Stephen Massoni.
Product & Team Building.
Strategy, Ops, Policy.
CX, UX, Research.
Web & Mobile.
I’ve spent my career delivering impactful solutions across Civic Tech, Political Tech, EdTech, and Media. I’m skilled at leveraging design, technology, research, and policy to drive innovation and operational excellence. I’m passionate about collaborating with organizations committed to creating meaningful social impact and improving lives at scale.
I’m currently a Digital Services Expert at the United States Digital Service, where I’m using design and technology to deliver better services to the American people.
As Director of Product at Hawkfish, I leveraged my experience to help modernize political campaigns and increase voter engagement.
Before turning to government and politics, my mission was instilling a love of reading in young children as the Head of Product for the ed-tech startup, Speakaboos. Earlier, at Viacom, I rose the ranks from Web Developer to Vice President of Product.
My ideal work environment is one where smart, passionate people work together on creative solutions to complex problems with little to no drama or ego involved.
Work Experience.
White House’s elite digital transformation team delivering better services to the American people through tech & design
Washington, D.C. (Hybrid)
Digital Services Expert (Product)
AUG 2021 - PRESENT
Social Security Administration
AUG 2024 - PRESENT
Collaborating with SSA staff & stakeholders to bring Survivor benefits online for the first time
United States Refugee Admissions Program
APR 2022 - AUG 2024
Collaborated with State Department, Department of Homeland Security & National Security Council on the President’s objective to rebuild the refugee program, scaling annual admissions nearly 10x (from 11,000 to 100,000 refugees) over 3 years
Operations Allies Refuge & Operation Allies Welcome
AUG 2021 - APR 2022
Collaborated with State Department, Department of Homeland Security & National Security Council on the evacuation & resettlement of over 85,000 Afghan allies due to the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
Political data & technology agency founded to modernize campaigns & enhance voter engagement
New York, NY (Hybrid)
Director of Product
FEB 2020 - MAY 2021
Led product for web app team focused on voter journey experiences & customer-facing data insights
Oversaw web design/development efforts for Hawkfish corporate website & newsletters
Managed a team of product managers, web producers & QA testers
A premier academic medical center devoted to patient care, education & research
New York, NY (Hybrid)
Project Consultant
MAY 2019 - MAR 2020
Led organization-wide ADA remediation initiative, generating over 1000 accessible documents
Developed detailed dashboard to clearly communicate progress to all stakeholders
Early-learning leader created through Speakaboos’ acquisition of Homer Learning
New York, NY
Product & Operations Advisor
JUL 2017 - DEC 2018
Advised c-suite, post-acquisition, on product strategy & operations
Led UX redesign for personalization feature that increased product engagement in testingAdvised on overall product strategy and operations
Fast-growing early-learning SaaS company offering award-winning products for kids 2-10
New York, NY
Vice President, Head of Product
OCT 2011 - JUL 2017
Created top 10 grossing app for multiple categories of iOS App Store & Google Play
Tripled subscriber engagement KPIs through user testing, a/b testing, data analysis & iteration
Increased customer reach by launching multiple Android & web variations of core product
Built & retained high-performing distributed team of 20+ product managers, designers, testers & engineers
Improved team velocity & predictability through continuous iteration of process & best practices
Digital consultancy working with Top Chef restauranteur & others to grow their reach online
Brooklyn, NY
Founder, Principal Consultant
JAN 2011 - DEC 2011
Helped small businesses and nonprofits in the hospitality, arts, and healthcare industries grow their reach online through both paid and pro bono work.
A world leading producer of premium entertainment content connecting billions of people across the world
New York, NY
Vice President, NickJr.com
JUN 2007 - DEC 2009
Won two Promax/BDA Awards & two Creativity Awards for 2009 redesign; owned all UX deliverables
Doubled monthly unique visitors by developing new product features & iterating on existing ones
Managed 10 product managers & producers while collaborating closely with design & engineering
Partnered with Research, Ad Sales, Marketing, et al to drive convergent opportunities across company
Dir. of Product, Preschool & Parenting
SEP 2006 - MAY 2007
Improved discovery & engagement by creating the Activity Finders, a set of faceted navigation tools
Developed user flows, wireframes, & functional specifications using data analysis & user research
Advocated for the creation of the role & the need to establish a user-centered research-driven team
Sr. Manager of Web Development, NickJr.com
MAY 2003 - AUG 2006
Developed information architecture & technical specifications for all major initiatives
Supervised 2 full-time web developers while serving as lead web developer
Sr. Web Developer, NickJr.com
JUN 2000 - MAY 2003
Led web development for 2001 Webby Award-nominated redesign of NickJr.com
Passion Project.
