Technical Program Manager, RL Scaling, DeepMind

Socket.dev; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 217,000 - 236,000; Full time

Job summary

Google DeepMind's Gemini RL Scaling team is at the frontier of reinforcement learning research for large language models, driving the reasoning, multimodal, and agentic capabilities that define the next generation of Gemini models.

As a Technical Program Manager, you will independently drive program execution for critical RL workstreams, sitting at the intersection of empirical research and large-scale distributed systems while partnering with researchers to operationalize scaling experiments

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field.
• 5 years of experience in technical program management.
• Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science or related field.
• Experience leading cross-functional AI model programs, scalable distributed training, and RL.
• Ability to design lightweight processes that maintain team velocity.
• Comfort with ambiguity and strong communication across engineering, research, and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Scope, plan, and lead execution for RL research workstreams in collaboration with tech leads, turning research hypotheses into structured roadmaps, experiment plans, and deliverable model milestones.
• Partner with engineering and infrastructure leads to manage and track experiments and compute allocations, enabling prioritization, monitoring training efficiency, and unblocking runs.
• Identify and resolve cross-functional dependencies across the RL research ecosystem (data pipelines, evaluations, distributed infrastructure) and partner teams.
• Establish reliable operational rhythms including experiment status dashboards, launch criteria, retrospectives, and milestone reviews, synthesizing complex training dynamics into actionable updates for tech leads and leadership.

Skills

Technical program management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science or related field

Job description

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, a related technical field or equivalent practical experience.
• 5 years of experience in technical program management.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science or a closely related technical field.
• Over 5 years leading cross-functional AI model programs, with expertise in large-scale distributed training pipelines and reinforcement learning.
• Proven ability to design lightweight, high-impact processes that structure fast-moving research environments without hindering team velocity.
• Highly comfortable with ambiguity; a strong communicator who builds trust and drives alignment across engineering, research, and leadership stakeholders.

About the job:

The Gemini Reinforcement learning (RL) Scaling team is at the frontier of reinforcement learning research for large language models, driving the reasoning, multimodal, and agentic capabilities that define the next generation of Gemini models.

As a Technical Program Manager, you will independently drive program execution for critical RL research workstreams. You will sit at the intersection of empirical research and large-scale distributed systems, partnering directly with research scientists and research engineers to operationalize scaling experiments, manage RL training pipelines including SFT initialization and data workflows optimize compute utilization, and accelerate the progress of research breakthroughs into frontier Gemini releases.

Artificial intelligence will be one of humanity’s most transformative inventions. At Google DeepMind, we are a pioneering AI lab with exceptional interdisciplinary teams focused on advancing AI development to solve complex global challenges and accelerate high-quality product innovation for billions of users. We use our technologies for widespread public benefit and scientific discovery, ensuring safety and ethics are always our highest priority.

We are pushing the boundaries across multiple domains. Our global teams offer diverse learning opportunities and varied career pathways for those driven to achieve exceptional results through collective effort.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $217000 - $236000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities:

• Scope, plan, and lead execution for RL research workstreams in collaboration with tech leads, turning research hypotheses into structured roadmaps, experiment plans, and deliverable model milestones.
• Partner with engineering and infrastructure leads to manage and track experiments and compute allocations, enabling prioritization, monitoring training efficiency, and unblocking runs.
• Identify and resolve cross-functional dependencies across the RL research ecosystem (data pipelines, evaluations, distributed infrastructure) and partner teams.
• Establish reliable operational rhythms including experiment status dashboards, launch criteria, retrospectives, and milestone reviews, synthesizing complex training dynamics into actionable updates for tech leads and leadership.