Location

Remote, US

Scheduled Hours

40

Position Summary

The C-BRAIN Senior Technical Product Manager is a senior, independent-contributor role responsible for product ownership and technical program management across C-BRAIN's AI tool portfolio. Reporting to the C-BRAIN Chief Technology Officer (CTO), this role owns the day-to-day product and technical operations management functions: product backlog management, milestone tracking, vendor and contractor management, data engineering coordination, DUA management, and technical reporting. The ideal candidate brings both product management discipline and technical program management depth. They should be able to translate user and stakeholder needs into product requirements, manage a backlog in coordination with the CTO, track complex multi-workstream technical programs, and manage high-stakes relationships with external industry partners — pharmaceutical and biotech companies, academic institutions, and technology partners — with the professionalism and judgment to represent C-BRAIN externally without close supervision. Familiarity with data engineering environments — pipelines, ingestion, ETL, and cloud infrastructure — is important given the dedicated data engineering coordination responsibilities. A significant component of this role is external-facing partner program management: coordinating directly with consortium member organizations on data contributions, DUA execution, and technical working groups. Candidates with experience limited to internal administrative functions will not be competitive. C-BRAIN-specific knowledge will be provided; PM fundamentals and partner-management credibility will not.

Job Description

Product Management & Technical Program Tracking

• Maintains and manages the C-BRAIN product backlog as directed by the CTO: translates the CTO’s product priorities into a structured, current backlog across all AI tools; tracks deliverable status and flags gaps; coordinates sprint or iteration cycles with the development team to ensure execution stays aligned with the CTO’s direction.
• Maintains the C-BRAIN product milestone tracker: coordinates with the CTO to define milestone structure and success criteria, tracks deliverable status, flags risks and delays proactively to the leadership team.
• Manages the vendor and contractor lifecycle: coordinates SOW drafting, routes for WashU legal and contracts review, tracks execution, manages contractor onboarding, and verifies invoices against SOW milestones.
• Leads UAT coordination: owns the user testing process end-to-end — schedules sessions, manages documentation, tracks feedback, synthesizes findings for the CTO, and supports sign-off and release decisions.
• Escalates scope deviations, timeline slippage, or quality issues to the appropriate parties; assists with resolving contractor performance issues as needed.

Data Engineering Oversight & Coordination

• Tracks data pipeline development and infrastructure status in coordination with the CTO: monitors progress on data ingestion workflows, ETL processes, and data quality validation systems.
• Serves as coordination liaison between data scientists, data engineers, and the C-BRAIN leadership team: schedules technical working sessions, maintains documentation of data architecture decisions, tracks technical dependencies and blockers.
• Monitors data engineering deliverables: flags pipeline delays or quality issues to leadership, tracks resolution of technical incidents, and maintains a log of data infrastructure updates.
• Supports data engineering resource planning and vendor coordination: assists with contractor onboarding, tracks data infrastructure costs, and coordinates with vendors providing data engineering services.

Data Use Agreement & Member Data Management

• Oversees the full DUA lifecycle: defines dataset requirements and specifications with consortium members and the CTO; directs the Technical Operations Coordinator on DUA tracking, delivery monitoring, and compliance documentation; reviews and approves completed DUA packages.
• Reviews DUA register status reports from the Technical Operations Coordinator; escalates unresolved delivery delays or compliance gaps to C-BRAIN leadership.
• Leads DUA strategy in coordination with WashU Legal: directs the standard terms framework and negotiation of non-standard provisions; coordinates with the Operations Program Leader on cross-program DUA alignment.
• Oversees semi-annual DUA compliance reviews, directs the Technical Operations Coordinator on review execution; reviews findings and directs corrective action as needed.

Technical Materials & CTO Working Group Coordination

• Prepares the CTO's presentation slides and technical update materials for Steering Committee meetings and other meetings as needed.
• Directs CTO-managed working group logistics: provides agenda input and topic direction to the Technical Operations Coordinator; reviews agendas and minutes before distribution; act on open action items.
• Flags technical topics requiring Steering Committee awareness or decision to the CTO and Operations Program Leader in advance of each meeting.

Partner, Scientific & Technical Coordination Support

• Leads operational coordination for outreach and community engagement activities in partnership with the Technical Operations Coordinator; serves as escalation point for external partner inquiries requiring technical or programmatic judgment.
• Manages the C-BRAIN technical program relationship with consortium member organizations: serves as the primary operational contact for pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic partner data contribution programs; coordinates technical onboarding of new data contributors; manages partner expectations on data delivery timelines; and escalates relationship issues to the CTO and Operations Program Leader appropriately.
• Directs scientific community engagement coordination: defines working group structure and agenda topics; oversees dataset identification and contribution pipeline tracking; reviews documentation maintained by the Technical Operations Coordinator.
• Synthesizes community and scientific feedback for CTO and C-BRAIN leadership strategic planning.

