We use cookies. Find out more about it here. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
#alert
Back to search results
New

Program Specialist, Break Through Tech (NYC)

Cornell University
83,000-$88,000
United States, New York, New York
2 West Loop Road (Show on map)
Sep 15, 2025

About Break Through Tech

Break Through Tech is changing the path to power in tech by propelling undergraduate talent that is all too often underestimated and overlooked into fields that are defining the future. Founded in 2016 by Dr. Judith Spitz, former CIO of Verizon, Break Through Tech empowers, trains, and connects undergraduate students from different lived experiences to professional opportunities in tech

across sectors. Our innovative programs offer undergraduate students the technical skills training, professional readiness support, and real-world project experiences to break into influential tech roles-enabling them to write the rules that will shape the future of all of us.

Our north star is our focus on placing our program participants in internships or full-time roles post-graduation. Today, we achieve this through our in-program training and experiential learning programs, but some early experimentation has shown that we have an opportunity to enable even more career success for our participants if we invest in wrap-around career services - including career fairs, resume workshops, career coaching and hiring partnerships - to help ease the path to post-program outcomes.

About Cornell Tech

Cornell Tech is Cornell University's state-of-the-art campus in New York City that develops leaders and technologies for the AI era through foundational and applied research, graduate education, and new ventures. Located on Roosevelt Island, the growing campus was founded in partnership with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and in close collaboration with the NYC Economic Development Corporation after Cornell won a worldwide competition initiated by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's administration to create an applied sciences campus in New York City. More than 1,000 Cornell students are now educated annually on the campus, including 700 in Cornell Tech programs. Since opening in 2012, nearly 120 new companies have spun out from startup programs at Cornell Tech, and 95 percent of them are based in New York City. Cornell Tech continues to have a transformative economic impact on the region's tech sector.

Position Summary

Break Through Tech is seeking an experienced Career Services professionalto join us as a Career Services Program Specialist.In this role, you will assist in leading new systems that support our Career Services function while also supporting the job placement of program fellows. This function is critical to ensuring the career success of all participants at Break Through Tech.

In this role, your work will contribute to enabling successful career outcomes for our program participants and alumni across the nation. This role will work cross collaboratively with our delivery, Sprintern(TM), and industry partnership teams.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

  • Leveraging learnings from Break Through Tech's pilots as well as best practices from your prior experience to define and launch a suite of Career Services offerings to all participants and alumni across all programs.
  • Successfully delivering Career Services offerings to Break Through Tech participants and alumni, in partnership with program delivery teams and external partners.
  • Defining and tracking measures of success, including leading and lagging indicators.
  • Cultivating and maintaining collaborative relationships with other departments and external partners to support the work.
  • Work with Break Through Tech Program Leadership to inform and shape the future of operations and participant experience across our organization.

While position responsibilities vary, all people leaders are expected to foster a culture of belonging and a psychologically healthy work environment by being trustworthy; respecting all individuals; being flexible; supporting work/life integration as well as healthy boundaries; inviting new ideas, alternatives, and perspectives; speaking up and taking action if others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and recognizing the contributions of others.

Successful candidates will need to have and display the following competencies as part of this role:

  • Manages ambiguity - Operating effectively, even when things are not certain or the way forward is not clear
  • Builds networks -Effectively building formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organizations
  • Customer focus -Building strong relationships with fellowsand delivering fellow-centric solutions
  • Optimizes work processes - Knowing the most effective and efficient processes to get things done, with a focus on continuous improvement

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible 3-year term position with the possibility of renewal. This is a hybrid position with the expectation to work at least 1 day per week (Wednesday) on the Cornell Tech campus in New York City. Flexible work schedules are subject to change.

Starting salary range: $83,000-$88,000

Visa sponsorship is not available.

Essential Functions Include

Successfully deliver Career Services offerings to Break Through Tech participants and alumni, in partnership with program delivery teams and external partners. - 65%

  • Plan and deliver career exploration experiences - including events, workshops, career coaching and job placement activities - for individuals seeking entry-level technical roles.
  • Counsel undergraduate and graduate students exploring career options individually and in group settings.
  • Develop workshops/events that meet student needs for career development and planning.
  • Monitor student engagement and progress towards goals; partner with other staff to ensure we intervene appropriately to maximize retention, completion and outcomes attainment.
  • Ensure all student issues are resolved in partnership with Program leadership and supporting teams
  • Advise and serve as a resource and liaison to students, connecting students with support resources as appropriate within Break Through Tech and beyond.
  • Oversee the facilitation and development of the student community to drive engagement
  • Partner with other teams to ensure all challenges are addressed in a timely fashion to drive program success; may include the resolution of complex concerns and problems
  • Partner with our Product Design team to inform changes to our program model over time

External Partnership Management - 20%

  • Recruit, outreach, and manage relationships with various companies that work with Break Through Tech to develop enriching programming for AI Program Fellows, Sprinterns, and Alumni
  • Develop and execute Partnership Events that support the Break Through Tech Job Placement strategy and maximize the number of fellows achieving job placement outcomes
  • Find and share job opportunities with fellows that match their expertise and career goals and lead to job placement
  • Leverage tools such as LinkedIn, Yesware, and others to lead outreach campaigns to secure additional employer partners

Ensure program health metrics and outcomes meet or exceed our benchmarks for quality and efficiency. - 10%

  • Track and report on program health metrics and outcomes data.
  • Produce regular program reports and develop special reports as needed.
  • Track measures of success
  • Track participant participation and outcomes; develop assessment plans for remediation and follow up on progress toward goals.
  • Cultivate and maintain collaborative relationships with other departments and external partners to support the work.

