Who are we?

Sidewalk Labs is an Alphabet company tackling the challenges of urban growth. Our vision for cities is rooted in a cross-disciplinary approach that is reflected in our team, composed of experts from real estate, government, finance, technology, engineering and more. Since our founding in 2015, we have grown into an organization of over 100 employees based primarily in New York and Toronto.

We are currently designing a new kind of mixed-use, complete community on Toronto’s waterfront in partnership with the tripartite agency Waterfront Toronto and the local community. This joint effort, called Sidewalk Toronto, will combine forward-thinking urban design and new digital technology to create a people-centered neighborhood that achieves precedent-setting levels of sustainability, affordability, mobility, and economic opportunity.

We are working to achieve something unprecedented — help us build it!

This role is part of the City Operations team, which leads our social infrastructure pillar of work, consisting of the physical spaces and services that shape interactions, organize communities, and provide the supports necessary to thrive in everyday lives. Whatever its form — library, art gallery, online forum, health center, weekly meetup — social infrastructure supports health and well-being, ties together communities, and helps people reach their highest potential. Our projects provide a unique opportunity to plan for social infrastructure from the start, to create conditions that will enable providers and communities to innovate across disciplines and co-create a thriving community.

In the future, the design of the neighbourhood itself could make healthy living easy. Care could be integrated, personalized, and convenient; every individual’s care network could include not just formal caregivers but informal support, rooted in the community. Every community member could be civically engaged, invested in shaping this neighbourhood. Every day, residents, workers, and visitors could easily influence their environment, connect with each other in shared spaces, or give back to their community. People of all ages and abilities could pursue learning opportunities that are personalized to their interests and needs and that take place throughout the community. Workers could prepare for careers of the future, and local employers could easily access a workforce ready to meet their evolving needs.

What is the role?

We are looking for an Associate who will support, take charge of initiatives, and flexibly work across the team and workstream. You will report directly to the Director of Civic Innovation and work directly on projects with the Head of City Operations, Director of Health and Human Services, and Director of Opportunity in delivering on our vision for social infrastructure. You will be working at the cutting edge of policy, operations and digital product development for helping urban communities thrive.

You will work cross-functionally with the City Operations team as well as other teams including Product & Engineering, Policy & Communications, and Legal & Privacy, with typical work being:

• Participating in product sprints including design research, prototyping, usability testing, and scaling of products.
• Scanning the market for solutions to pressing issues including digital products, policies, spaces and organizations.
• Convening and corresponding with stakeholders; engaging with researchers, academics, nonprofits and tech companies to advance work and partnerships.
• Working with the directors to develop product strategy and roadmaps.
• Creating communications materials such as slide decks, memos, and reports.
• Coordinating work with external consultants including RFPs, contracting, and day-to-day project management.
• Over time, your role will continue to evolve — we’re still a small team! Some projects will be ad hoc, or you might be part of a longer-term cross-functional initiative.

What You Will Achieve

• After 3 months you will

1. Be well-versed in the vision for social infrastructure, how technology intersects, and comfortable communicating internally and externally about key pieces
2. Feel integrated into the team and begun building cross functional relationships
3. Be immersed in prototyping sprints on civic technology products

• After 6 months you will

1. Own distinct workstreams including product sprints and prototypes, meetings and relationships, and report back to the directors and head as required.
2. Work cross functionally with other teams as Sidewalk to achieve goals and deliver initiatives.
3. Track personal and team OKRs for delivering on the team vision and initiatives

What We Expect

Your Background should show:

• A demonstrated commitment to cities, interest in civic technology, and interest in urban innovation.
• Experience with urban policy issues such as community and social services, civic tech, education or workforce development.
• 2-4 years of experience in an organization that has done strategic consulting and/or digital product development
• You understand the nuances of working with civic institutions, resident groups, nonprofits and businesses of all types. You adjust your strategy accordingly.

Project, Strategy, and Product Management

• Strong project management skills with deep attention to details, organization systems and the ability to take projects over the finish line.
• You have technical and design fluency to support product vision and development including experience participating in prototyping, roadmapping, market scanning, and launching products in the market including their underlying business plan.
• You have experience observing user needs and creatively solving problems to improve people’s lives through field research and co-creating solutions.
• You are confident in managing budgets and cost models, including sourcing costs through research and speaking with experts.

Team Skills

• A self-motivated individual who feels equally comfortable working independently and as a member of a small, fast-moving team.
• Extremely strong written and interpersonal communication skills for internal and external audiences. Proven ability to produce high-quality presentations in a variety of formats.
• Able to analyze a situation, understand what is needed, flag issues as necessary, and escalate when appropriate.
• Willingness to jump into a wide variety of projects, getting up to speed quickly and delivering results.

The community of the future is a place for everyone, and Sidewalk Labs is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We encourage individuals from underrepresented groups to apply. All employment is based on merit and business need.