Research Program Manager, Pre-training

Reflection • San Francisco, CA

1d

About The Position

Reflection is a research lab focused on making intelligence open and accessible through open models that people can control, customize, and build on. Research Program Managers are embedded leaders and operators who accelerate frontier model development by clarifying ambiguity, driving decisions, and coordinating work across teams.

This role is embedded in the Pre-training ML and Data teams and works closely with pre-training research leads throughout the research lifecycle. The Research Program Manager coordinates data pipelines and experiments, contributes to discussions of model architecture and scaling strategies, and develops programs and processes that help researchers focus on advancing model capabilities. The position calls for a hands-on, first-responder approach to resolving issues and aligning stakeholders.

The successful candidate will build research program management practices from the ground up in a small, fast-moving team. The role involves operating in high-stakes settings where decisions affect model quality, compute spending, and training schedules. Reflection offers salary and equity, stock options, health and wellness support, office meals, paid parental leave, paid time off, visa sponsorship, and team-building activities.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of experience in technical program management, research operations, or ML engineering.
• A track record of building programs from scratch in research or ML-heavy environments.
• Sufficient technical depth to engage with researchers on model architecture, scaling laws, data processing pipelines, training dynamics, and optimizer behavior, and to discuss tradeoffs and identify risks.
• Ability to embed within technical teams and earn trust through competence, reliability, and curiosity about the work.
• Resourcefulness and high agency when navigating ambiguity and changing priorities.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence senior technical staff through delivery and informed judgment rather than authority.
• Comfort working in high-stakes environments where decisions affect model quality, compute spend, and training timelines measured in weeks or months.
• Interest in building research program management practices from the ground up in a small, fast-moving team.

Responsibilities

• Embed within the pre-training ML and Data teams, understand the technical landscape, build trust with researchers and technical leads, and identify opportunities to improve research velocity.
• Drive end-to-end execution of complex, cross-team research initiatives spanning data, model architecture, training runs, and evaluation.
• Coordinate pre-training research operations, including experiment prioritization, run scheduling, data readiness, and checkpoint handoffs to downstream teams.
• Help research leadership make timely decisions by analyzing technical tradeoffs and presenting clear, actionable recommendations.
• Build lightweight processes and durable coordination systems for cross-team handoffs, configuration management, and research milestones.
• Connect pre-training, mid-training, post-training, and infrastructure teams so upstream decisions are communicated and downstream teams are prepared.
• Step in proactively when problems arise, assess the situation, align stakeholders, and drive resolution.

Benefits

• Top-tier compensation consisting of salary and equity.
• Stock options.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life coverage.
• Annual wellness allowance.
• Lunch and dinner provided daily in the office.
• 22 weeks of paid parental leave for new birthing and non-birthing parents, including adoptive and surrogate journeys.
• Unlimited paid time off in the U.S. and 30 vacation days in the U.K.
• Visa sponsorship and support for long-term immigration pathways where applicable.
• Regular off-sites, happy hours, and team celebrations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed