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Scientific Program Manager

Palo Alto, CA

About Arc Institute

The Arc Institute is a new scientific institution that conducts curiosity-driven basic science and technology development to understand and treat complex human diseases. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arc is an independent research organization founded on the belief that many important research programs will be enabled by new institutional models. Arc operates in partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley.

While the prevailing university research model has yielded many tremendous successes, we believe in the importance of institutional experimentation as a way to make progress. These include:

  • Funding: Arc will fully fund Core Investigators’ (PIs’) research groups, liberating scientists from the typical constraints of project-based external grants.
  • Technology: Biomedical research has become increasingly dependent on complex tooling. Arc Technology Centers develop, optimize and deploy rapidly advancing experimental and computational technologies in collaboration with Core Investigators. 
  • Support: Arc aims to provide first-class support—operationally, financially and scientifically—that will enable scientists to pursue long-term high risk, high reward research that can meaningfully advance progress in disease cures, including neurodegeneration, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
  • Culture: We believe that culture matters enormously in science and that excellence is difficult to sustain. We aim to create a culture that is focused on scientific curiosity, a deep commitment to truth, broad ambition, and selfless collaboration.

Arc has scaled to nearly 200 people. With $650M+ in committed funding and a state of the art new lab facility in Palo Alto, Arc will continue to grow quickly in the coming years.

About the Position

We are seeking a Scientific Program Manager to drive and coordinate strategic research initiatives across Arc Institute. This role will be instrumental in orchestrating complex, multi-disciplinary projects that span our Technology Centers encompassing cellular models, mammalian models, genome engineering, multi-omics, computational biology, and machine learning. The ideal candidate will bring deep technical understanding of biological research combined with exceptional program management skills to help translate ambitious scientific goals into well-executed research programs. You will work closely with Technology Center leaders and Core Investigators to ensure effective cross-functional collaboration on institute initiatives to accelerate breakthrough discoveries in complex disease areas and cell modeling.

About You

  • You love structuring problems and solutions. You take a strategic view and excel at breaking down complex research initiatives into clear workstreams and deliverables, identifying dependencies, and anticipating potential bottlenecks before anyone else
  • You’re able to find the razor's edge between formality and chaos. You know that the path to the biggest discoveries are never linear. So you balance process formality with leaving space for innovation, always with an eye to delivering outstanding results
  • You are persuasive but tactful. You have a presence that demands respect (including from people more senior/knowledgeable than you) yet bring tact, diplomacy, and fun to your interactions with team members
  • You’re energized by learning. You’re a life long learner that loves to work at the intersection of biology and technology

In This Position You Will

  • Coordinate major research initiatives that span multiple Technology Centers, ensuring clear communication of objectives, timelines, and dependencies
  • Facilitate regular cross-functional meetings to drive progress, remove blockers, and ensure effective resource allocation
  • Identify opportunities for process improvement and implement solutions to increase research efficiency
  • Track and communicate project progress to stakeholders at multiple levels, from technical teams to institute leadership
  • Help foster a culture of innovation, excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Requirements

  • Masters or PhD degree in Life Sciences or related field and 5+ years of industry experience in program management in a research or translational setting
  • Background in one or more relevant biology areas (genome engineering, multi-omics, cellular engineering, etc).
  • Strong track record of successfully managing complex projects in research environments, balancing competing priorities while maintaining focus on key long-term strategic objectives
  • Track record of designing and implementing successful project tracking systems that work well for scientific research
  • Excellent communication skills and are comfortable regularly engaging with a broad range of research scientists, experimentalists, and senior management

The base salary range for this position is $166,500 - $205,000. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.

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