Manager / Senior Technical Program Manager

Lila Sciences • Cambridge, MA

12d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Scientific System of Record (SSR) team builds the memory layer for Lila’s operations. Its Design Registry and LIMS platforms capture experimental design, samples, processes, and provenance across scientific workflows. The Senior Technical Program Manager works at the intersection of engineering execution and organizational strategy, partnering with an Engineering Director to scale engineering processes, align multiple engineering teams, and manage complex, multi-stakeholder programs across scientific domains. The role is expected to build and improve how the team operates, in addition to tracking and delivering programs.

The position owns program management across Designs & Schemas, LIMS, Build & Order, Project Management, and ELN. It aligns requirements, dependencies, and timelines for programs spanning life sciences, formulations, and chemistry; communicates scope, tradeoffs, risks, and timelines; and resolves blockers early. The role also develops and operationalizes engineering processes, scales agile practices, and establishes release gates, intake processes, and operational dashboards.

The role requires working from the Alewife (Cambridge, Massachusetts) or San Francisco office three to five days per week. Lila describes itself as building Scientific Superintelligence by combining advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory instruments in an operating system for science. The company says it operates with startup speed and is guided by truth, trust, curiosity, grit, and velocity.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of technical program management experience, managing complex, multi-team programs in a fast-moving engineering environment.
• Demonstrated ability to design processes from scratch and operationalize them at scale.
• Strong technical fluency with APIs, data models, schemas, and system integrations.
• Experience managing cross-functional dependencies across engineering teams and scientific stakeholders.
• Commitment to work from the Alewife (Cambridge, MA) or San Francisco office 3–5 days per week.

Nice To Haves

• Background in biology, chemistry, materials science, or another experimental science.
• Experience with LIMS, ELNs, scientific registries, laboratory informatics, or scientific data platforms.
• Experience modeling samples, protocols, lineage, provenance, or inventory.
• Experience integrating scientific systems with automation or data infrastructure, including event-driven architectures.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end program management across Designs & Schemas, LIMS, Build & Order, Project Management, and ELN.
• Align requirements, dependencies, and timelines for cross-cutting programs spanning life sciences, formulations, and chemistry.
• Communicate scope, tradeoffs, risks, and timelines to technical and scientific stakeholders, resolving blockers early.
• Partner with the Engineering Director to design, operationalize, and improve engineering processes at scale.
• Scale agile practices across SSR, including Jira hygiene, sprint-planning discipline, and backlog management.
• Define release gates, support intake processes, and build operational dashboards that drive continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early-stage equity.
• For full-time U.S. employees: medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• For full-time U.S. employees: employer-paid life and disability insurance.
• Flexible time off and generous company-wide holidays.
• Paid parental leave.
• Educational assistance program.
• Commuter benefits, including bike-share memberships for office-based employees.
• Company-subsidized lunch program.
• International full-time employees receive a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region.

What This Job Offers

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