Partnership Program Manager

We're seeking a talented Partnership Program Manager who embodies our values of resilience, execution focus, and mission-driven innovation. The ideal candidate isn't just a program manager they're a strategic builder who sees beyond traditional partnership operations to create scalable systems that drive business impact.

About Us

Waterlily uses AI to help families prepare for the largest financial and medical event in their lives, long-term care (LTC). Through comprehensive care planning and optimization, Waterlily is bending America's multi-trillion dollar LTC cost curve.

Our Team & Culture

We've built a high-performance team culture based on three core principles:

Mission-Driven Excellence

• We're deeply committed to transforming how families prepare for long-term care
• Every team member genuinely believes in our mission and understands its importance
• We prioritize work that drives meaningful impact for our customers and company
  
  
  

Be a Potato: Growth & Resilience

• We embrace challenges and adapt quickly - like potatoes that grow under any circumstances
• We make decisions swiftly while remaining thoughtful and open to iteration
• We focus on execution and results rather than just effort, recognizing that input doesn't necessarily equal output
• We value team members who show unlimited potential for growth and understanding
  
  
  

Radical Transparency & Support

• We practice direct, honest communication while maintaining empathy and respect
• Feedback flows freely in all directions - from intern to leadership and back
• We begin meetings with brief check-ins to understand each other's context
• We create safe spaces for vulnerability and authentic collaboration
• We maintain high standards while supporting each other's growth and wellbeing
  
  
  

Our team comprises some of the brightest, most ambitious, playful, and friendly people you'll meet. You'll be working closely with our founding Waterlily team, including Lily, Evan, Job, and Tim, and have direct access to a support team in the Philippines.

️Lily Vittayarukskul, our CEO, is a patented inventor who started college at 14, attending UC Berkeley, was working at NASA when she was 16, and lead product and engineering at IoT medical device startups for years before founding Waterlily.️

Evan Ehrenberg, our COO, is a member of Forbes 30 Under 30, started college at 11, also attending UC Berkeley, and then continued on to his Ph.D. in computational neuroscience at MIT at 16 before dropping out at 21 to found Clara Health, a clinical trials SaaS platform and B2B2C marketplace, which he sold 7 years later before joining Waterlily.

Tim Chung, our founding engineer and data scientist, holds a Masters of Computer Science from UPenn and is midway through a Data Science Masters at Georgia Tech. Tim excels in a trio of roles: data scientist, machine learning engineer, and full-stack software engineer. At his previous companies, he led teams to launch pioneering machine learning models.

Job Lawrence, our head of operations, holds a Masters from Harvard and MBA from the University of Michigan, worked directly alongside the founders at early Google for over 10 years where he led strategy and operations, and has run finance, strategy, and ops for startups ranging from the earliest founding stages through Series D funding and beyond.

How We Work

• We optimize for remote-first collaboration while maintaining high productivity
• We emphasize contextual decision-making and practical solutions
• We prioritize deep work and focused execution over unnecessary meetings
• We consistently validate that we're working on the highest-impact initiatives
• We maintain a healthy, growth-oriented mindset while pushing for exceptional results
  
  
  

We're looking for teammates who share our values of integrity, empathy, and intelligent hard work - people who can see beyond their immediate role to understand both company needs and customer impact.

About You

Growth Mindset & Adaptability

• You're a "potato" able to grow and thrive under any circumstances
• You have a track record of building and optimizing complex operational systems
• You proactively dive deep into process improvements, leveraging tools like LLMs to accelerate efficiency
• You're comfortable with ambiguity and can navigate complex partnership programs with confidence
  
  
  

Innovation & Execution

• You have a history of developing partnership frameworks that challenge traditional approaches
• You can point to specific examples where you've used automation or AI to scale operations
• You focus on creating repeatable processes while maintaining quality
• You have experience using technology to standardize and scale partnership programs
  
  
  

Operations & Process Leadership

• You give and receive direct feedback with grace and professionalism
• You can design and implement comprehensive partnership programs
• You're equally comfortable creating high-level strategy and detailed operational playbooks
• You naturally build trust through consistent execution and systematic approach
  
  
  

Mission Alignment

• You're drawn to meaningful work that impacts families' lives
• You understand that sustained high performance requires maintaining personal wellbeing
• You're excited about becoming a thought leader in the long-term care industry
• You're genuinely passionate about transforming how families prepare for long-term care
  
  
  

The Ideal Background

While we value potential over experience, you likely have:

• Demonstrated success in designing and implementing partnership programs
• 5-7+ years of partnership, operations, or program management experience
• Experience creating scalable processes for complex enterprise deployments
• Track record of improving operational efficiency through process innovation and automation
• Strong technical background with ability to implement automation solutions
• Experience balancing program strategy with operational execution
  
  
  

We're not looking for someone who's done it all before we're looking for someone who has the systematic mindset and drive to help us pioneer new approaches to partnership operations. If you're excited about building scalable systems, pushing boundaries, learning rapidly, and making a real difference in people's lives, we want to talk to you.

