Lead Technical Program Manager, AI Development

Persons in these roles are expected to spend part of their time on-site in our Seattle offices and may occasionally work remotely from their home in the Greater Seattle area. On-site requirements vary based on position and team. If you have questions about Hybrid work arrangements for this role, please ask your recruiter.Our base salary range is $159,840 - $239,760, and in addition we have generous bonus plans to provide a competitive compensation package. 

Who You Are:

You are a seasoned technical program manager who is passionate about the potential of AI to solve real problems impacting humanity, such as how we understand and treat cancer. You thrive in greenfield environments, adapt quickly to evolving challenges, and are comfortable wearing multiple hats. With a strong track record of taking on increasing leadership responsibilities, you are prepared to play a pivotal role in driving critical AI initiatives forward.

You excel at building and maintaining strategic relationships, understanding partner priorities, and fostering collaboration to create mutual value. A skilled communicator, you can translate complex technical concepts into compelling narratives for diverse audiences, ensuring alignment and engagement across stakeholders.

Who We Are: 

You’ll be joining the program management team within our Strategic Infrastructure (SI) group, responsible for driving the definition and execution of AI2’s ambitious flagship projects, including "truly open" foundation models, AI agents for science, and AI-for-environment initiatives. Our centralized team works directly with world-class researchers to connect the dots between R&D, engineering, and real-world impact. We are deeply involved in technical details while also serving as stewards of the institute's big-picture strategy. Our work spans all levels of the organization—from coordinating with the team operating our state-of-the-art GPU cluster to collaborating directly with executives to drive clarity, decision-making, and prioritization.

Your Next Challenge:

AI2 has recently expanded our R&D portfolio and joined the Cancer AI Alliance (CAIA) spearheaded by the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, with the goal of building the world’s most comprehensive laboratory for creating and deploying cancer AI models. You’ll be responsible for leading AI2’s engagement with CAIA, ensuring seamless collaboration across cancer centers and technology partners. Additionally, you will serve as the TPM lead for R&D workstreams focused on privacy-preserving AI, a critical component of CAIA’s success.

The essential functions include, but are not limited to the following:

• Represent AI2 in coordination meetings with other alliance members, fostering relationships that enhance collaboration and innovation.
• Apply an understanding of the broader context surrounding initiatives to identify external risks and opportunities; productively drive strategic changes when necessary.
• Define and implement program management systems, answering key questions about how best to structure working teams, how to make the right decisions efficiently, and how to communicate across the team for strong collaboration and alignment.
• Ensure transparent communication with leadership and other stakeholders, including progress updates, risks, and mitigation strategies.
• Demonstrate leadership within the PM organization by modeling a growth mindset, identifying opportunities for process improvement, and fostering a high-performance culture.

What You’ll Need:

• 12+ years of experience in product or program management
• BS degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or equivalent professional experience
• Experience building a successful major product or experience in collaboration with external partners.
• Experience in AI, specifically large-scale neural networks.
• Experience working in a research environment.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal; deft at adapting communication style to fit different audiences (technical, non-technical, executive level).

Bonus qualifications

• Experience as a people manager
• Experience in healthcare and/or biomedical domain
• Experience in applications with highly sensitive data

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a team member to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for long periods of time. 
• The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations. 
• The ability to observe details at close range.
• Can work under deadlines.

A Little More About Ai2:

Ai2 is a Seattle based non-profit AI research institute founded in 2014 by the late Paul Allen. Our mission is building breakthrough AI to solve the world’s biggest problems. We develop foundational AI research and innovation to deliver real-world impact through large-scale open models, data, robotics, conservation, and beyond.

In addition to Ai2’s core mission, we also aim to contribute to humanity through our treatment of each member of the Ai2 Team. Some highlights are:

• We are a learning organization – because everything Ai2 does is ground-breaking, we are learning every day. Similarly, through weekly Ai2 Academy lectures, a wide variety of world-class AI experts as guest speakers, and our commitment to your personal on-going education, Ai2 is a place where you will have opportunities to continue learning alongside your coworkers. 
• We value inclusion - We understand the value that people's individual experiences and perspectives can bring to an organization, and we are building a culture in which all voices are heard, respected and considered.
• We emphasize a healthy work/life balance – we believe our team members are happiest and most productive when their work/life balance is optimized. While we value powerful research results which drive our mission forward, we also value dinner with family, weekend time, and vacation time. We offer generous paid vacation and sick leave as well as family leave.
• We are collaborative and transparent – we consider ourselves a team, all moving with a common purpose. We are quick to cheer our successes, and even quicker to share and jointly problem solve our failures.
• We are in Seattle – and our office is on the water! We have mountains, we have lakes, we have four seasons, we bike to work, we have a vibrant theater scene, and we have so much else. We even have kayaks for you to paddle right outside our front door. We welcome interest from applicants from outside of the United States.
• We are friendly– chances are you will like every one of the 200+ (and growing) people who work here. We do. 

Ai2 is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. You may view the related Know Your Rights compliance poster and the Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision by clicking on their corresponding links. 

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with disabilities to the full extent required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you feel you need a reasonable accommodation pursuant to the ADA, you are encouraged to contact us at recruiting@allenai.org.

Benefits:

• Team members and their families are covered by medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, basic accidental death and dismemberment insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, and an employee assistance program.
• Team members are able to enroll in our voluntary life insurance program, our voluntary accidental death and dismemberment program, our health savings account plan, our healthcare reimbursement arrangement plan, and our health care and dependent care flexible spending account plans.
• Team members are able to enroll in our company’s 401k plan.
• Team members will receive $125 per month to assist with commuting or internet expenses and will also receive $200 per month for fitness and wellbeing expenses.
• Team members will also receive up to ten sick days per year, up to seven personal days per year, up to 20 vacation days per year and twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year.
• Team members will be able to receive annual bonuses and can participate in the long-term incentive plan.

Note: This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the team members(s) of this position. Team members will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the team member(s) will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an at will relationship.