Job description
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education to addressing the needs of our local communities. Our mission is to build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future for everyone.
The Team
CZI supports the science and technology that will make it possible to help scientists cure, prevent, or manage all diseases by the end of this century. While this may seem like an audacious goal, in the last 100 years, biomedical science has made tremendous strides in understanding biological systems, advancing human health, and treating disease.
Achieving our mission will only be possible if scientists are able to better understand human biology. To that end, we have identified four grand challenges that will unlock the mysteries of the cell and how cells interact within systems — paving the way for new discoveries that will change medicine in the decades that follow:
- Building an AI-based virtual cell model to predict and understand cellular behavior
- Developing state-of-the-art imaging systems to observe living cells in action
- Instrumenting tissues to better understand inflammation, a key driver of many diseases
- Engineering and harnessing the immune system for early detection, prevention, and treatment of disease
CZI’s work in science includes grantmaking programs, open-source software development, and close collaboration with the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network. The CZ Biohub Network includes the San Francisco, Chicago, and New York Biohubs as well as the Chan Zuckerberg Imaging Institute. CZI also collaborates with institutional partners like the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural & Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University. Join us in accelerating science.
The Opportunity
CZI is building a virtual cell model that will learn how cells function at a molecular level, and predict how cells and tissues respond to changes to their genes or environment. To achieve this, we are generating Petabyte-scale data resources consisting of sequencing, imaging, and mass spectrometry data, which enable us to track cells’ journeys throughout development, monitor real-time changes in cellular state and identity, and measure how cellular machinery responds to environmental changes. Ultimately, we will publish the data, models, and related applications for public use.
As the Director of Technical Program Management for Data, you will manage a team of technical program managers who are responsible for ensuring end-to-end delivery of the data technology platform required to achieve this vision. Technical program managers on your team will coordinate cross-functional teams of software engineers, data engineers, machine learning engineers, data scientists, and research scientists, engineers, to design and implement systems to acquire, transform, store, manage, and prepare data for model training. This will include but is not limited to agentic data ingestion and curation pipelines, data management systems, data loaders, and related support functionality.
What You’ll Do
- Hire, lead, and mentor a team of technical program managers (TPMs) responsible for the successful execution of programs that support CZI’s virtual cell model data infrastructure.
- Oversee a team responsible for end-to-end delivery of complex, high-throughput data pipelines–including agentic curation systems, data management platforms, and AI data loaders.
- Coordinate cross-functional efforts across engineering, data science, and research teams to ensure alignment on goals, timelines, and quality standards.
- Develop and drive program management best practices, including roadmap planning, progress tracking, risk mitigation, and stakeholder communication for large-scale scientific data initiatives.
- Establish systems and processes that ensure high agility and responsiveness to emerging data types or modeling needs in the rapidly evolving AI biology space.
What You’ll Bring
- 12+ years of experience in Technical Program Management, including at least 5 years management experience.
- Proven leadership experience managing TPM teams in complex, data-centric environments, preferably in biotech, life sciences, or scientific computing domains.
- Deep understanding of large-scale data systems, demonstrated by delivery of two or more scalable AI data systems.
- Strong program management skills, including experience driving cross-functional technical projects with diverse stakeholder groups (e.g., engineering, science, product).
- Excellent communication and organizational abilities, with a demonstrated capacity to translate complex scientific and technical requirements into actionable program plans.
- Background in a technical or scientific field, such as computer science, data science, computational biology, or bioinformatics; advanced degree preferred.
Compensation
The Redwood City, CA base pay range for a new hire in this role is $225,000.00 - $309,100. New hires are typically hired into the lower portion of the range, enabling employee growth in the range over time. Actual placement in range is based on job-related skills and experience, as evaluated throughout the interview process.
Better Together
As we grow, we’re excited to strengthen in-person connections and cultivate a collaborative, team-oriented environment. This role is a hybrid position requiring you to be onsite for at least 60% of the working month, approximately 3 days a week, with specific in-office days determined by the team’s manager. The exact schedule will be at the hiring manager’s discretion and communicated during the interview process.
Benefits for the Whole You
We’re thankful to have an incredible team behind our work. To honor their commitment, we offer a wide range of benefits to support the people who make all we do possible.
- CZI provides a generous employer match on employee 401(k) contributions to support planning for the future.
- Annual benefit for employees that can be used most meaningfully for them and their families, such as housing, student loan repayment, childcare, commuter costs, or other life needs.
- CZI Life of Service Gifts are awarded to employees to “live the mission” and support the causes closest to them.
- Paid time off to volunteer at an organization of your choice.
- Funding for select family-forming benefits.
- Relocation support for employees who need assistance moving to the Bay Area
- And more!
If you’re interested in a role but your previous experience doesn’t perfectly align with each qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply as you may be the perfect fit for this or another role.
Explore our work modes, benefits, and interview process at www.chanzuckerberg.com/careers.
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