Research Manager, Biodefense

Pivotal; Greater London; On-site; GBP 87,000 - 122,000; Full time

Job summary

Pivotal seeks a Research Manager to lead and support about six biodefense research fellows, guiding projects from scoping to publication and coordinating with the broader research team.

You will engage deeply with fellows’ work, review drafts, shape framing, and ensure ambitious yet tractable progress while supporting wellbeing and career outcomes in the field.

Qualifications

• Experience leading multiple research projects from scoping to publication.
• Strong project coordination and scheduling across cohorts.
• Knowledge of biosecurity landscape and related organizations.

Responsibilities

• Manage about 6 research fellows, guiding each project from scoping through publication.
• Collaborate with the research management team to coordinate milestones and reviews.
• Mentor fellows, assess progress, and unblock challenges to keep projects on track.
• Help fellows advance toward impactful positions in biosecurity and policy areas.

Skills

Research management

Project management

Biosecurity knowledge

Communication

Job description

You support fellows in the Biodefense Fellowship, so that each one does strong work and moves into a role where they can reduce catastrophic biological risk.

• Salary: £86,750–£121,500 per year. We may be able to pay more for exceptional candidates.

• Location: London, at our office at LISA

• Hours: Full time

• Visa: We can sponsor a Skilled Worker visa, but approval isn't guaranteed.

Why work at PivotalPivotal finds people who can work on the biggest risks from advanced AI and gets them working on them. AI and synthetic biology are making it easier to create dangerous pathogens, so in 2026 we started the Biodefense Fellowship, which focuses on defences such as early detection, protective equipment and medical countermeasures. Since 2024, 135 fellows have taken part in our fellowships, and alumni now work at METR, Apollo Research, UK AISI and GovAI. We have grown from 2 staff in 2024 to 10 today, and we plan to reach at least 16 in 2027. Read more about us at the company-research.org, and about what it is like to work here.

What you will own

You'll be the Research Manager for about 6 research fellows, supporting each project from scoping through to publication. You'll collaborate closely with our whole research management team.

You'll engage deeply with your fellows' work: reading drafts, questioning experimental designs, suggesting framings, and helping projects stay ambitious but tractable. You’ll also hold the thread that keeps projects moving and fellows well supported.

• Your fellows. Regular check-ins, project planning, unblocking, and feedback on drafts.
• Projects and mentors. Use your knowledge of the field to help find biodefense mentors and to judge which projects matter most.
• Information hazards. Help fellows handle sensitive biological information responsibly, and decide with mentors what is safe to publish.
• Career outcomes. Help fellows move into biosecurity organisations, government and policy roles.
• Wellbeing. Look after your fellows' wellbeing, with support from our community manager.
• Between cohorts. Help design the next cohort, and support other programs where needed.

Research management at Pivotal

As an individual researcher, you might advance one or two projects. In this role, you'll have a hand in about 6 projects simultaneously (and about 18 projects every year). Your leverage comes from making each fellow meaningfully more effective than they would be on their own.

The biodefense field has an extremely limited talent pipeline, and many of the people who will shape it over the next few years are early in their careers, still developing their research taste, and often short on high-quality guidance. This role sits at that bottleneck. You’ll help the next generation of researchers produce stronger work, find the right collaborators, and move into positions where they can have outsized impact.

If you get energy from seeing other people's work click into place, this role may let you shape the field more than you could as a single researcher.

Who does well in this role

• You know the biosecurity field and its organisations, which helps with mentors and careers.
• Good judgement about handling sensitive research information.
• Strong project management across several projects at once.
• Care for people: fellows trust you and tell you early when things go wrong.
• You want to spend a large part of your career reducing catastrophic biological risk.

We don’t expect anyone to be strong in all of this.