Location: Fully Remote, work from home (Anywhere worldwide)
Employment Type: Volunteer | Part-time
Duration: 6 months (minimum)
Working Hours: Minimum of 10 hours/week
Role Overview
We are seeking a proactive, highly organized Volunteer Project Manager to oversee and lead our engineering team at Vexnovate Ventures. In this role, your primary focus will be coordinating the start of development for the first version of Blue Sentinel—our current flagship pillar aimed at transforming marine intelligence, satellite/environmental data, and ecosystem protection.
You will build out a structured sprint roadmap to hit our target launch date by October, foster accountability among developers, conduct targeted research and provide strategic operational insights, and serve as the main point of contact and buffer before issues are escalated to the CTO.
While Blue Sentinel is your immediate core responsibility, as a lean startup, you will also have opportunities to shape project management frameworks across our other sustainable and climate-tech initiatives as we scale. Oversees the preparation of work plans and organizes projects. We would love to speak with you if you are a proactive project manager who can provide complicated initiatives direction, structure, and clarity.
Key Responsibilities
Engineering Team Leadership & Coordination: Effectively manage and guide the volunteer engineering team, serving as their primary point of contact and direct lead before technical or structural blockers are escalated to the CTO.
Sprint Planning & Product Launch (Target ➡October): Design, organize, and execute a realistic, structured sprint plan in ClickUp to ensure the delivery and successful launch of Blue Sentinel V1 by September.
Standups & Operations: Facilitate regular standup meetings, manage daily async check-ins, keep track of task completion, and eliminate day-to-day team blockers.
Developer Accountability: Establish clear deliverables, hold developers accountable for deadlines, ensure active participation, and maintain high standards of delivery.
Research & Insight Generation: Conduct operational research where necessary to clarify scope of project, refine feature requirements, and provide actionable insights for decision-making.
You will develop, update, and share project timelines, milestones, dependencies, and general project status. You will own, lead and manage projects, overseeing a project's entire lifecycle.
Process & Communication Management: Maintain smooth team operations, organize technical documentations, enforce clear communication schedules, and manage team workflows via Slack and ClickUp.
Qualifications
Experience: 2+ years of experience in project management, technical program management, or Scrum Master roles, preferably within a tech or software engineering context.
Proven ability to run sprint planning, backlog grooming, and agile execution with a focus on hitting hard launch deadlines.
Proven ability with task prioritization, time management skills and ability to work independently.
Excellent interpersonal, conflict-resolution, and leadership skills with a firm, accountable, yet empathetic management style.
Ability to translate requirements between technical engineers and leadership, managing developer questions and filtering concerns before escalating to executive leadership/CTO.
Strong hands-on experience with Jira (or similar project tools like Trello/Asana) for task management and Slack for team communication.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to conduct independent research and extract business or technical insights.
We take communication seriously. You must be able to respond promptly to messages within 48 hours (2 days) at most. Ghosting or being offline for over 5 days without notice will not be allowed.
Autonomy: Ability to work independently without micromanagement in a fully remote environment.
Benefits
100% remote and asynchronous work environment—work from anywhere in the world with flexible hours.
High-impact work: Contribute directly to building and launching a platform protecting critical marine and coastal ecosystems.
Networking: Work closely with engineering and environmental domain experts at Vexnovate Ventures.
Performance-based recognition, including: LinkedIn, Upwork, and Letter of Recommendation (LOR) recommendation, formal certificate of completion, company email address that can be used as a reference on your CV, and a feature on the company's website.
Possibility of retainment based on performance (Equity-only compensation).
How to Apply
Our hiring process:
AI Initial Assessment (30 mins): Complete an asynchronous online interview with our AI system. Please answer using your own voice without external AI tools.
Live Interview: A one-on-one call with Jennifer (Head of People Ops) and Annita (CTO), to ensure aligned goals and cultural alignment.
Joining Vexnovate: If it’s a mutual match, we’ll send over your formal invitation to get onboarded!
Vexnovate Ventures is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all team members. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, or any other protected status. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply.
2+ years project management or Scrum Master experience; proven sprint planning and agile execution; strong leadership and communication; proficiency with Jira or similar tools and Slack; ability to work independently in remote environment.
Key Responsibilities
- leading engineering team
- planning sprints
- managing communication
Skills & Tools
ClickUp, Slack, Jira, Trello, Asana
Job Details
- Category: Project and Program Management
- Seniority: Mid Level
- Commitment: Part Time, Volunteer
- Workplace: Remote — North America
- Languages: English
About Vexnovate Ventures
A lean startup developing sustainable and climate-tech initiatives, including marine intelligence and ecosystem protection. — Industry: Information Technology