Principal, Alpha

the Great Educational Equalizer  — Philosopher Johnathan Bi, on Alpha School

Alpha is hiring.

• Springfield, MA
• $200,000 annual salary
• Day-one health benefits

Are you exhausted watching Springfield students get held back by a system that won't let you enforce the standards they deserve?

Alpha is launching a brand-new campus here, and we need a leader who already understands the city's educational reality. You'll lead 15+ Guides who coach and motivate students while our EdTech platform handles all instruction. No 'teaching'. Lots of doing. Pure leadership.

Your mission: ensure every student loves school, learns twice as fast as traditional classrooms, and masters critical life skills. This is not a traditional Principal role. You'll enforce uncompromising standards, make data-driven decisions, and build Springfield’s best school from day one.

• Launch our Springfield, MA location:
  Deliver Alpha's three promises to 100+ students from day one with operational excellence across the board.
• Run live workshops with K-8 students teaching life skills:
  Deliver engaging one-hour sessions on public speaking, growth mindset, giving and receiving feedback. Follow Alpha's playbook to ensure students master skills traditional schools ignore while having fun.
• Motivate every student to achieve 100% of their goals:
  Build individual motivational models for each student. Use data-driven techniques to overcome resistance and keep kids engaged with the Alpha platform. Success means every student hits their targets.
• Coach Guides to excellence and enforce Alpha's quality bar:
  Use data to identify performance gaps, deliver actionable feedback, and track improvement. Make tough calls when performance falls short and lead by example as the standard-bearer on your campus.
• Make data driven campus leadership decisions:
  Analyze performance across staff, operations, parent communication, and culture. Define problems, conduct root cause analysis, consult stakeholders, implement measurable changes. Track every decision and adjust based on results.

• Running a conventional school office is not what this role asks of you. Students learn through Alpha's self-guided EdTech platform, not passive lectures from adults.
• Designing lesson plans or curriculum. Alpha's playbook is pre-built. Your job is execution and leadership, not instructional design.
• Managing budgets or hiring staff. Central functions handle finance and recruiting. You focus entirely on campus performance and culture.
• Being the subject-matter expert. This role is 80% leader and entertainer, 20% educator. You inspire, the platform instructs.

Deliver Alpha’s three promises: every student loves school, learns twice as fast, and masters life skills — at a brand-new Springfield campus from day one.

• Bachelor's degree in Education, Psychology, Business, or related field. Master's preferred.
• At least 7 years of experience in education, learning and development, coaching, business, or related field.
• Direct experience building and managing teams of at least 15 people with full hiring and firing authority.
• Deep knowledge of the Springfield, MA education landscape.
• Experience working with youth ages 5 - 14.
• Strong data analysis skills and experience using metrics to drive decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Passion for transforming education. Belief that the traditional system is fundamentally broken.
• Startup mindset: thrives under pressure, adaptable in new situations, comfortable building systems from scratch.
• Compelling and energetic speaker who commands attention from rooms full of students or staff.
• Able to relate to K-8 students, understand their interests and culture, and serve as a positive…