Strategy and Operations Manager​/Senior Manager, Institute of Computation

Strategy and Operations Manager / Senior Manager, Institute of Computation (12-Month Contract)

This role is a 12‑month contract for a Strategy and Operations Manager/Senior Manager located in Redwood City, CA or San Diego, CA. The pay rate ranges from $66 to $111 per hour, depending on location and level of experience. The ideal candidate has 4 to 7 years of experience (Manager) or 7+ years (Senior Manager) in technical program management or a similar field and is familiar with AI and ML environments.

• Strategic Initiatives & SVP / Leadership Support:
  Lead and/or support special projects covering data strategy, talent strategy, IP strategy, and other leadership team operations, including facilitation of Leadership Team meetings.
• Strategic Planning:
  Help design and execute IoC strategic planning and rhythm of business as part of the Office of the SVP and Institute Director.
• Partnership Strategy & Alliance Management:
  Develop partnership strategy and serve as a de‑facto alliance manager for key external platform and data generation partners in the AI and biotech landscape, ensuring clear goals, aligned timelines, regular check‑ins, and smooth coordination with internal teams.
• Budget & Resource Management:
  Own day‑to‑day budget operations for the organization in partnership with Finance and the Chief of Staff, including tracking spend, forecasting, approvals, and AWS billing and cost reporting/optimization.
• Engineering Operations:
  Act as the technical program manager point person between data science / modeling, wetlab experimentation, and computing/data infrastructure engineering teams, managing modeling team user experience, access, usage forecasting, and prioritization for data generation or curation needs.
• Business Operations & Process Improvement:
  Analyze and improve core operational processes (e.g., AWS billing, central resourcing, intake/prioritization) using a structured, data‑driven approach and latest AI technologies to design lightweight, scalable workflows.

• Demonstrated experience leading cross‑functional teams and driving strategic and cross‑functional projects end‑to‑end.
• Strategic and analytical thinker with strong problem‑solving abilities and the ability to navigate white‑space problems, complex organizations, and ambiguous settings.
• Results‑driven, detail‑oriented and proactive.
• Combination of grit and intellectual curiosity that enables you to dig into messy, complex problems and recommend solutions that bring simplicity.
• Understands how to think backwards from first principles and has operated in environments where best practices can be applied.
• Growth‑oriented and eager to learn in a fast‑paced environment.
• Operational excellence at both the 1‑foot and 50K‑foot levels.

• 4‑7 years of experience (Manager) or 7+ years (Senior Manager) in technical program management, technical product management, technical / product operations, strategy & operations, management consulting, or a similar role.
• Familiarity operating in a product or software engineering organization.
• Demonstrated ability to work credibly with engineers, data scientists, and/or ML researchers.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, able to tailor the level of detail from SVP to IC.
• Comfortable giving structure to ambiguous problems and pushing for clarity.
• Strong operational and analytical skills, cross‑functional stakeholder engagement and relationship building.

• Familiarity operating within an AI / ML or data science organization and/or a highly technical R&D environment (e.g., biotech with strong computational components).
• Direct experience of close partnership or managing teams of AI / ML scientists and engineers or software engineers and experience with Agile.
• Experience working in fast‑paced startup, MBA or technology companies.

Redwood City, CA:
Strategy & Operations Manager: $74–$90 per hour;
Senior Strategy & Operations Manager: $91–$111 per hour.
San Diego, CA:
Strategy & Operations Manager: $66–$80 per hour;
Strategy & Operations Manager: $83–$101 per hour. (Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.)

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