Technical Program Manager, AI Data

Lila Sciences; San Francisco, Cambridge (CA, MA); On-site; USD 224,000 - 336,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Flexible time off

Paid parental leave

Educational assistance program

Commuter benefits

Job summary

Lila Sciences is seeking a Senior or Principal Technical Program Manager to join their AI Research team in San Francisco. This role involves launching and managing cross-functional project teams that produce AI data for scientific applications.

The ideal candidate will have at least 8 years of program management experience in tech or life sciences, with strong analytical and communication skills. Lila offers competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits program.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of program or project management experience in technology or life sciences.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional programs.
• Strong analytical skills to turn data requirements into actionable plans.

Responsibilities

• Launch and operate cross-functional project teams producing AI data.
• Drive accountability across distributed teams without direct authority.
• Define data delivery standards and ensure high-quality inputs.

Skills

Program management

Analytical skills

Communication

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Life Sciences

Job description

Cambridge, MA USA; San Francisco, CA USA

Lila is building toward scientific superintelligence, which depends on a steady supply of high-quality, purpose-built AI data. We're looking for a Senior or Principal Technical Program Manager to join our AI Research team to drive multiple AI data generation and curation workstreams — standing up new project teams, keeping them on schedule, and incorporating that data into the model training pipeline.

You don't need to be an ML researcher, but you must be genuinely curious about how AI data fuels model development and able to clearly articulate what your programs will deliver. The successful candidate thrives in ambiguity, communicates exceptionally well across audiences, and knows how to build clarity and momentum on a fast-paced, rapidly scaling team.

What You'll Be Building

• Launch and operate cross-functional project teams that produce AI data for scientific superintelligence, ensuring each team executes with at high velocity and delivers standardized outputs the model training team can directly consume.
• Serve as the key communication interface between project teams and the research, science, and model training organizations; set up the organizational information flows that allow this communication to happen with speed at scale.
• Drive accountability across distributed, cross-functional teams without relying on direct authority; build consensus through clear communication and sound judgment.
• Define and enforce data delivery standards, QA gates, and handoff protocols so model training receives consistent, high-quality inputs across all active project teams.
• Implement best practices for rapid experimentation and iteration, enabling new project teams to ramp efficiently as additional data initiatives come online.
• Develop clear documentation and reporting to communicate vision, track progress, and align project team work with broader AI Research priorities; represent program status and risks accurately even when the picture is uncertain or evolving.

What You'll Need to Succeed

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related field.
• 8+ years of program or project management experience in the technology or life sciences field.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional programs and driving them to successful completion under tight delivery timelines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn technical and data requirements into actionable program roadmaps.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; track record of producing executive-quality documents, roadmaps, and updates that drive decisions.

Bonus Points For

• Direct experience in AI/ML research or product organizations, ideally in a program management or research operations capacity.
• Working familiarity with model training data pipelines, dataset curation, or ML evaluation workflows — sufficient to engage credibly with researchers and ask good questions.
• Experience managing programs that produce standardized outputs for downstream technical consumers (e.g., model training, eval, or platform teams).
• Enthusiastic about emerging technologies and experienced in driving rapid experimentation and program iteration.

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

$224,000 - $336,000 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.