Technical Project Manager III – Engineering

The mission of the Allen Institute is to unlock the complexities of bioscience and advance our knowledge to improve human health. Using an open science, multi-scale, team-oriented approach, the Allen Institute focuses on accelerating foundational research, developing standards and models, and cultivating new ideas to make a broad, transformational impact on science.

We are seeking a Technical Project Manager to join the Scientific Instrumentation and Process engineering (SIPE) team where our remit is to design, build/implement and maintain reliable high-performance instruments, tools, and processes for pipeline data generation projects. We must coordinate the operation of multiple pieces of scientific instrumentation, encapsulate the complex experimental procedures into easy-to-use software applications and ensure the repeatable acquisition of (petabyte scale) data.

Projects are numerous and as a result, the project portfolio is large; the team seeks efficiency using common processes, design paradigms, and robust infrastructure. In keeping with our mission, we facilitate the work of others and participate in open-source software initiatives. The Technical Project Manager will play a critical role in improving efficiency and maximizing the impact of both hardware and software engineering projects, ensuring alignment with the institute’s priorities. This individual will oversee project intake, definition, resource management, and execution for initiatives requested by our scientific teams and leadership. They will manage a project backlog, provide regular status updates, and ensure the smooth progression of active projects. Success in this role requires the ability to multitask and prioritize in a fast-paced environment, while effectively translating technical information for non-technical audiences and vice versa.

The Allen Institute believes that team science significantly benefits from the participation of diverse voices, experiences, and backgrounds. High-quality science can only be produced when it includes different perspectives. We are committed to increasing diversity across every team and encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for this role.

Essential Functions

• Lead program scoping with architecture, engineering, and science stakeholders
• Evaluate and manage intake of project requests and gather requirements for new product features
• Manage the development, implementation and rollout of releases and maintain a quarterly view of defined, prioritized, and scoped work
• Communicate schedules, dependencies, issues, and risks across teams
• Adhere to project budget, facilitate ordering, and track progress against financial spend on the project
• Develop and maintain comprehensive notes, reports, and presentations to keep program teams, partner teams, and leadership informed about project status and progress, ensuring transparency and alignment
• Provide regular project updates by consulting with others across departments
• Articulate the costs and risks of each project requested, including the opportunity cost of doing nothing
• Partner closely with program management and leadership teams to plan and implement annual goals and milestones.
• Oversee and align long and short-term engineering goals with the broader Institute’s goals, milestones, and mission
• Report progress toward engineering-related goals to diverse levels of stakeholders
• Foster dialogue between engineering and scientific teams. This includes engaging with scientists to translate their requirements into actionable tasks in collaboration with technical leads
• Facilitate collaboration and communication between various technical specialists, including systems, optical, electrical, mechanical, software engineering and scientists to sustain focus, ensure on-time delivery, and drive project momentum
• Implement an OKR and/or KPI framework tailored for a scientific research environment where ambiguity is prevalent, by adapting proven corporate practices to better suit the unique challenges and uncertainties of scientific discovery

Note: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions; it does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical/electrical/computer engineering or relevant scientific field, or project management; or equivalent combination of degree and experience
• 3 years’ experience in software engineering, systems engineering, hardware engineering, or technical product/program management experience
• Proficient in project management tools (e.g., GitHub, JIRA, Confluence, Smartsheet, Miro) and Microsoft Office

Preferred Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical/electrical/computer engineering
• 5+ years of software engineering, systems engineering, hardware engineering, or technical product/program management experience
• PMP, CAPM, PMI-PBA, PgMP or other Project Management certification
• Experience working in a flat organization by working in concert with technical program managers, scientists, and engineers across teams to establish a shared vision for improving execution and building solutions
• Project management experience in a scientific research environment setting
• Demonstrated experience in building project management frameworks for research organizations for improving efficiency and reducing communication overhead
• Track record of success:
  • Creating and maintaining useful project plans amidst complexity and uncertainty
  • Working with a broad network of internal and external contributors and stakeholders
• Demonstrated experience in articulating the technology, requirements, goals and milestones
• Experience delivering technical programs or products from inception to delivery
• Proven communicator who can translate high-level goals into tangible action plans, and vice-versa and expertise in communicating with technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience operating autonomously across multi-disciplinary teams, demonstrating thought leadership
• Demonstrated experience to lead execution across highly ambiguous, complex projects and programs, with experience to make technical and product tradeoffs balancing business needs and technical constraints

Physical Demands

• Fine motor movements in fingers/hands to operate computers and other office equipment; repetitive motion with lab equipment

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

• This role is currently working onsite and is expected to work onsite for the majority of working hours. The primary work location for this role is 615 Westlake Ave N., with flexibility to work remotely on a limited basis.

Additional Comments

• **Please note, this opportunity offers relocation assistance**
• **Please note, this opportunity offers work visa sponsorship**

Annualized Salary Range

• $123,700 - $154,600 *

* Final salary depends on the required education for the role, experience, level of skills relevant to the role, and work location, where applicable.

Benefits

• Employees (and their families) are eligible to enroll in benefits per eligibility rules outlined in the Allen Institute’s Benefits Guide. These benefits include medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance. Employees are also eligible to enroll in the Allen Institute’s 401k plan. Paid time off is also available as outlined in the Allen Institutes Benefits Guide. Details on the Allen Institute’s benefits offering are located at the following link to the Benefits Guide: https://alleninstitute.org/careers/benefits.

It is the policy of the Allen Institute to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, the Allen Institute will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.