Chemistry Technical Program Manager
About The Position
Lila Sciences is using its autonomous science platform to accelerate chemical discovery — from smarter synthesis pathways and next-generation catalysts to molecular design for clean energy and industrial applications. The Chemistry experiment team is running programs at a pace and scale that demands serious operational rigor, and we're looking for a Technical Program Manager to provide it. You'll work closely with the Chemistry domain lead who sets scientific strategy and direction, while you own the execution layer: the project plans, the cross-functional dependencies, and the blockers that need to be surfaced and resolved before they become problems. You won't be directing scientific work — you'll be creating the conditions for it to happen at speed and at scale. This is a role for someone who genuinely loves the craft of program management in complex, technical environments.
Requirements
- 10+ years of program or project management experience in a chemistry, pharmaceutical, or deep tech environment
- A Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related field
- A track record of managing multiple concurrent programs in fast-paced, ambiguous environments and energized by building programs from the ground up; early-stage start-up experience is a strong plus
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate across scientific and operational stakeholders and manage complex cross-functional dependencies
- Sufficient scientific fluency to understand Chemistry program goals and communicate them clearly to partner teams
- Experience supporting commercial program delivery and working with external partners or customers
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills — able to break complex goals into clear, achievable units of work and keep stakeholders consistently well-informed
Nice To Haves
- Familiarity with project management tools such as Smartsheet, Asana, Jira, or similar
- PMP, PgMP, or agile certification (e.g., CSM, SAFe) is a plus
Responsibilities
- Own day-to-day program execution within the Chemistry experiment team — maintaining project plans, tracking milestones, and ensuring agentic science programs are delivered on time and with rigor
- Serve as the primary operational interface between the Chemistry team and platform partners (Automation, ML, Engineering) — communicating needs, aligning on priorities, and keeping dependencies visible and resolved
- Translate scientific program goals into structured workstreams that enable autonomous experimentation to run efficiently and at scale
- Run program rituals including sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives with a bias toward purposeful meetings, documentation, and follow-through
- Partner with the Chemistry domain leads to surface blockers, risks, and interdependencies early and drive them to resolution
- Support the delivery of commercial contracts by working with the Product & Revenue team to ensure program commitments are well-scoped, tracked, and clearly communicated to all stakeholders
- Contribute to capacity planning and resource coordination in partnership with scientific leadership
Benefits
- 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
- a company subsidized lunch program
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
