every state budget, yet very little of that money goes to the infrastructure—networks, devices, access systems, data systems—that would let states actually deliver education, rehabilitation, and reentry programming at scale, or prove that the investment in those efforts work.
Funded and led by formerly incarcerated technologists, Unlocked Labs is working to rebuild the digital infrastructure of the American justice system. Today, over half our team is justice-impacted; we believe lived experience strengthens not just our mission, but our products and our leadership.
We partner with Departments of Corrections, higher education institutions, and workforce organizations to bring that infrastructure inside correctional settings. We help states design and implement the technology that allows high-quality programs to be delivered, managed, and measured in prisons.
We have active partnerships with multiple state correctional systems and support from national foundations, including the Mellon Foundation and Ascendium Foundation, to demonstrate what is possible in these states and position them as models to replicate and scale. We’re seeking a project manager based in New England to support this work, currently focused on our partnerships in New Hampshire and Maine.
At Unlocked Labs, we believe that those closest to the problem are best equipped to build the solution. Founded and led by formerly incarcerated technologists, Unlocked Labs is working to rebuild the digital infrastructure of the American justice system.
Unlocked Labs partners with Departments of Corrections, higher education institutions, and workforce organizations to build the infrastructure needed to expand access to education, rehabilitation, and reentry opportunities inside correctional settings. We help states design and implement secure networks, device ecosystems, access systems, data infrastructure, and custom software tools that allow high-quality programs to be delivered, managed, and measured in prisons.
Our work sits at the intersection of infrastructure, software, implementation, and systems change: demonstrating what becomes possible when correctional systems invest in opportunity instead of isolation.
Unlocked Labs is entering a phase of national scaling, with active multi-year partnerships across state correctional systems including New Hampshire and Maine, and support from national foundations including the Mellon Foundation and Ascendium Foundation. We're seeking a project manager based in New England to support this work, currently focused on NH and ME.
The Role
Unlocked Labs is growing our New England presence and looking for a Project Manager to lead our state engagements and implementation of educational technology in Department of Corrections systems across the region. You'll own the customer journey from kickoff through ongoing delivery, working closely with DOC leaders, facility staff, and our product teams to get technology to the residents who need it.
No two correctional systems look alike — each has its own stakeholders, requirements, and constraints, and this role calls for relationship management and adaptability to keep projects moving when priorities shift or delays hit. You'll be working alongside teammates with lived experience in the justice system and teammates with corrections domain expertise, helping shape how Unlocked Labs delivers on the ground in New England. Frequent travel throughout the region and to correctional facilities is a required part of the role.
You'll join a growing project management team — currently two PMs, with more hires planned as our state partnerships expand.
Key Responsibilities
Implementation & Relationship Management
- Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders ranging from correctional officers and educators to wardens, central office leadership, IT teams, and nonprofit partners throughout the life of a project
- Bring structure to projects with evolving priorities and incomplete information
- Manage project plans across strategy work, technology rollouts, and education programs
- Learn the ins and outs of each correctional system you work in, including the politics, processes, and decision-making systems
- Help partners adopt new workflows, solve implementation challenges, and identify opportunities to expand impact
- Navigate corrections-specific realities: security requirements, limited tech access, staff turnover, and strict regulations
- Track and report on how well projects are delivering for our partners
Product Partnership
- Share field insights with product and engineering teams to inform how our tools evolve
- Represent customer needs while staying realistic about what's deliverable and when
- Document recurring issues and provide context that shapes product decisions
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with business development on smooth handoffs and realistic project scopes
- Work closely with the team leading technical deployment — such as network and device rollouts — to coordinate timelines and troubleshoot issues in the field
- Help identify and coordinate outside vendors or partners as needed
Process and Team Development
- Build, use, and help refine shared templates, guides, and step-by-step methods across projects
- Contribute to processes that make implementations smoother and more consistent
We're a small startup and a new team; we're looking for someone who is interested and excited about this stage.
What We're Looking For
- 3+ years of project management, implementation, or client or customer facing experience, ideally in a fast-moving organization, nonprofit, government-facing, or public-sector environment
- Comfort managing multiple concurrent projects with shifting timelines, ambiguous inputs, and competing stakeholder priorities
- Strong relationship-building skills across very different audiences both external and internal
- Strong written and verbal communication; able to translate between technical, operational, and policy contexts
- Resilience and patience navigating security-constrained environments and government context, where things move slower than a typical tech rollout
- Genuine alignment with Unlocked Labs' mission and comfort working in and around the criminal justice system
- Based in New England (required)
Preferred (bonus, not required)
- Experience in policy, philanthropy, or foundation work with a focus on justice-impacted individuals
- Experience in edtech, workforce development, or reentry services
- Experience with the justice system, either personally or professionally
Logistics
- Location: New England residency required, with preference for candidates based in or near Maine or New Hampshire
- Travel: Frequent in-region travel is required, including regular visits to correctional facilities across NH and ME; travel to other locations for conferences, team meetings, or other engagements expected once a quarter
- Reports to: Chief Program Officer
- Employment type: Full-time
- Facility Clearance: Candidates must be able to obtain facility access approval in each state where they'll be working. Some states may restrict access based on a candidate's background check. We encourage justice-impacted candidates to apply and will work with you to understand any state-specific restrictions as part of the hiring process.
Compensation and Benefits
Range: Pay for this role falls within $75,000 - $90,000, based on experience and qualifications.
We offer health/dental/vision coverage and retirement benefits.
How to Apply
Full applications should include:
- Resume
- Cover letter
- Answers to the application questions
Equal Opportunity & Our Commitment
Unlocked Labs was founded by formerly incarcerated technologists, and people with lived experience in the justice system are core to who we are. We strongly encourage justice-impacted individuals to apply. Unlocked Labs is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or criminal history, except where required by the security and access policies of our correctional-facility partners.
Pay: $75,000.00 - $95,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply
Application Question(s):
- What state do you live in? (Maine, New Hampshire, or Other)
- If Other, are you willing to relocate for proximity to these states?
- Unlocked Labs works inside correctional environments where technology must balance access, dignity, security, and operational reality. What draws you to this mission?
- How would you describe your project management or leadership style? What kind of team or environment brings out your best work?
- Please provide 2-3 examples of managing multi-party or cross-functional projects and indicate where each one appears on your resume.
- Please recount a time you had to make a call with incomplete information, in a fast-moving or early-stage environment. What did you do and how did it turn out?
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Portland, ME 04101