About The Role

You will be responsible for designing, implementing, and scaling partnership programs for Fortune 100 insurance carriers, major financial advisory firms, insurance distributors, and long-term care providers. The goal will be to push beyond traditional partnership management by creating innovative, repeatable systems that enable rapid scaling while maintaining quality.

You will develop the operational infrastructure and processes that enable successful partnerships, requiring a deep understanding of enterprise needs and implementation requirements. Success in this role requires both strategic program design and operational excellence from creating partnership frameworks to ensuring smooth deployment processes.

You will be expected to become deeply knowledgeable about enterprise software deployment and partnership operations through systematic research and documentation. This knowledge will enable you to create scalable programs that can be efficiently replicated across multiple partner types and segments.

You'll need to balance multiple priorities from high-level program design to detailed process implementation. We expect you to identify opportunities to use technology (including LLMs and automation tools) to scale our partnership operations, while maintaining the flexibility to adjust systems based on partner feedback and operational metrics. You will collaborate on new ideas and implement quickly to test and iterate. Many ideas will not work and will be thrown away. Many ideas will need to be imperfect so that we can implement them faster. Everything will be iterative, no challenge will be too ambitious.

You will be responsible for creating systems that produce meaningful results every week. It will likely take you more than 40 hours per week to drive industry-leading results. We do not think that 80 hour weeks are effective, and we expect you to limit yourself to 50-60 hour work-weeks. If you want to push harder we will urge you to reflect on ways to be more effective with your time so that you can dedicate your remaining time to benefit your mental and physical health.

We will be in the trenches with you, and together we will create one of the most impactful companies that will help families prepare for what has historically been one of the most devastating times in their lives so that they can face long-term care with confidence and calm.

Key Responsibilities

• Partnership Program Design: Develop comprehensive partnership frameworks and playbooks. Create standardized processes for partnership launches, implementations, and ongoing operations.
• Operational Excellence: Design and implement scalable systems for managing multiple complex partnerships simultaneously. Create efficient workflows that enable rapid deployment while maintaining quality.
• Process Innovation: Build automated solutions and leverage technology to streamline partnership operations. Identify opportunities for operational improvements and implement systematic solutions.
• Implementation Framework Development: Create and maintain detailed implementation playbooks, technical documentation, and operational guidelines for different partnership types.
• Program Analytics & Optimization: Design comprehensive measurement systems for tracking partnership health and operational efficiency. Analyze metrics to drive continuous improvement.
• Cross-functional Systems: Develop integrated workflows between partnerships, product, engineering, and customer success teams. Create scalable processes for coordination and delivery.
• Quality Assurance: Implement systematic approaches to ensure consistent partnership delivery and success. Design and maintain quality control processes across all partnership operations.
  
  
  

Key Skills & Qualifications

Recommended Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• 5-7 years of partnership operations or program management experience
• Track record of building and scaling enterprise partnership programs
• Experience with enterprise software/SaaS implementations
  
  
  

Program Development & Leadership:

• Proven ability to design and implement complex operational systems
• Experience managing multiple concurrent partnership programs at scale
• Strong program governance and oversight capabilities
• Demonstrated success in cross-functional program coordination
• History of leading operational transformation initiatives
• Experience with program budget management and resource allocation
  
  
  

Technical & Operational Excellence:

• Technical background with system integration experience
• Proven ability to implement automation and operational tools
• Experience leveraging AI and emerging technologies for operational efficiency
• Track record of building scalable operational frameworks
• Understanding of regulatory requirements in regulated industries
  
  
  

Process & Systems Management:

• Strong process design and documentation skills
• Experience creating and optimizing operational workflows
• Ability to implement measurement frameworks and KPIs
• Data-driven approach to continuous improvement
• Experience managing partner onboarding and enablement programs
  
  
  

Communication & Documentation:

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills
• Experience creating process documentation, training and enablement materials
• Ability to translate complex systems into clear operational guidelines
• Proven ability to influence without direct authority
  
  
  

Strategic & Business Acumen:

• Understanding of enterprise partnership models and structures
• Ability to balance program strategy with operational execution
• Track record of delivering measurable operational improvements
• Experience scaling programs across multiple business units
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated success in managing complex stakeholder relationships
  
  
  

Why Join Us?

• Backed by top VCs: Our investors are renowned for backing innovative companies and helping them grow to become industry leaders.
• Customers Love Us: Check out some of our latest success case studies and customer testimonials and see why our customers love us so much.
• Industry Giants Onboard: After launching in early 2024 we've already closed 3 Fortune 100 customers, 4 insurance carriers, one of the largest LTC providers in the Midwest, and one of the largest insurance distributors in the US.
• Direct Mentorship and Development from our Co-Founders: Receive guidance and resources to develop your skills and become a 10x operator.
• Growth Opportunities: Learn to operate multiple functions and gain diverse experience that will propel your career forward.
• Dynamic Environment: Work in a fast-paced, innovative startup culture that encourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
• Impact: Play a key role in shaping the future of our company and making a tangible difference for families across America and the world.