Senior Research Program Manager – AI for Construction

Autodesk; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Autodesk Research in the United Kingdom is hiring a Senior Research Program Manager to lead a portfolio of forward-looking construction research programs, bridging research strategy with AI-enabled workflows and cross-functional execution.

You will orchestrate multi-project programs across researchers, engineers, and partners, aligning with Autodesk's long-term construction vision and delivering structured plans, milestones, and measurable impact.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in program management, project management, research operations, construction technology, or a related field.
• Experience managing complex, multi-workstream programs with diverse stakeholders, dependencies, and deliverables.
• Working knowledge of construction workflows, including preconstruction, BIM/VDC, scheduling, field execution, or construction data management.
• Demonstrated ability to create structure in ambiguous, newly forming areas.
• Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills, including executive-ready summaries and dashboards.
• Strong facilitation and influencing skills across multidisciplinary teams.
• Proficiency with tools such as Jira, Confluence, Miro, Slack, or equivalent platforms.
• Ability to work effectively across global teams and time zones, Experience in construction technology, AEC, digital twins, BIM/VDC, reality capture, or AI-enabled construction workflows.
• Familiarity with Autodesk Construction Cloud, Revit, Navisworks, Forma, Tandem, or related platforms.
• Background in applied research, innovation programs, incubation, or early-stage product exploration.
• Familiarity with AI/ML, generative AI, intelligent agents, or data-driven product development.
• Experience coordinating programs involving data integration, connected workflows, or scalable data pipelines.
• Experience managing research collaborations, customer advisory engagements, or academic and industry partnerships.
• Degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Computer Science, HCI, Business, or a related field. Equivalent experience is welcome.

Responsibilities

• Manage a program spanning multiple related projects, experiments, prototypes, and partnerships across complex, extended timelines
• Build and maintain integrated program plans across workstreams, defining scope, objectives, milestones, dependencies, and owners
• Align the portfolio with Research priorities, Autodesk's long-term construction vision, available capacity, and strategic outcomes
• Help teams prioritize when opportunities compete for attention, staffing, or funding
• Coordinate across researchers, engineers, designers, product teams, external partners, and leadership, Project delivery, Preconstruction, planning, estimating, scheduling, procurement, field execution, and handover
• BIM/VDC workflows, Model coordination, construction documentation, site data, and connected data environments
• Emerging technologies, Reality capture, digital twins, construction analytics, and AI-enabled decision support
• Coordinate AI and Emerging Technology Research
• Support programs exploring how AI, generative AI, intelligent agents, simulation, and connected workflows can transform construction
• Help researchers structure AI-enabled workstreams with clear milestones, experiments, and evaluation plans
• Coordinate research integrating BIM, schedules, reality capture, field data, and other construction information sources
• Translate emerging technical work into clear narratives, decision briefs, and next-step recommendation
• Use AI tools in your own practice to improve planning, synthesis, documentation, and follow-through, Track program budgets, planned expenditures, and resource needs in partnership with leadership and finance
• Support annual and quarterly planning, goal-setting, and resource prioritization
• Coordinate external collaborations, customer engagements, and academic or industry partnerships
• A clear operating rhythm: A trusted and consistent approach to managing the construction research program
• Portfolio visibility: An integrated view of priorities, workstreams, milestones, risks, and decisions
• Strong stakeholder relationships: Effective partnerships with researchers, engineers, product stakeholders, and Research leadership
• Improved accountability: Greater visibility and ownership without reducing research velocity
• Strategic alignment: A clearer connection between construction research and Autodesk's strategic outcomes
• Knowledge reuse: Better documentation and reuse of research artifacts, insights, and decisions
• AI-enabled operations: Active, demonstrable use of AI tools to improve program operations

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive communication

Ambiguity management

Jira

Confluence

Miro

Slack

Education

Degree in Construction Management or Civil Engineering or Architecture or Computer Science or HCI or Business

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Miro

Slack

Job description

Autodesk Research in the United Kingdom is hiring a Senior Research Program Manager to lead a portfolio of forward-looking construction research programs, bridging research strategy with AI-enabled workflows and cross-functional execution.

You will orchestrate multi-project programs across researchers, engineers, and partners, aligning with Autodesk's long-term construction vision and delivering structured plans, milestones, and measurable impact.