Sr Manager, AI

Inari • Cambridge, MA

13d • Hybrid

About The Position

Inari is transforming sustainable agriculture through AI-driven predictive design and advanced gene editing. The team building our AI/ML capabilities is central to that mission. We are looking for an AI/ML leader to set the direction and technical standards for our AI Team. This role will help define how artificial intelligence (AI) drives Inari to the next-generation of predictive design while staying close to the work that gets us there. The position will own the roadmap for machine learning (ML) systems that serve genomic, phenotypic, and multi-omic predictions to scientists, as well as the agentic systems we are building. The role will balance the delivery of production-ready ML workflows against the exploration of new modeling approaches that advance step-change trait improvement in crops. The individual will decide where we build versus adopt across foundation models, agentic systems, and third-party platforms. They will be accountable for the delivery, quality, and operability of everything their team ships. This is an opportunity to lead in a highly cross-functional environment, working alongside computational biologists, data engineers, software engineers, and crop scientists.

Requirements

• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Computational Biology, or a related field (or BS with equivalent experience) and 7+ years of experience in machine learning, AI, or related technical roles, with a track record of models & ML pipelines running in production.
• Strong hands-on ML depth: advanced Python and the scientific stack, with experience training and deploying neural networks in PyTorch and/or TensorFlow.
• Proven ability to deploy, maintain, and monitor ML models and pipelines at scale, with practical experience across AWS, SageMaker, Docker, MLflow, and Airflow or equivalents.
• Experience owning a modeling roadmap end to end, from problem framing and evaluation through delivery.
• Experience leading a technical team, including setting direction, supporting the growth of the engineers on it, and influencing decisions beyond your own team.
• Strong grasp and practical experience with modern AI systems, including foundation models, RAG, and agentic workflows, with the judgment to know where they do and don’t apply.
• Strong and clear communication with cross-functional leaders, scientific partners, fellow engineers, and the ability to translate between biological questions and ML framings.

Nice To Haves

• Background in life sciences, biotech, AgTech, or another domain where data and AI are central to scientific work.
• Familiarity with omics data types (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics).
• Experience applying ML to biological systems - in trait prediction, functional genomics, or network-based modeling.
• Experience training and fine-tuning ML models, including foundation models, with a track record of translating model outcomes into business impact.
• Experience supporting production-grade RAG, agentic, or model-serving systems, MCPs and similar agent integration frameworks.
• Familiarity with AWS Sagemaker, MLflow, AWS Bedrock Agentcore, or similar platforms & frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Set and execute the technical direction and standards for Inari’s AI Team, and find the right balance between shipping production ML workflows and exploring innovative modeling approaches.
• Define how models are evaluated and validated against experimental and field outcomes, so scientists can trust what they act on.
• Partner with computational and crop biologists to contextualize heterogeneous biological data and drive research-critical modeling programs.
• Drive the delivery of applied AI solutions – including agentic, GenAI, RAGs, and foundation models that advance scientific and business outcomes.
• Manage, mentor, and develop a high-caliber team of ML engineers, along with focused contractor engagements that help deliver specific capabilities.
• Remain hands-on, applying technical expertise to solve complex problems and support the team where contribution will have the greatest impact.
• Represent the AI Team in leadership conversations, helping shape and deliver Inari’s Data & AI Strategy.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Rewards results
• Salary range: $169,800 - $233,400
• Three components of pay: base, short-term incentive, and long-term equity
• One-time new hire stock option grant
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Preferred Provider Network (PPO) and High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with a company-funded health savings account (HSA)
• Vision
• Dental
• Several flexible spending accounts (FSA)
• Host of voluntary benefits
• Robust wellness program
• 401k plan with company matching
• Flexible paid time off policy
• Immigration sponsorship for qualified roles

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior