Application Guide

How to Apply for Head of Digital Product

at Centre for Effective Altruism

🏢 About Centre for Effective Altruism

The Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) is a unique nonprofit that coordinates and supports the global effective altruism movement, which uses evidence and reason to do the most good possible. Working here means contributing directly to scaling a community focused on solving the world's most pressing problems, from global health to AI safety. CEA's remote-first culture and mission-driven work attract those who want their career to have maximum positive impact.

About This Role

As Head of Digital Product at CEA, you'll lead the strategy, development, and scaling of key digital platforms like the EA Forum and educational courses that grow the effective altruism community. This role is impactful because you'll directly shape how thousands of people learn, connect, and contribute to high-impact causes. You'll own decisions about which products to scale or sunset based on rigorous impact assessment, making this a high-leverage position within the movement.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might involve reviewing metrics dashboards for the EA Forum and course platforms, then leading a remote standup with your product, design, and engineering leads to align on sprint priorities. You'd likely spend time analyzing user feedback to identify pain points, followed by strategic discussions about whether to scale certain features or sunset others based on impact data. The role balances deep analytical work with team leadership and cross-organizational collaboration to advance CEA's community growth goals.

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who Centre for Effective Altruism Is Looking For

  • Has 5+ years of product leadership experience with a track record of scaling digital platforms or communities, ideally in mission-driven or nonprofit contexts
  • Demonstrates ability to make tough prioritization decisions using impact metrics rather than just business metrics, with experience balancing user growth against deeper community outcomes
  • Possesses proven experience building and managing cross-functional remote teams of product managers, designers, and engineers in agile environments
  • Shows deep proficiency in creating data-informed feedback loops, combining quantitative analytics with qualitative user research to improve product experiences

📝 Tips for Applying to Centre for Effective Altruism

1

Quantify your impact on community growth or engagement in previous roles—CEA cares deeply about measurable outcomes for their digital products

2

Demonstrate familiarity with effective altruism concepts by referencing specific CEA products like the EA Forum or courses in your application materials

3

Highlight experience with remote team management and asynchronous collaboration, as CEA operates with distributed teams across time zones

4

Show how you've made difficult product sunsetting decisions based on impact data, not just growth metrics

5

Include examples of how you've built feedback loops between community members and product teams in past platform roles

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your philosophy on balancing product growth with community health and integrity in mission-driven platforms', "Specific examples of how you've used data and user feedback to transform promising products into exceptional experiences", 'Your approach to setting strategic vision for how multiple products work together as an ecosystem rather than in isolation', "Why effective altruism's evidence-based approach to doing good resonates with your personal and professional values"]

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Spend time on the EA Forum to understand its current features, community dynamics, and pain points
  • → Explore CEA's courses and educational offerings to grasp their pedagogical approach and technical implementation
  • → Read about effective altruism's core concepts and current priority cause areas to speak knowledgeably about the movement
  • → Review CEA's public strategy documents and blog posts about their theory of change and community growth goals
Visit Centre for Effective Altruism's Website →

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 How would you approach scaling the EA Forum while maintaining its quality as a discussion space for effective altruism?
2 What metrics would you track to determine if a CEA digital product is having meaningful impact versus just growing usage?
3 Describe your experience managing remote product teams across different time zones and cultures
4 How would you prioritize between improving existing products versus launching new initiatives with limited resources?
5 What's your approach to incorporating both quantitative data and qualitative community feedback into product decisions?
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing solely on generic product growth metrics without considering the specific impact goals of the effective altruism community
  • Demonstrating limited understanding of how nonprofit/donation-funded products differ from venture-backed commercial products
  • Presenting as primarily interested in the remote work aspect rather than CEA's mission and the role's specific community-building challenges

📅 Application Timeline

⏰ Deadline: March 5, 2026

We recommend applying at least a few days early to avoid last-minute technical issues.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Centre for Effective Altruism!

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