Massoni Spirits, Brooklyn, NY
EST. 2018
Founder, Master Blender, Designer, Marketer
Starting in 2018, I decided to turn my casual interest in Amari and Aperitivi into a passion project developing my own Italian American Spirits. I’m researching ingredients and approaches, crafting my own recipes and formulas, designing the bottles and overall branding, and collecting user feedback from friends, family, and industry professionals, all while documenting the experience on Instagram.
Education.
Johns Hopkins University
BALTIMORE, MD
Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy
Minor in Film & Media Studies
PRATT INSTITUTE
2019
Digital Product Design
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
2017
Data Analysis Circuit
HUMAN FACTORS INTERNATIONAL
2010
Certified Usability Analyst
Testimonials.
“Stephen Massoni truly can see the whole picture, soup to nuts: tech, design, information architecture, product development, content programming, marketing... all of it. I would happily and confidently leave the development of any product in his capable hands. Beyond his professional skills though, he is the best kind of colleague: generous, smart, and exceptionally creative. I’d work with him again in a heartbeat.”
— Katherine Tasheff, Associate Director at NYU Langone Health
“Stephen Massoni served as our founding Head of Product and was responsible for recruiting our product and engineering teams, defining a multi-platform product strategy, and executing a go-to-market plan that produced an award-winning subscription service that currently delivers industry-leading conversion, engagement, and retention. Stephen was the first member of the management team that we hired and helped us shape a high performance, maximum happiness culture that he lived daily. He was a consistent candidate for MVP and would make a great addition to any team.”
— Neal Shenoy, CEO & Co-Founder at Speakaboos/Homer
“I had the sincere honor of collaborating with Stephen Massoni at Speakaboos. To work with Stephen is to know with the highest confidence that your product will deliver, and the team will be collaborative, strategic, and committed. Stephen is a natural leader. His role was full of challenges and shifting priorities. And yet through it all, Stephen handled these challenges with a calm demeanor, a strong sense of priorities, creativity in the juggling, and kindness to all.
As the Chief Content Officer of a Tech Company, it’s also important for me to say how collaborative Stephen was with the WHOLE team – including content and our educational philosophy. From other experiences in Ed Tech companies, it’s often the case that Product and Content work separately in design and implementation. Stephen excelled at understanding and integrating the Tech needs with the learning approach, leading the company to the magical blend of an exceptionally usable, highly engaging, and impactful product.
Given how respected Stephen was, by his whole team and everyone in the company, his leadership had positive ripple effects on the companies’ bottom line. Stephen and his team built a product that kids of all ages (even the youngest of our target) love, can use, and learn from!
I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to create with Stephen! He’s extremely good at his job and a pleasure to work with, day in and day out.”
— Dr. Alice Wilder, Chief Content Officer at Speakaboos
“I had the pleasure of working for and with Stephen when his product team was looking to make some process changes. He vetted and hired me, and honestly, he is one of the main reasons I joined the company. I joined his team on instinct, and through working with him, my instincts proved to be correct, that he knew what he was doing and that working for him, I’d learn a lot. I learned how to be a manager from him, and I now measure other Product team members to his scale. His management style provided me with the feedback necessary so that I would feel confident in making and owning my decisions while being supported. He takes responsibility for the product and his team while being accountable to the business for clear strategic direction with decisiveness, so his team felt stable and comfortable. If given the opportunity again, I would absolutely join his team, follow his lead, and build something wonderful again.”
— Sooji Lee, Sr. Scrum Master at Speakaboos
“Stephen Massoni is a brilliant and creative strategist with a sophisticated understanding of technology, information architecture, and user experience. He excels at big-picture thinking, but he is also a master of detail whose project-planning skills are unparalleled. Stephen enlightens, empowers, and inspires his team members, making him not only a great manager of projects but also people.”
— J. Robert Ostergaard, Editorial Director at Viacom
Get in touch.
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