Portfolio Manager, Government Partnerships (DARPA & ARPA-H)

Lila Sciences; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 272,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Life and disability insurance

Flexible time off

Bike share commuter benefits

Lunch program

Educational assistance

Commuter benefits

Job summary

Lila Sciences, Cambridge, MA, is seeking a Portfolio Manager within Government Partnerships to own one public sector portfolio end-to-end, interfacing with DARPA and ARPA-H, and translating autonomous-science capabilities into executable engagements.

You will build a structured pipeline of RFIs, RFPs, BAAs, NOFOs, and CRADAs; lead opportunities from identification to award; and collaborate with product managers, principal investigators, and the proposal team to deliver pilots, CRADAs, and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in federal or international government capture, business development, or partnerships with a track record of winning major awards (FOAs, BAAs, NOFOs, CRADAs).
• Fluency in at least one major public-science ecosystem; strong preference for DARPA/ARPA-H.
• End-to-end capture management experience across opportunity identification, qualification, shaping, proposal, award, and execution.
• Ability to translate complex science and AI into clear, credible narratives for non-technical government audiences.
• Strong cross-functional leadership with scientists, product managers, communications, policy, and legal.
• Excellent written communication; comfortable operating with ambiguity in a founding-team environment.
• Willingness to travel regularly to build essential relationships.

Responsibilities

• Own assigned agency portfolio and relationships (DARPA, ARPA-H) end-to-end.
• Build and maintain a structured pipeline of RFIs, RFPs, BAAs, FOAs, NOFOs, and CRADAs.
• Lead opportunities from identification through award and execution handoff.
• Translate Lila's scientific and autonomous-science capabilities into compelling federal narratives.
• Collaborate with Product Managers, Principal Investigators, and the proposal execution team to convert meetings into pilots and procurements.
• Develop and refine a reusable capture playbook with qualification rubrics, narrative kits, and capability libraries.

Skills

Federal partnerships

Business development

Capture management

Proposal writing

Stakeholder coordination

Travel willingness

Communication skills

Education

PhD or scientific background

Job description

Cambridge, MA USA

Lila Sciences is the world's first scientific superintelligence platform and autonomous lab for life, chemistry, and materials science. We are pioneering a new age of boundless discovery by applying AI to every aspect of the scientific method — to solve humankind's greatest challenges in human health, climate, and sustainability at a pace and scale never experienced before.

Government partners — from federal agencies and the National Labs to international science‑funding bodies — will play a defining role in advancing this mission. As a Portfolio Manager within Government Partnerships, you will own one of Lila's public sector portfolios end‑to‑end, serving as the connective tissue between Lila's scientific roadmap and the institutions whose missions depend on a new model of science. Reporting to the Segment Lead, Government Partnerships, you will translate Lila's autonomous‑science capabilities into compelling, executable engagements that unlock recurring funding, durable relationships, and mission‑critical pilots. Your starting focus will be DARPA and ARPA‑H, two agencies where Lila is actively building presence and where program managers are looking for exactly the kind of revolutionary, AI‑driven science capabilities Lila offers.

What You'll Be Building

• A trusted agency posture: You will own Lila's relationships across your assigned portfolio of agencies, program offices, and/or international counterparts — starting with DARPA and ARPA‑H — building a clear, credible, technically grounded presence reflected in every external interaction.
• A qualified, prioritized pipeline: You will build and maintain a structured pipeline of RFIs, RFPs, BAAs, FOAs, NOFOs, and other equivalent mechanisms, making sharp pursue/no‑pursue calls based on strategic fit, readiness, and impact.
• High‑impact engagements: You will lead opportunities from identification through award and execution handoff, partnering with Product Managers, Principal Investigators, and the proposal execution team to convert meetings into pilots, CRADAs, user‑facility access, and major procurements.
• A unified external narrative: You will translate Lila's scientific thesis and autonomous‑science workflows into compelling federal/international narratives, partnering with communications, policy, and technical teams to maintain one voice across the portfolio — tuned to DARPA's appetite for revolutionary capability bets and ARPA‑H's mission‑driven biomedical breakthroughs.
• Durable sponsor relationships: You will develop the kind of sustained agency relationships — particularly with DARPA and ARPA‑H program managers and office directors — that lead to recurring funding pathways and large procurements tailored to Lila's unique capabilities, not one‑off awards.
• A reusable capture playbook: You will contribute to and refine Lila's public‑sector capture engine — qualification rubrics, narrative kits, capability libraries, and operating rhythms — that scale across the Government Partnerships team.

What You'll Need to Succeed

• 10+ years of experience in federal or international government capture, business development, or partnerships, with a demonstrated track record of winning major awards or programs (FOAs, BAAs, NOFOs, CRADAs, etc.).
• Working fluency in at least one major public‑science ecosystem, with strong preference for DARPA and/or ARPA‑H (other ARPA‑*, DOE, NIH, NSF, NIST experience is highly valued). Ability to translate the complexity of this ecosystem to the rest of the Lila team.
• Demonstrated ability to manage end‑to‑end capture — from opportunity identification through qualification, shaping, proposal, award, and execution handoff.
• Experience translating complex science and AI into clear, credible narratives for non‑technical, senior, and policy‑facing government audiences.
• Strong cross‑functional leadership: comfort partnering with scientists, product managers, communications, policy, and legal to drive aligned outcomes under tight timelines.
• Excellent written communication; comfort operating with ambiguity in a founding‑team environment.
• Willingness to travel regularly to build the relationships required for Lila to succeed.

Bonus Points For

• PhD or scientific background in chemistry, materials science, life sciences, physics, or a related domain.
• Prior employment at a National Lab, DOE program office, ARPA‑*, NIH/NSF, or an international science‑funding body — including service as a DARPA or ARPA‑H program manager, SETA, or technical advisor.
• Direct experience negotiating CRADAs or standing up user‑facility access pathways.
• Experience standing up a federal capture function from scratch.
• Familiarity with the Genesis Mission, NAIRR, or analogous national AI‑for‑science initiatives.
• Active U.S. security clearance.

Compensation

We offer competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early‑stage equity. Your final offer will reflect your background, expertise, and expected impact.

U.S. Benefits. Full‑time U.S. employees receive a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer‑paid life and disability insurance; flexible time off with generous company wide holidays; paid parental leave; an educational assistance program; commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office based employees; and a company subsidized lunch program.

International Benefits. Full‑time employees outside the U.S. receive a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region. USD salary ranges apply only to U.S.-based positions; international salaries are set to local market.

Expected Base Salary Range

$168,000 - $272,000 USD

About LILA

Lila Sciences is building Scientific Superintelligence™ to solve humankind's greatest challenges. We believe science is the most inspiring frontier for AI. Rather than hard‑coding expert knowledge into tools, LILA builds systems that can learn for themselves.

LILA combines advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory™ instruments into an operating system for science that executes the entire scientific method autonomously, accelerating discovery at unprecedented speed, scale, and impact across medicine, materials, and energy. Learn more at www.lila.ai.

Guided by our core values of truth, trust, curiosity, grit, and velocity, we move with startup speed while tackling problems of historic importance. If this sounds like an environment you'd love to work in, even if you don't meet every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.

Lila Sciences iscommitted to equal employment opportunityregardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.