Lila Sciences · 3 hours ago
Senior / Technical Program Manager, Government Partnerships
Cambridge, MA USA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
$108K/yr - $187K/yr
5+ years expLila Sciences is hiring a Senior Technical Program Manager to oversee government partnerships and contracts. This role involves managing execution and coordination across complex government programs and ensuring that all aspects of partnerships are handled effectively.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Foundational AILife ScienceSoftware
Responsibilities
Own government partnership programs from letter of intent through launch and steady-state execution
Translate high-level partnership intent into workplans, milestones, owners, timelines, and artifacts
Act as the single operational quarterback across legal, finance, science, product, AI, comms, and external partners
Manage the mechanics of CRADAs, pilots, user-facility access, MOUs, and partnership agreements
Track dependencies across contracting, compliance, technical scope, and stakeholder approvals
Ensure agreements move forward on schedule and align with internal operating constraints
Run internal operating cadence for active government programs (standups, reviews, risk tracking)
Identify bottlenecks early and drive resolution without escalation where possible
Maintain clear documentation and decision logs so programs don’t rely on institutional memory
Serve as the day-to-day point of contact for program-level coordination with agencies, labs, and partner organizations
Prepare materials, agendas, and follow-ups for partner working sessions
Ensure commitments made externally are feasible, resourced, and tracked internally
Support clean handoff to Grants / Post-Award / Ops as programs formalize
Help define what 'good' post-award ownership looks like as the function scales
Contribute to templates, playbooks, and repeatable program infrastructure
Qualification
Required
5–10 years experience in program management, government partnerships, or adjacent roles
Demonstrated ability to run programs end-to-end
Comfort operating across technical, legal, financial, and bureaucratic domains
Excellent written and verbal communication — you turn chaos into clarity
Strong judgment, follow-through, and bias toward action
Has project managed complex government or quasi-government programs, not just supported them
Is a generalist operator who can be dropped into ambiguous, fast-moving environments
Understands government bureaucracy without being slowed down by it
Is comfortable interfacing with scientists, engineers, lawyers, contracting officers, and execs
Wants real ownership and visibility, not a narrow swim lane
Preferred
Experience with CRADAs, national labs, DOE, DoD, USDA, or international public-sector partners
Technical literacy (STEM degree or equivalent experience)
Familiarity with pre- and post-award government processes
Experience building PM infrastructure from scratch
Strong backgrounds include military program management (including SkillBridge or recent transition), federal contractor PMs, national lab, FFRDC, or government-adjacent operators, cross-functional PMs in regulated or public-sector-heavy environments
Benefits
Bonus potential
Generous early equity
Company
Lila Sciences
Lila Sciences creates a scientific superintelligence platform and autonomous labs for life sciences, chemistry, and materials science. It is a sub-organization of Flagship Pioneering.
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Lila Sciences has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (8)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$550.67MKey Investors
ARIANVenturesFlagship Pioneering
2026-01-20Grant· $0.67M
2025-10-14Series A· $115M
2025-09-14Series A· $235M
Recent News
MIT Technology Review
2026-01-22
2026-01-03
2025-12-17
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