Other position-related responsibilities - 5%

  • Participate in projects or other duties as assigned with occasional work responsibility falling above or below current classification.
  • Completion of any university required compliance trainings.

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree and at least 2 years of relevant experience or equivalent combination
  • Experience in and/or demonstrated commitment to supporting inclusion, belonging, and wellbeing.
  • Proven experience connecting inclusion and wellbeing practices to business goals.
  • Demonstrated experience successfully designing and leading career exploration experiences - including events, workshops, career coaching and job placement activities - for individuals seeking entry-level technical roles.
  • Provide career exploration activities including students' self-assessment, information about the world of work, educational planning, and job search strategies, from setting goals to developing resumes.
  • Establish learning outcomes for individual programs and administer the tools for measuring achievement of learning outcomes; may contribute to the development of strategic planning
  • Counsel undergraduate and graduate students exploring career options individually and in group settings.
  • Demonstrated experience driving job attainment for undergraduates or entry-level technical employees at scale
  • Develop workshop/event and schedules that meet student needs for career development and planning.
  • Work with employers and alumni to develop jobs; recruit employers and alumni to offer workshops and career development advice for students.
  • Prior experience successfully designing and delivering programs and events online to a distributed audience.
  • Excellent written and verbal communications skills, particularly when working with students and external partners
  • Ability to thrive in a fast-moving, quickly changing work environment

Preferred Qualifications

  • Deep understanding of the entry-level talent market for highly technical roles (such as software developers, data scientists, etc)

Culture of Inclusion and Community Standards

As a university founded to be a place where "...any person can find instruction in any study," inclusion and belonging are at the core of our values and mission. We strive to be a welcoming, caring, healthy, and equitable community where students, faculty, and staff with different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn, innovate, and work in an environment of respect, and feel empowered to engage in any community conversation. As a member of the Cornell University community, it is important to recognize our shared responsibility to each other to cultivate a culture of inclusion for all. Cornell Core values

As an individual contributor you will model and support a culture of inclusion, belonging, and wellbeing and continually seek to understand how your role, behaviors, and actions impact the success of this culture.

While position responsibilities vary greatly, the Skills for Success and Leadership Skills for Successare foundational to what is expected ofevery employee and leader working at Cornell. These skills are essential for individual and organizational success. Staff Skills for Success; Leadership Skills for Success

Rewards and Benefits

Competitive compensation, generous time-off, and great benefits ...More on Cornell Benefits

University Job Title:

Student Career Services Associate II

Job Family:

Student Services

Level:

F

Pay Rate Type:

Salary

Pay Range:

$72,209.00 - $97,031.00

Remote Option Availability:

Hybrid

Company:

Endowed

Contact Name:

Evelyn Gordon

Contact Email:

eg629@cornell.edu

Job Titles and Pay Ranges:

Non-Union Positions

Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

  • Prior relevant work or industry experience

  • Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position

  • Unique applicable skills

  • Academic Discipline

To learn more about Cornell's non-union staff job titles and pay ranges, see Career Navigator.

Union Positions

The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined in accordance with the rates in the respective collective bargaining agreement. To learn more about Cornell's union wages, see Union Pay Rates.

Current Employees:

If you currently work at Cornell University, please exit this website and log in to Workday using your Net ID and password. Select the Career icon on your Home dashboard to view jobs at Cornell.

Online Submission Guidelines:

Most positions at Cornell will require you to apply online and submit both a resume/CV and cover letter. You can upload documents either by "dragging and dropping" them into the dropbox or by using the "upload" icon on the application page. For more detailed instructions on how to apply to a job at Cornell, visit How We Hire on the HR website.

Employment Assistance:

For general questions about the position or the application process, please contact the Recruiter listed in the job posting or email mycareer@cornell.edu.

If you require an accommodation for a disability in order to complete an employment application or to participate in the recruiting process, you are encouraged to contact Cornell Office of Civil Rights at voice (607) 255-2242, or email at accommodations@cornell.edu.

Applicants that do not have internet access are encouraged to visit your local library, or local Department of Labor. You may also request an appointment to use a dedicated workstation in the Office of Talent Attraction and Recruitment, at the Ithaca campus, by emailing mycareer@cornell.edu.

Notice to Applicants:

Please read the required Notice to Applicants statement by clicking here. This notice contains important information about applying for a position at Cornell as well as some of your rights and responsibilities as an applicant.

EEO Statement:

Cornellwelcomes students, faculty, and staff with diverse backgrounds from across the globe to pursue world-class education and career opportunities, to further the founding principle of "... any person ... any study." No person shall be denied employment on the basis of any legally protected status or subjected to prohibited discrimination involving, but not limited to, such factors as race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual's genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Cornell University embraces diversity in its workforce and seeksjob candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff of all identities and backgrounds. Wehire based on merit, and encourage people from historically underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.Consistent with federal law, Cornell engages in affirmative action in employment for qualified protected veterans as defined in the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRRA) and qualified individuals with disabilities under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law.

2025-09-15
Applied = 0

(web-759df7d4f5-j8zzc)