About Stride Consulting

We build custom software for companies like Spotify, Codecademy, and Casper - work for one company, impact many!

Stride Consulting is the missing piece of the puzzle that combines deep technical expertise with the ability to feel deeply and passionately about human experience. We continually learn and implement best practices to put people first, and in turn, help other organizations put people first. Our thought leaders teach, our consultants coach, and our practitioners mentor and pair. We collaborate at all levels to engineer elegant things that delight and surprise while arriving at the essence of what people need: meaningful outcomes and more valuable, useful, and sustainable human and software systems.

Our fifteen-year goal is to create a measurable good in the world with socially conscious, ethical, and humane organizations that foster social equity, provide environmental stewardship, and engage with local communities. As a services company, our path to making this impact is to build our identity around working with clients who make this impact themselves becoming one of them in the process.

And, while COVID-19 made a lot of things very challenging, we continued to find success and are excited to be expanding from New York City to Chicago, IL! We believe small, locally curated teams are happier and more fulfilled in their work when working with their peers. The positions are remote until it is safe to open a physical space, and will be work-from-home-friendly when the office space opens.

Our Values

All complex systems have simple rules that drive their operation.

We defined our values as the simple rules that drive how Striders behave in small and large ways, in all different job functions, with each other and with clients. Read more about our core values here!

Diversity & Inclusion

Stride Consulting was founded on the premise that all teams have the potential to be high-functioning, empowered, and happy. As we grow, it is important to our culture and our business that we strengthen our commitment to diversity and inclusion. Our team and all teams that Stride works with will benefit, as a result. Diverse teams solve complex problems better, perform better, and have higher morale.

Being truly committed to diversity and inclusion means doing the right thing when no one is looking. It means equal pay for equal work. It means having a zero-tolerance policy on harassment. It means giving everyone a voice and listening when they speak. It means sacrificing revenue by being willing to fire a vendor or client for failing to uphold our code of conduct in order to maintain a safe working environment for all.

Diversity and Inclusion is not something you can ever consider “done.” It is not a checkbox on a to-do list. It is a mindset, a way of conducting ourselves day in and day out.

At Stride, we pride ourselves on working hard to combat unconscious bias both in our hiring process and in our everyday work. We don’t assume we’ve gotten it all perfect. Instead, we continuously look for areas of improvement. Above all, we are humble and willing to learn every single day.

What you can expect from us

• A sustainable, inclusive work environment with fulfilling experiences geared toward continuous learning on things that interest you
• 20 days paid time off and 8 company-observed paid holidays
• 12 weeks paid parental leave
• Company-matched 401k
• $2,000 for self-directed professional development and hours dedicated to learning and development
• Health insurance - medical, dental, and vision
• Pre-tax benefits - commuter, FSA, HSA
• Income protection - life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability
• One Medical and LiveHealth Online
• Discounts on pet insurance

The Role

• Lead medium and large Stride engagements, including guiding the team to make strategic decisions to enable delivery outcomes, set expectations with and maintain relationships with key stakeholders. 
• Collaborate with client stakeholders to articulate business needs in terms of functional requirements and long term value and with other Striders to deliver software projects on time and on budget.
• Proactively set and manage stakeholder expectations as the project and engagement evolve over time. Earn trust with clients through successful delivery and thoughtful support of long term goals.
• Guide teams through planning exercises at different levels (Sprint, Release) to prioritize features according to customer value. Manage product or portfolio backlogs, adjusting as new information emerges.
• Help clients make trade-off decisions using repeatable data-informed decision frameworks. 
• Coach others in  XP and agile practices, including the benefits of each practice and how they reinforce each other, such as acceptance criteria, retrospectives, iteration reviews, and daily standups. Strategically and incrementally use agile practices that are best for the project’s unique constraints and business needs. 
• Teach and mentor team members in product disciplines such as user centricity, MVP definition, client relationship building, and UX.
• Use your knowledge of the product lifecycle and guide the team to consistently deliver working software solutions as early as possible. Onboard and train clients into the new systems and processes that have been created for further development and operation.

As a Strider, you’ll find a learning opportunity that is unmatched. You will:

• Be part of a values-driven culture, one that has a 4.6 star Glassdoor review and has won Crain’s Best Places to Work 3 years in a row.
• Have the exciting opportunity to join a brand new team and build the culture in Chicago, and expand Stride's footprint in the tech community with the backing of Striders who have been doing it for years.
• Immerse yourself in a learning journey that’s second to none. Nowhere else will you find the variety that being a consultant brings.
• Mentor and be mentored. Learning weaves a thread through all that we do.

You’re a fit for Stride if you have:

• Expertise with a variety of agile models, e.g. Scrum, Kanban, XP, and Lean. 
• Experience working with existing revenue-generating products (B2B or B2C) or experience building up greenfield projects.
• 5+ years of experience in a Product role.
• Can identify and apply appropriate product management concepts and techniques , e.g. Kanban vs. Scrum, short term v. quarterly planning, planning onion. 
• Experience building partnerships with teammates and stakeholders. Takes an empathetic approach to setting and managing expectations and facilitates relationships.
• Proven ability to level up peers through mentorship.
• Ability to lead high performing teams through change by collaborating and leveraging individuals’ strengths. 

Stride Consulting is committed to equal treatment and opportunity in all aspects of recruitment, selection, and employment without regard to gender, race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other category protected under the law. Stride Consulting is an equal opportunity employer; committed to a community of inclusion, and an environment free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.