Technical Program Manager

About the role

Basis seeks a Technical Program Manager deeply passionate about program management to drive ambitious research projects forward. You will serve as a linchpin between researchers, engineering teams, leadership, and external collaborators. The role demands both technical depth and project management expertise while navigating complex, undefined problems. You own the end-to-end execution of research initiatives, ensuring that ambitious technical questions are translated into coherent, actionable plans. You will design the scaffolding that allows multidisciplinary teams to operate with clarity and shared understanding. Your work will directly influence the pace and quality of discoveries that advance both the field and society's problem-solving capacity. You will continuously question and refine how work is structured to maximize learning and efficiency. This is a hands-on role where your decisions determine whether critical projects move forward or stall.

Key facts

What you'll do

Develop and maintain project roadmaps that translate long-term strategic goals into milestones and tasks.

Run regular team meetings, triage issues, and ensure research scientists and engineers stay on track.

Coordinate between core technical and project teams, identifying and resolving dependencies.

Write and review technical design documents and project plans.

Model human, compute, and financial resources across projects.

Contribute technically when necessary.

Engage with external project partners, nurturing existing relationships and cultivating new collaborations.

Continuously refine Basis' approach to project management in research.

Own the definition of progress for complex initiatives, tracking outcomes rather than just activity.

Create alignment across research, engineering, and leadership through structured communication and documentation.

Establish metrics that capture the health and impact of each program you manage.

Identify risks early and drive mitigation strategies before they affect critical timelines.

Synthesize findings from technical work into narratives that guide strategic decision-making.

Maintain a living understanding of the project landscape, updating plans as new information emerges.

Requirements

Candidates must have 4+ years of experience managing technical projects in scientific or engineering domains, with demonstrable impact.

A PhD-level comprehension of AI and ML concepts is required, though holding a PhD is not mandatory.

Proficiency with project management tools such as Linear, JIRA, or equivalent systems is essential.

Familiarity with version control systems like Git and collaboration tools such as Notion and GSuite is required.

Exceptional writing skills are necessary to communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely.

You must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship for this position.

You must reside in New York to be considered for this role.

The role requires in-person presence at the New York office with no remote options.

You must start within a timeframe that aligns with active project timelines.

You must possess a deep commitment to operating under conditions of uncertainty without requiring guaranteed outcomes.

You must be comfortable making high-stakes decisions with incomplete information.

You must have a proven ability to simplify complex systems into understandable components.

You must view inefficient processes as problems to be solved rather than accepted constraints.

You must demonstrate persistence in obtaining clarity, even when information is incomplete or ambiguous.

You must have a strong appetite for learning across diverse technical domains quickly.

You must possess expertise in core technical areas including statistics, causal reasoning, probabilistic machine learning, and/or programming languages.

You must obsess over effective program management and continuously ask how the work can be improved.

You must be capable of balancing the needs of individual team members with the overarching demands of project delivery.

You must work and act quickly to maintain team momentum at the appropriate intensity level.

You must relentlessly reduce uncertainty and ambiguity through structured inquiry and analysis.

You must engage with external partners in a manner that builds trust and advances shared objectives.

You must contribute technically at the implementation level when it unblocks critical progress.

You must model resource constraints across human, compute, and financial dimensions to ensure realistic planning.

You must write and review documents that withstand rigorous technical scrutiny.

You must coordinate dependencies across teams to prevent bottlenecks and ensure smooth execution.

You must translate long-term research vision into short-term actionable tasks.

You must design project tracking mechanisms that provide real-time insight into progress and risk.

You must triage issues as they arise, ensuring that the most critical barriers are addressed immediately.

You must refine Basis' approach to project management based on empirical results and evolving needs.

You must distill nebulous research questions into concrete, actionable plans that teams can execute against.

You must understand the human dynamics of research, including how individual needs intersect with project goals.

You must maintain a comprehensive view of the project landscape, anticipating shifts and adjusting plans accordingly.

You must make tough decisions regarding project direction and resource allocation even when data is limited.

You must automate repetitive project management tasks to free up team capacity for creative work.

You must cultivate relationships with external collaborators to expand the scope and impact of research efforts.

You must ensure that project deliverables meet the standards expected by leadership and technical peers.

You must provide clear, concise, and structured communication to diverse stakeholders.

You must demonstrate a track record of driving complex programs from conception to completion.

You must exhibit ownership of outcomes, regardless of where breakdowns occur in the process.

You must apply first-principles thinking to determine when standard project management practices should be adapted or discarded.

You must simplify complexity and remove unnecessary steps that do not contribute to learning or outcomes.

You must work within a fast-paced, mission-driven research environment where priorities evolve rapidly.

You must display resilience when facing ambiguous and poorly defined problem spaces.

You must maintain strict attention to timelines and dependencies to keep projects on schedule.

You must leverage data and evidence to guide decisions about project progress and success.

You must continuously seek feedback from research and engineering teams to improve execution.

You must balance short-term tactical needs with long-term strategic objectives.

You must manage multiple concurrent projects while maintaining clarity and focus.

You must serve as the central point for coordination and communication across all project stakeholders.

You must ensure that project risks are visible and actively managed by the team.

You must contribute to the design of experiments that align with program objectives.

You must support the integration of research findings into broader problem-solving efforts.

You must uphold the highest standards of professionalism, reliability, and integrity in all interactions.

You must embrace feedback and use it to refine both your management approach and technical understanding.

You must remain curious about new methods for organizing and executing complex technical work.

You must be prepared to engage in deep technical discussions with researchers and engineers.

You must demonstrate mastery of program management fundamentals while remaining adaptable to changing contexts.

You must consistently seek opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of research programs.

You must partner closely with leadership to ensure that strategic goals are translated into operational plans.

You must contribute to a culture of clarity, rigor, and continuous improvement within the project teams.

Practical notes

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Location: New York

• Work Mode: In-person

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Employment Type: Full-time

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Salary: $100,000 - $160,000

• You must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
• You must reside in New York to be considered for this role.
• The role requires in-person presence at the New York office with no remote options.
• Start date must align with active project timelines.