SkunkWorks began as a bold idea inside San Quentin <em>what if incarceration could become a launchpad for change?</em> Founded by <strong>incarcerated people</strong> and built in partnership with outside professionals, we’ve grown into a <strong>nationally recognized innovation lab</strong> inside prison walls.<br><br>Our goal is simple but radical <strong>transform the justice system</strong> by centering the leadership of the people most impacted by it. We design and test solutions inside—and then work to <strong>scale them beyond the walls.<br><br></strong>Our programs put incarcerated leadership into practice. We <strong>reclaim prison spaces with murals</strong> that restore dignity, run <strong>intensive leadership trainings</strong> that prepare incarcerated people to guide reform, and host <strong>monthly gaming events</strong> that bring more than 150 people together across divides. Each project is a live experiment in building a justice system that works better for everyone.<br><br>We’ve been featured in <em>CalMatters, </em>the front page of the <em>LA Times,</em> and are backed by CDCR. But our biggest achievement? <strong>Building a movement where incarcerated people lead—and the world listens.<br><br></strong>,<br><br>Join the incarcerated-led innovation lab partnering with the Governor’s Office, eL Seed, FaithXLVII, and other visionaries to orchestrate the projects shaping the future of justice reform.<br><br><strong>Our Impact <br><br></strong>San Quentin SkunkWorks is transforming how change happens. We bring artists, engineers, policy experts, and creative strategists together inside prison walls to co-design solutions that challenge the status quo.<br><br>We operate at the level of national partners — yet we’re also still crossing the threshold from a grassroots innovation lab into a fully equipped organization. That transition takes disciplined project leadership. Without it, transformative ideas stall. With it, the future of justice reform moves with intention and momentum.<br><br>Your work will help us bridge that gap.<br><br><strong>The Project<br><br></strong>SkunkWorks is advancing several flagship initiatives at once, including<br><br><ul><li>Chiaroscuro Light Within the Shadows — a multi-artist mural project redefining the visual culture of San Quentin</li><li>Transformational Gaming — a national model for game-based cultural transformation</li><li>GateKeeper — an end-to-end volunteer-clearance workflow tool</li><li>System-level quality-of-life reforms, including normalized clothing and reentry guides</li><li>A nationwide media rollout supported by leading communications partners<br><br></li></ul>You’ll bring coherence and direction to one or more these interconnected initiatives — ensuring they move from vision to execution with clarity and speed.<br><br><strong>Your Role<br><br></strong>You’ll join a high-performing group of engineers, creatives, researchers, organizers, and incarcerated team leads working across physical and digital boundaries. Your leadership keeps complex projects aligned, resourced, and moving.<br><br><ul><li>Build project plans, workflows, and milestone maps across multiple teams</li><li>Maintain clarity on scope, priorities, dependencies, and constraints</li><li>Run weekly syncs, establish communication rhythms, and produce concise reporting</li><li>Translate strategy into actionable tasks for inside and outside collaborators</li><li>Track deliverables across creative, technical, operational, and research workstreams</li><li>Document decisions and maintain version control on plans, briefs, and timelines</li><li>Strengthen the pipeline between incarcerated innovators and outside professionals</li><li>Optionally collaborate directly inside San Quentin with our team during scheduled access windows<br><br></li></ul>You’ll be working with people who operate at the level of top tech, civic-innovation, and creative-industry teams — and your work will match that rigor.<br><br><strong>What You Bring<br><br></strong><ul><li>4–7 years in project or program management with strong ownership of complex initiatives</li><li>Mastery of workflow and coordination tools, especially Monday.com and Slack</li><li>Demonstrated ability to structure ambiguity, drive alignment, and maintain momentum</li><li>Strong written and verbal communication across multidisciplinary teams</li><li>Experience navigating environments with tight constraints or unusual operating conditions</li><li>Preferred PMP, CAPM, or equivalent project-management certification</li><li>Bonus experience in civic tech, creative production, research environments, or nonprofit operations<br><br></li></ul><strong>The Impact<br><br></strong>Your leadership will help SkunkWorks make a pivotal leap — from a grassroots innovation lab built inside a prison to a national model for incarcerated-led reform. You’ll ensure that global artists, technologists, policymakers, and incarcerated creators can move in sync, execute at a high level, and build the systems that reshape how justice reform happens.<br><br>This isn’t administrative support. It’s operational leadership at the frontier of a cultural redesign.