How to Build a Career at Lumiere Education
- Stephen Turban
- 9 hours ago
- 11 min read
If you want to build a career in education and grow quickly as a professional, the kind of organization you choose matters. You could choose to work at a global conglomerate, a grassroots organization, or a fast-growing startup. Working at a startup allows you to take ownership of your work and drive projects from start to finish, giving you leadership experience that is valued in all industries. For professionals who want to work in education, a startup role allows you to develop new skill sets quickly while making a tangible impact on students. If this appeals to you, Lumiere Education has multiple opportunities for your explore.
Lumiere has fully remote roles in marketing, operations, partnerships, and the founder’s office. As a team member, you’ll collaborate with colleagues from around the world to expand access to high-quality education.
If you want to work directly with a startup’s founders, Lumiere would be a good fit because the founders are committed to mentoring team members. The company’s founders have worked at McKinsey and Bridgewater and grown Lumiere to a completely bootstrapped 8-figure company. Working at Lumiere is especially valuable if you want to launch your own startup someday, as you’ll get to see how founders make business decisions.
In this blog, we’ll cover how to apply for roles at Lumiere Education, laying out the available positions, benefits, career growth trajectories, and insider application tips from the People Operations team at Lumiere.
What is Lumiere Education?
Lumiere Education offers virtual research programs for high school students. It pairs students with PhD mentors and professors from top universities to write original research papers in subjects of their choice. Lumiere’s nonprofit arm, the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, enables students from low-income backgrounds to conduct research free of cost.
The company was founded in 2020 by Stephen Turban and Dhruva Bhat, who met as undergraduates at Harvard. To date, 7,200 students from 105 countries have done research through Lumiere, and program alumni have been accepted to every Top 20 university in the US, including Stanford, MIT, and Yale.
Lumiere has expanded to offer more educational virtual programs for high schoolers through its sister companies: Veritas AI (AI/ML), Ladder Internships (startup internships), and Young Founders Lab (startup incubator). In January 2026, the company acquired Immerse Education, a leading provider of summer enrichment programs for high schoolers at Oxford, Cambridge, and 8 other global universities.
What roles are available at Lumiere Education?
Roles at Lumiere are open to experienced and early-career professionals passionate about education. You can see current openings with job descriptions and apply here.
Interested in multiple roles? Great! When you apply for a role with the Lumiere Education Group, you will be considered for other relevant roles across business verticals under the same application.
You can join the Lumiere Education Group under the following teams:
Operations
Partnerships
Founders Office
Marketing
Publications
Below, we’ll break down what each team does, positions within the team, and the skills that are a good fit. If you don't see a role that matches your background, you can join the talent pool to be notified when future opportunities become available.
Academic Operations Team
This team ensures the smooth delivery of Lumiere's research programs for students globally. Roles include:
Program Managers who ensure students remain on track throughout the 12-week research program
Student Onboarding Managers who set new students up for success at the beginning of the program
If you have experience in program management or operations, this could be a strong fit.
Partnerships Team
This team builds and maintains Lumiere’s partnerships with Independent Educational Consultants, schools, and other organizations that help connect students to Lumiere's programs. Roles include:
Business Development Associates who manage relationships with external partners and independent educational consultants
Partnership Managers who schedule calls, conduct outreach, and maintain communication across channels like LinkedIn and email
Growth Associates who handle lead generation, data consolidation, and creating systems to track partner engagement
If you have experience in sales, partnership development, or relationship management, this team would be a good fit.
Founders Office
This is a unique opportunity to work with Lumiere's co-founders on strategic initiatives that shape the company's direction:
Founder's Office Associate who supports special projects from conception to execution, interacts with internal and external stakeholders, conducts analysis to support decision-making, and manages operational tasks for high-impact projects.
If you want to work 1:1 with the founders, gain exposure to different aspects of running a startup, are comfortable with ambiguity, and thrive in fast-paced environments, this is a strong fit.
Marketing Team
This team builds Lumiere's online presence and drives growth through digital and content strategies. Roles include:
Marketing Associates who manage SEO, blog content, email campaigns, and social media to expand Lumiere's reach
If you have experience in digital marketing, content creation, or growth strategy, go ahead and apply!
Publications Team
This team helps students publish their research papers in academic journals or present at conferences. Roles include:
Publication Strategy Associate who expands Lumiere's database of publication opportunities for high school students, creates guidance materials, meets with students to provide feedback on tailoring their work to specific journals, and builds relationships with academic publications.
This role is a great fit for people who enjoy advising students and have some tutoring or mentoring experience.
In the next section, we’ll outline the step-by-step application process for Lumiere roles and insider tips from People Ops on how to stand out.
