Community Manager

Institute of Foundation Models; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

401K plan

Paid time off

Parental leave

EAP

Job summary

The Institute of Foundation Models (IFM) seeks a Community Manager to grow and sustain its developer community in Silicon Valley. You will own local events, hackathons, online engagement and ecosystem partnerships to convert interest into ongoing collaboration.

Working with DevRel, researchers and Marketing, you’ll create learning and building opportunities, manage online channels, and foster relationships with universities, startups and open-source projects while traveling up to 50% as needed.

Qualifications

• Experience building and sustaining developer or technical communities with active participation and lasting relationships.
• Experience delivering events, workshops or hackathons from planning through execution and follow-up.
• Track record developing productive partnerships with universities, developer groups, accelerators or open-source communities.
• Experience managing online communities, including moderation, onboarding, discussions and timely follow-up.
• Working understanding of AI and the developer ecosystem to engage credibly with builders.
• Clear written and verbal communication and ability to coordinate programs across teams.

Responsibilities

• Build ongoing relationships with developers, founders, researchers and students, connecting them with IFM and with each other.
• Plan and deliver meetups, workshops and hackathons, owning audience development, format, logistics and follow-up, with technical content provided by DevRel and researchers.
• Manage engagement across online channels, welcoming members, encouraging discussions and connecting questions with the right people.
• Develop partnerships with universities, developer groups, accelerators and local organizations to create sustained community programs.
• Make introductions, support member-led activities and showcase community projects to maintain engagement between events.
• Work with DevRel, researchers and Marketing to shape programs and connect builders with deeper technical support.
• Track participation, repeat engagement, partner activity and project follow-through, using feedback to improve programs.

Skills

Community mgmt

Event planning

Partnerships

Online engagement

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

About IFM

The Institute of Foundation Models (IFM) is a global AI research lab dedicated to open and independent development of frontier-class foundation models. Launched in May 2025 by MBZUAI, IFM operates from advanced lab facilities in Abu Dhabi, Silicon Valley and Paris. IFM’s model portfolio includes K2 series, the fully open-source fleet of LLMs; Jais, the most advanced Arabic LLM; and PAN, the next-gen World Model for embodied reasoning and real-world simulation.

Role Summary

The Community Manager builds and sustains IFM’s developer community in Silicon Valley, bringing together people interested in our large language models (LLMs) and World Models. The role turns interest in IFM into ongoing participation, collaboration and lasting relationships.

You will own local events, hackathons, online engagement and ecosystem partnerships. Working closely with Developer Relations (DevRel), researchers and Marketing, you will create opportunities for members to learn, build together and stay connected with IFM.

This role requires strong relationship skills and experience building active technical communities. A technical background is highly preferred.

Travel requirement: Up to 50%

Key Responsibilities

• Build ongoing relationships with developers, founders, researchers and students, connecting them with IFM and with each other across our model portfolio.
• Plan and deliver meetups, workshops and hackathons, owning audience development, format, logistics and follow-up, with technical content provided by DevRel and researchers.
• Manage engagement across relevant online channels, welcoming members, encouraging useful discussions and connecting questions with the right people.
• Develop partnerships with universities, developer groups, accelerators and local organizations to create sustained community programs.
• Make useful introductions, support member-led activities and showcase community projects to maintain engagement between events.
• Work with DevRel, researchers and Marketing to shape relevant programs, share community feedback and connect interested builders with deeper technical support.
• Track active participation, repeat engagement, partner activity and project follow-through, using feedback and results to improve community programs.

Qualifications

Academic qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, or equivalent practical experience.

Minimum requirements

• Experience building and sustaining developer or technical communities, with evidence of active participation, repeat engagement and lasting member relationships.
• Experience delivering events, workshops or hackathons from planning through execution and follow-up, with strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• A track record of developing productive partnerships with organizations such as universities, developer groups, accelerators or open-source communities.
• Experience managing online communities, including moderation, member onboarding, discussions and timely follow-up.
• A working understanding of AI and the developer ecosystem, sufficient to engage credibly with builders, understand their interests and recognize when technical expertise is needed.
• Clear written and verbal communication, sound interpersonal judgment and the ability to coordinate programs independently across technical and non-technical teams.

Preferred experience

• A technical background in computer science, engineering, AI or a related field is highly preferred, ideally with hands- on experience building software or working with AI models.
• Established relationships within the Silicon Valley developer, startup or university ecosystem.
• Experience with AI or open-source communities, including programs that help participants continue building beyond an initial event.
• Experience coordinating community programs across locations and working with international teams.

Visa Sponsorship

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

$150,000 - $200,000 a year

Salary Range

The posted salary range represents the company’s good faith estimate of the compensation for this position upon hire. The actual compensation offered may vary within this range depending on individual qualifications, including but not limited to relevant skills, experience, education, certifications, geographic location, and specific business needs.

Benefits Include

*Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits

*Bonus

*401K Plan

*Generous paid time off, sick leave and holidays

*Paid Parental Leave

*Employee Assistance Program

*Life insurance and disability