Technical Program Manager, AI Safety

Lila Sciences Lila Sciences · AI Frontier · Alewife, Cambridge, MA +1 · AI

Technical Program Manager for AI Safety at Lila Sciences, focusing on operationalizing AI safety work across research, model development, and engineering teams. The role requires strong program management skills, communication, and a genuine curiosity about AI safety concepts, but does not require hands-on ML research.

What you'd actually do

  1. Serve as the key communication interface between the AI safety team and the research, science and technical teams, effectively communicating complex outcomes and securing necessary resources. Set up the organisational information flows that allow for this communication to happen with speed at scale.
  2. Drive accountability across distributed, cross-functional teams without relying on direct authority; build consensus through clear communication and sound judgment.
  3. Implement best practices for rapid experimentation and iteration, facilitating efficient and agile program progression.
  4. Develop clear documentation and reporting to communicate vision, track progress, and align initiatives with organizational priorities.
  5. Represent program status and risks accurately and confidently, even when the picture is uncertain or evolving.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related field.
  • 6+ years of program or project management experience in the technology or life sciences field.
  • Proven experience in program management, leading cross-functional teams and driving programs to successful completion.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn technical requirements into actionable program roadmaps.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; a track record of producing executive-quality documents, roadmaps, and updates that drive decisions.

Nice to have

  • Direct experience in AI/ML research or product organizations, ideally in a program management or research operations capacity.
  • Working familiarity with AI safety concepts — alignment, red-teaming, evaluations, responsible scaling — sufficient to engage credibly with researchers and ask good questions.
  • Experience managing programs that span safety, compliance, or governance workstreams, particularly in the context of model development and deployment.
  • Enthusiastic about emerging technologies and experienced in driving rapid experimentation and program iteration.

What the JD emphasized

  • AI safety
  • program management
  • cross-functional teams
  • technical substance
  • AI/ML research
  • AI safety concepts
  • model development and deployment