What is the application process and timeline?
The Lumiere application process usually takes 2-3 weeks. Here’s what you can expect as an applicant:
Step 1: Application Review – After you submit your application, the team reviews your materials. This includes your resume, educational background, and a 200-word response on why you want to work at Lumiere.
Step 2: Initial Interview – If you’re invited for an interview, you’ll meet with the Head of People Operations for a 30-minute video call. This interview discusses your background, interest in Lumiere, and how your skills align with the role. This is also your chance to ask questions and get a feel for the team culture.
Step 3: Task or Case Study – For some roles, you'll be asked to complete a short assignment that reflects the kind of work you'd be doing. For instance, marketing roles may require a writing or editing sample.
Step 4: Team Interview – You'll meet the people you'd be working with directly. These interviews get deeper into specific skills, collaboration style, and how you'd contribute to ongoing projects.
Step 5: Final Interview with Founders – The final step is a conversation with co-founders Stephen and Dhruva. Expect questions about your interests, motivation for joining Lumiere, and structured thinking problems.
If you have any questions about the application process, you can reach out to careers@lumiere.education.
What does Lumiere look for in candidates?
Lumiere is looking for people who own initiatives, excel in a fast-paced environment, and have a can-do attitude. Successful applicants typically demonstrate Lumiere’s values:
Commitment to excellence, striving to deliver the highest quality
Innovation, willingness to experiment and iterate
Learning & Growth, opportunities for mentorship and career growth
Collaboration, meaningful collaboration across time zones
Diversity & Inclusion, diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences
We interviewed the Head of Lumiere’s People Operations team, Rithika Abraham, to understand how best to prepare for the application process.
1. What does Lumiere look for in candidates?
Lumiere looks for candidates who demonstrate strong intellectual curiosity, take initiative, and communicate their ideas clearly. We value individuals who have a genuine interest in research or impact-driven work and who show the ability to learn quickly, adapt, and grow in a fast-moving environment.
2. What backgrounds do successful candidates typically come from?
Successful candidates come from a wide range of academic backgrounds. They typically show strong academic performance, exposure to research or independent projects, and experience balancing multiple commitments. Lumiere generally looks for early-career candidates with 0–3 years of work experience who are motivated to develop their skills and explore meaningful work.
3. What makes an application stand out to you?
Applications stand out when candidates clearly articulate their motivation for applying, demonstrate specific interests rather than broad or generic claims, and provide concrete examples of initiative. Strong applications also reflect thoughtful self-awareness—particularly around what the candidate hopes to learn and gain from working at Lumiere—and show ambitious but realistic learning goals.
4. What should the cover letter say?
The cover letter should explain why the candidate is interested in Lumiere, how their academic or professional goals align with Lumiere’s mission, and what unique perspectives, skills, or experiences they would bring to the role. Clarity, sincerity, and alignment matter more than overly formal language.
5. What is the best way to prepare for the interviews?
For a successful Zoom interview, make sure your camera is working and join from a laptop to avoid technical issues and stay interview-ready. Set yourself up in a well-lit space with good front-facing lighting and a clean, professional background so there are no distractions. Being seated at a desk and fully visible helps create a polished impression.
Beyond logistics, take a few moments at the start to connect with your interviewers on a personal level, as this helps showcase your communication skills and personality. Keep a notepad handy to take notes and ask clarifying questions, demonstrating attentiveness and genuine interest in the role.
6. How would you describe Lumiere’s culture?
We’re warm and friendly, very learning-focused, and genuinely enjoy working together. At the same time, we’re rigorous about our work and push ourselves toward excellence, so people are supported while also being challenged to do their best.
Rithika Abraham, Head of People Operations
Lumiere Education
What are the benefits of working at Lumiere?
Lumiere offers these benefits to support team members’ well-being and growth:
Flexible, fully remote work: work from anywhere
Unlimited paid time off: no cap on paid time off
Tech budget: a yearly budget of $200
Company retreat: annual, expenses-paid retreat for the global team
Team dinners: regular dinners in cities where Lumiere team members live
Stephen, Lumiere’s co-founder, believes that a high-trust, high-responsibility culture helps team members thrive, so you’ll have the freedom to decide when and where to work.
Career Growth and Learning
As a Lumiere member, you will get to experiment with new workstreams, iterate to improve existing processes, and learn from other teams through cross-functional collaboration. The company gives team members regular feedback to help them level up. There are frequent opportunities to contribute to new initiatives, which is very valuable if you want to develop skills outside your current role.
Lumiere rewards initiative, which means you can direct your career growth by pitching projects that interest you. For instance, if you have program operations experience but want to learn more about stakeholder management, you can propose a partner engagement project to the partnerships team.
