AI Studio Coach- AI-Powered Entrepreneurship

About Break Through Tech

Break Through Tech transforms how tech talent is discovered, developed, and connected to opportunity in the age of AI.  Working across higher education and industry, Break Through Tech delivers programs nationwide and integrates technical training, work-based learning, mentorship, and career readiness with deep employer partnerships to create more effective and scalable routes into early tech careers.  Break Through Tech is actively shaping the field of early tech talent development by identifying what works, translating those insights into replicable models, and helping define more consistent approaches to how talent is prepared, assessed, and hired across institutions and employers.

At a moment when AI is reshaping every aspect of work and society, Break Through Tech’s mission is urgent: to ensure that the people who build what comes next — and who are in the room where the most consequential technology decisions of our time get made — look like the world they will shape. Learn more about our work at www.breakthroughtech.org/ .

Position Summary

We are seeking several subject matter experts to partner with Break Through Tech program staff to deliver a first-of-its-kind program for up to 500 undergraduate fellows enrolled in our flagship, extracurricular AI Program.

AI has collapsed the cost of building a first version of almost anything, which has made the ability to build far less scarce than the judgment to know what is worth building. Employers and investors increasingly look for people who can identify a real customer problem, test their assumptions against evidence, and make disciplined decisions about what to pursue — skills that early-career technologists rarely get to practice.

The new 16-week AI-Powered Entrepreneurship program will enable our fellows — who will have already completed a rigorous 9-week Machine Learning Foundations course and a 3-month AI project sponsored by an industry partner — to take a venture from an unexamined idea to an evidence-backed pitch.

With expert guidance and support from their Coaches, fellows will work in teams of three to five to identify a customer problem, interview real customers, build and test an MVP with real users, and pitch their venture to a panel of judges at a culminating Flagship Event.

Across 4 units — Problem Opportunity, Customer Validation, MVP and Prototype, and Pitch and Business Model — fellows will apply the Lean Startup Build-Measure-Learn cycle while using AI tools for research, ideation, synthesis, prototyping, and pitch preparation. Asynchronous coursework will be complemented by virtual Workshops and Maker Days where teams do the work of venture building together, and by independent stretches where teams conduct customer interviews and usability testing in the field.

This is a hands-on coaching role rather than a traditional instructor position. The curriculum supplies the methodology, activities, facilitation guides, and evaluation criteria; Coaches bring the experience, questions, and judgment that help fellows turn those tools into real venture learning. Coaches should be comfortable working with early-stage ambiguity and helping teams make progress without prescribing the answer or taking ownership of the venture.

Coaches for this Specialization will each support 8–10 project teams (about 40 fellows).  Coaches will be expected to facilitate end-to-end the live virtual events and design short concept reviews for them; form and support venture teams; monitor fellows’ progress in their Canvas course; grade and provide feedback on team deliverables against program rubrics; and host virtual office hours.

Essential Responsibilities and Duties

The essential duties of this role are grouped into these categories, with the approximate percentage of time spent on each category indicated below

- Event Preparation and Facilitation (50%)

- Facilitate and design short concept reviews for 4 Workshops (1.5 hours each)
- Facilitate and design short concept reviews for 3 Maker Days (3.5 hours each)
- Facilitate and support the culminating Flagship Event (3.5 hours), evaluating team pitches from an angel investor’s perspective alongside industry judges and volunteers
- Review fellows’ Idea Board submissions ahead of Workshop 1 and form venture teams of three to five fellows around shared problem spaces
- Create and monitor breakout rooms for team-based activities, rotating through every team to observe progress, ask evidence-based questions, and provide feedback and suggestions to ensure fellow success and engagement
- Track attendance and ensure survey completion at the end of each event

- Team Coaching and Office Hours (25%)

