AI@HHMI Program Manager

Howard Hughes Medical Institute•Ashburn, VA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The AI@HHMI Program Manager supports the Head of AI@HHMI in operating HHMI’s $500 million initiative to integrate AI into biological research. AI@HHMI brings together research projects led by scientists at Janelia and across HHMI, AI scientists and engineers, a large GPU cluster, and industry partners. The role works with leaders, scientists, engineers, and operational staff at Janelia and across HHMI to coordinate projects, budgets, staffing, recruiting, events, outreach, and partnerships. It requires sound judgment, careful follow-through, discretion, and the ability to use AI tools productively while delivering high-quality work independently. The Program Manager guides projects from proposal through approval, tracking milestones, budgets, staffing, and end dates, and ensuring complete records. At project close, the role coordinates final reporting, archives data and code, offboards personnel and collaborators, and closes accounts and contracts. Other work includes preparing leadership briefings and reports, coordinating hiring and onboarding, organizing events and outreach, supporting partnership paperwork, and maintaining durable records of decisions. The position requires enough understanding of the program’s science and computation to support projects competently and communicate with computational and experimental scientists as a peer; AI expertise and conducting experiments are not required. This is a full-time, on-site position at Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, reporting to the Head of AI@HHMI. The position requires a master’s degree or doctorate in any field and at least three years of project management experience, including scientific or industrial research and development programs involving budgets, timelines, and staffing. Levels I, II, and III reflect expanded experience and scope, with the final level based on the candidate and program needs. Applicants must include a one-page summary of something complex they managed or analyzed and identify any tools used to write it.

Requirements

Master’s degree or doctorate in any field.
At least three years of project management experience, including scientific or industrial research and development programs with budgets, timelines, and staffing.
Ability to manage and prioritize numerous open items and raise problems early.
Sound judgment about what to escalate and what to handle independently.
Ability to simplify procedures that no longer serve their purpose.
Ability to review budget or staffing reports and identify discrepancies.
Discretion when handling confidential personnel, candidate, and budget information.
Ability to use AI tools for practical work and identify tool failures, while independently delivering work to the same standard.
Ability to understand the science and computation behind projects well enough to support them and communicate with computational and experimental scientists.
Ability to perform the stated physical requirements, with reasonable accommodation where applicable.

Nice To Haves

A science or engineering background.
Experience in a research institute or university.
Experience with enterprise systems such as Workday or Microsoft 365.

Responsibilities

Guide projects from proposal and approval through closure; organize reviews and approval decisions, track milestones and end dates, and maintain complete records.
Coordinate project closeout, including final reports, archiving data and code, offboarding staff and collaborators, and closing accounts and contracts.
Track project spending and staffing against budgets, work with Finance on the annual budget, and maintain awareness of open positions and staff assignments.
Schedule and prepare briefings, meetings, correspondence, and reports for the Head of AI@HHMI and HHMI leadership; follow up on open action items.
Understand the science and computation behind the program and projects well enough to support them competently and communicate with computational and experimental scientists.
Organize recruiting for AI Scientists, engineers, and other staff in coordination with People & Culture, including conducting screening interviews.
Arrange appropriate resources for employees, collaborators, and contractors, and close accounts and access when they leave.
Organize reviews, meetings, seminars, workshops, and visits; coordinate with HHMI’s Digital and Marketing Communication team on the AI@HHMI website; maintain a calendar of conferences, prizes, deadlines, and nominations.
Coordinate collaboration, industry partnership, and contract paperwork with legal, technology transfer, and finance offices.
Document decisions and project records so they remain findable and understandable over time.
Use AI tools for work where useful, while maintaining the ability to complete work to the same standard without them.