The founders focus on training team members in entrepreneurship, which makes it a high-value career opportunity for future founders. As Stephen explained in a LinkedIn post, "I’ve set up Lumiere to be a training ground for bootstrapped entrepreneurs. At this point, I’ve now built or acquired 4 brands that have gotten to 7 digits in revenue. Each time, I do it with a new team member who sees how it happens from zero to one.”
Stephen and Dhruva bring experience from top consulting firms and hedge funds to Lumiere. By working directly with them, you’ll gain insight into how to approach business problems, design operational experiments, and measure success for new workflows. In addition to the founder’s office, positions across teams work with Stephen and Dhruva on strategic projects.
After working at Lumiere, team members have gone on to pursue graduate degrees at highly ranked schools like Wharton and the University of Chicago, with some receiving prestigious scholarships like the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship at Stanford.
Annual Lumiere team retreat, Indonesia, 2025
What do current team members say about working at Lumiere?
Lumiere values individuals who care deeply about education and constantly seek ways to improve. Lumiere's team has studied at Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, Columbia Business School, Dartmouth, and Ashoka University. They bring professional experience from McKinsey, Bain & Company, and Arthur D. Little. To hear directly from our team members, check out our reviews on Glassdoor!
For more insight into what it’s like to work at Lumiere, we interviewed Kevin March, Partner Success Associate in the Partnerships team. Kevin is a PhD candidate in History at Boston College. Below, he discusses his typical day at Lumiere, how to succeed in his role, and his favorite things about Lumiere’s culture.
Kevin March, Partner Success Associate
Lumiere Education
What does your typical day look like?
As the U.S. Partnerships Manager, my role is to create and maintain strong relationships with students, parents, and higher education professionals. Therefore, my typical day is structured around conversations with prospective families, as well as calls with partners in the college admissions world. I also oversee and implement enrichment opportunities for Lumiere students, including free webinars with college admissions experts and Q&As with admissions officers at top universities. Every day is a little different, which keeps the work fresh but not overwhelming!
Can you share a time you felt proud of your work?
My favorite part of my work is demystifying research for students and families. As a PhD candidate at Boston College, I’m well aware that the world of academic research can be bewildering, opaque, and inaccessible. I enjoy sharing the fundamentals of research with students and talking about the projects that excite them. I feel proud when I can convey the positive aspects of academic research, namely the sense of discovery, learning, and growth that can come with rigorous study of a topic.
What does success look like in your role?
The essence of my role is building and maintaining relationships. While this may sound straightforward, it entails thinking about the complex goals, needs, and personalities of a diverse group of stakeholders (counselors, students, and parents). I define “success” in my role as understanding these stakeholders and navigating the human side of our work to achieve collective satisfaction.
How would you describe Lumiere’s culture?
As an education startup, Lumiere’s culture is a great blend of hustle and teamwork! We set high expectations and measurable goals and then work together to achieve them in a timely manner. We also have a great practice of feedback-directed learning and growth. I always feel connected to my team across the world!
What is your favorite thing about working at Lumiere?
My favorite thing about working at Lumiere is that I get to wear many hats! While my role is in partnerships, I have also had the opportunity to work on projects that involve sales, operations, marketing, and professional development. Lumiere is my first full-time role outside academia, and I have learned so much about the business world and education technology in a few short months. I can’t wait to continue growing!
What advice would you give someone applying to join Lumiere’s team?
My advice would be to embrace new challenges and be open to learning new skills! Your role might not always be how you exactly envisioned it, but open-mindedness and a “can-do” attitude will help you be successful. Be proactive and a good communicator. Always be ready to share a good idea about how to improve a process.
Wrapping Up - Is Lumiere a Good Fit for You?
Lumiere is growing rapidly, which makes it a good choice for early-career professionals looking to accelerate their career trajectory. Since the company is expanding, new roles emerge regularly, offering opportunities harder to come by in big organizations. Lumiere’s high-ownership culture means you’ll gain experience driving worksteams end-to-end, which is rare and valuable for early-career professionals.
If you want to launch your own startup, working at Lumiere can give you firsthand experience of building a company from the ground up. The prioritization and communication skills you’ll build in Lumiere’s remote workplace are valued by all employers, so you’ll strengthen key professional skills. If you want to help shape the next generation of researchers, have a problem-solving mindset, and can successfully execute in fast-paced environments, it's worth applying to a role at Lumiere Education Group.
If you’re a graduate student looking to mentor high school students part-time through Lumiere, learn how to apply here.
If you’re a freelance writer or editor who wants to contribute to Lumiere’s blog, email us at content@lumiere.education.