- Provide venture mentorship — both with individual teams and in small group settings — on customer discovery, value proposition development, MVP scoping, business model generation, and pitch preparation
- Help teams distinguish customer evidence from assumptions, opinions, and AI-generated conclusions, and challenge them to identify and test their highest-risk assumptions
- Support teams through milestone decisions, including whether to iterate, continue testing, pivot, or pursue further development based on what their evidence actually shows
- Encourage thoughtful use of AI as a venture-building and thinking tool, while reinforcing the importance of human judgment, primary customer research, and responsible AI practices
- Create a supportive environment where fellows can fail fast, receive candid feedback, learn from unsuccessful assumptions, and improve through repeated practice
- Provide practical guidance on commercialization, market strategy, startup funding, and investor readiness when appropriate
- Find and recommend additional resources to support your fellows’ venture development (e.g., accelerator programs, pitch competitions, non-dilutive funding opportunities)
- Attend and actively engage in weekly Community of Practice meetings with other Coaches and program staff, to share ideas and troubleshoot together

- Progress Assessment (25%)

- Review team deliverables submitted in Canvas — the Problem Opportunity Brief, Customer Validation Brief, MVP/Prototype Package, and Final Pitch Package — providing written feedback and leveraging a grading rubric to score each one
- Review Canvas checkpoint submissions ahead of each Workshop and Maker Day to identify teams that are stuck or under-prepared, and intervene before the live session rather than discovering the gap during it
- Review “knowledge check” activities in Canvas to identify areas where fellows are struggling with Lean Startup concepts; and use that information to create concept review content for Workshops and Maker Days
- Partner with Break Through Tech program staff to identify any fellows or teams who are failing to meet program expectations, and assist with intervention and follow-up as needed

Required Qualifications

- Previous experience teaching, advising, mentoring, or coaching Lean Startup, customer discovery, Design Thinking, entrepreneurship, innovation management, or a comparable methodology
- Working knowledge of customer discovery, hypothesis-driven experimentation, MVP development, value propositions, and business model development
- Ability to coach multidisciplinary teams and provide constructive, specific feedback without taking ownership of the team’s venture
- Comfortable working with early-stage ideas where significant uncertainty remains and the appropriate next step may not yet be clear
- Hands-on experience using generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, or similar) for research, analysis, or product development
- Commitment to developing inclusive and equitable working relationships with fellows from a variety of backgrounds, volunteers, other Coaches, and program staff
- Experience evaluating and giving feedback on team work products
- Prior teaching, tutoring, or mentoring experience
- Excellent communication and facilitation skills
- Ability to thrive in a virtual work environment
- Availability for all Workshop, Maker Day, and Flagship Event dates

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience working for, advising, or launching a startup or early-stage venture
- Experience supporting technology commercialization, product development, accelerator programs, incubators, or university entrepreneurship programs
- Experience obtaining or advising ventures pursuing startup financing (e.g. seed or investor funding, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, non-dilutive funding opportunities, etc.)
- Familiarity with AI-enabled products, or experience building with AI-assisted prototyping tools (e.g. Figma Make, no-code platforms)
- Experience judging pitch competitions, demo days, or venture showcases

Important Notes

- This is a part-time, remote, temporary position beginning on January 4th, 2027 and ending on Monday, May 10th, 2027.
- Estimated time commitment: 15 -20 hours per week not inclusive of pre-program training. Actual weekly hours will vary depending on program activities.
- This role is not eligible for benefits.
- This role is open to any eligible candidate across the US.
- Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
- Pay rate: $35 per hour.
- Coaches will be required to participate in about 10 hours of pre-program training in early January 2027.
- Coaches will be required to be available to facilitate 8 events (four 90-minute Workshops and four 4-hour Maker Days, including Final Presentations) on to-be-determined dates, from January-May, 2027.

__________

Break Through Tech believes in creating a more equitable playing field for applicants and values the depth of relevant skills built through successful education, work, and life experiences. If your background and skills are a close match for this position, you are strongly encouraged to apply. Break Through Tech is committed to further building and maintaining a staff that reflects the full range of communities we serve and is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. Break Through Tech is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Employment at Break Through Tech is contingent upon successful completion of references and a background check, which may include verification of employment history, education, criminal record, and other relevant screenings as permitted by law. Background checks are conducted after a conditional offer of employment and in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.