Program Manager - AI Research Partnerships

Position: Program Manager

Location: Onsite – Menlo Park, CA

Job Type: 6-month W2 Contract

Compensation: $95-$97/hr Benefits

***This is a 6-month W2 contract with our client located onsite in Menlo Park, CA***

Job Responsibilities:

Our tech client is seeking an experienced Program Manager to build and own the company's senior expert fellowship program. This role manages relationships with the most senior domain experts in academia and turns those relationships into accelerating AI adoption in clinical and scientific domains. This is a heavily external-facing role. You will spend much of your time engaging senior experts in academia, and you will partner internally with data operations, product, legal and research teams.

Responsibilities

• Design and run a named-fellowship structure that confers high-status recognition
• Build the program's external positioning and reputation in target verticals
• Own the end-to-end experience and relationship for senior fellows (division chiefs, senior faculty, institutional leaders)
• Manage the cohort lifecycle from identification, early engagement, and engagement of experts with internal researchers
• Cultivate senior fellows as advocates who drive frontline adoption of the company's models

Must Have Skills

• 5 years of program/project management experience, including building and scaling complex programs
• Demonstrated experience managing senior external stakeholders, e.g., executives, senior faculty, institutional or clinical leaders, or equivalent high-status partners
• Track record of relationship-driven influence and partnership-building in an external, multi-institution context
• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity, manage competing priorities, and design processes that scale
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentational communication; credible engaging domain leaders one-on-one

Nice to Have Skills

• Experience in academic relations, university partnerships, fellowship programs, or expert-community programs Familiarity with a regulated or specialized vertical (e.g., healthcare/clinical)
• Experience working with AI/ML research teams or in an AI research organization
• Track record of representing an organization externally at institutional events
• Experience standing up a new program from pilot to scale Advanced degree in a relevant field

Overall years of experience: 5 years of program/project management experience, including building and scaling complex programs

Education: Bachelor’s Degree Minimum