Research Operations Lead — Benchmarks & Partnerships

AfterQuery; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401(k) Matching

Daily Meals Stipend

Wellness Stipend

Job summary

AfterQuery is hiring a Research Program Manager to run the operations behind its research programs: public benchmark releases, collaborations with academic and industry partners, and the research roadmap. You own the coordination, external relationships, and progress tracking that keep the program moving, and you are welcome to contribute to the research itself, from benchmark design to co-authoring publications.

This is a technical, hands-on role, not a pure coordination one.

Qualifications

• 1-3+ years in research operations, technical program management, or a similar role.
• Technical background in computer science, machine learning, statistics, or a related field, with working Python and SQL.
• Evaluation literacy: you have taken part in evaluating a product, an agent, or a foundation model, can read a results table, and can tell when a number should not be trusted.
• Excellent written and verbal communication. You can distill a technical result into a summary a partner, executive, or academic collaborator can act on, and you write documents people actually read.
• A track record of running cross-functional programs end to end, including managing external partners, contractors, or collaborators.
• Comfort with ambiguity and building processes from scratch, and the judgment to keep processes light so researchers stay effective.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the point of contact for collaborations with academic and industry partners, including fellowships, grants, and joint research projects, and run each from scoping through delivery.
• Coordinate benchmark releases end to end, from launch checklist through publication, and keep releases on cadence.
• Maintain AfterQuery's leaderboards and benchmark sites, and verify every result before it goes to a community leaderboard or publication.
• Track progress across all active research projects. Anticipate resourcing gaps and technical bottlenecks, unblock projects that fall behind, and elevate with a clear recommendation when a timeline or scope needs to change.
• Coordinate the expert pool for upcoming benchmarks: forecast expert needs, manage capacity, and keep contributor logistics running.
• Write the program's external and internal communications: launch briefs, partner updates, planning documents, and status memos that turn technical detail into clear, actionable summaries.

Skills

Python

SQL

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Job description

AfterQuery is hiring a Research Program Manager to run the operations behind its research programs: public benchmark releases, collaborations with academic and industry partners, and the research roadmap. You own the coordination, external relationships, and progress tracking that keep the program moving, and you are welcome to contribute to the research itself, from benchmark design to co-authoring publications.

This is a technical, hands-on role, not a pure coordination one.