Reporting, Documentation & Communications

• Reviews and finalizes progress reports, milestone summaries, and Steering Committee status documents prepared by the Technical Operations Coordinator; ensures accuracy before submission to leadership.
• Reviews draft member-facing communications prepared by the Technical Operations Coordinator before distribution; provides substantive edits and approval.
• Oversees the internal C-BRAIN team meeting cadence; directs the Technical Operations Coordinator on agendas, minutes, and action item tracking.

Working Conditions:

Occasional domestic travel may be required for consortium events, partner meetings, or conferences. Quarterly C-BRAIN Steering Committee meetings are typically held at major Alzheimer's Disease conferences.

Job Location/Working Conditions

• Normal office environment
• Occasional on-site presence required for team meetings and consortium events.

Physical Effort

• Typically working at desk or table
• Repetitive wrist, hand or finger movement
• Ability to move to on and off-campus locations
• Primarily sedentary with standard computer use.

Equipment

• Office equipment

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by the personnel so classified. Management reserves the right to revise or amend duties at any time.

Required Qualifications

Education:

Bachelor's degree

Certifications/Professional Licenses:

No specific certification/professional license is required for this position.

Work Experience:

Relevant Experience (5 Years)

Skills:

Not Applicable

Driver's License:

A driver's license is not required for this position.

More About This Job

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in one of the following fields: computer science, engineering, life sciences, public health, research administration, business administration, or a related field.
• Five years of progressively responsible experience in product management, technical program management, or a related field — with demonstrated experience managing complex multi-stakeholder technical programs.
• Demonstrated experience executing on a technical product development program: managing a backlog within defined priorities, coordinating development milestones, and running UAT or release coordination end-to-end.
• Experience managing programs with direct interface to external partners — pharmaceutical, biotech, technology, or academic organizations — in formal, contractual relationships. High-stakes, external-facing partner program experience is required; experience limited to internal administrative functions alone is insufficient for this role.
• Experience with contract or agreement lifecycle management: drafting, routing, execution tracking, and compliance monitoring.
• Experience working in or alongside a data engineering or AI/ML development function — sufficient to manage timelines, coordinate deliverables, and communicate with technical teams.
   

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience as a technical program manager or technical product manager in an AI/ML, biomedical informatics, or data platform environment working closely with technical leadership.
• Experience supporting or managing a research consortium, collaborative research program, or multi-site initiative.
• Experience in an academic medical center, research university, or life sciences organization.
• Familiarity with data use agreements, research data governance, or federated data frameworks.
• CSPO, PMI-ACP, PMP, or equivalent Agile/product management certification.
• Hands-on or coordination experience with data engineering tools: Python, SQL, Apache Spark, dbt, Airflow, or equivalent. Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP) or research data repositories (ADDI, Synapse, Terra) is a plus.
• Experience coordinating with pharmaceutical, biotech, or technology industry partners in a research context.
• Experience with NIH-funded programs and grant reporting processes.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

No additional education unless stated elsewhere in the job posting.

Certifications/Professional Licenses:

Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) - Project Management Institute (PMI), Project Management Professional (PMP) - Project Management Institute (PMI)

Work Experience:

No additional work experience unless stated elsewhere in the job posting.

Skills:

ADDIE Model, Agile Product Management, Apache Airflow, Apache Spark, Apache Synapse, AWS Administration, Collaborative Research, Confidentiality, Contract Management, Critical Judgement, Data Engineering, Data Management Platforms, Data Standards, dbt Core, Escalation Management, GCP Cloud SQL, Higher Education Research, Life Sciences Industry, Machine Learning (ML), Machine Learning Data Governance, Microsoft Azure, PMI Best Practices, Python (Programming Language), Research Databases, Stakeholder Collaboration

Grade

G16

Salary Range

$96,000.00 - $169,300.00 / Annually

The salary range reflects base salaries paid for positions in a given job grade across the University. Individual rates within the range will be determined by factors including one's qualifications and performance, equity with others in the department, market rates for positions within the same grade and department budget.

Questions

For frequently asked questions about the application process, please refer to our External Applicant FAQ.

Accommodation

If you are unable to use our online application system and would like an accommodation, please email [email protected] or call the dedicated accommodation inquiry number at 314-935-1149 and leave a voicemail with the nature of your request.

All qualified individuals must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily and, if requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship.

Pre-Employment Screening

All external candidates receiving an offer for employment will be required to submit to pre-employment screening for this position. The screenings will include criminal background check and, as applicable for the position, other background checks, drug screen, an employment and education or licensure/certification verification, physical examination, certain vaccinations and/or governmental registry checks. All offers are contingent upon successful completion of required screening.

Benefits Statement

Personal

• Up to 22 days of vacation, 10 recognized holidays, and sick time.

• Competitive health insurance packages with priority appointments and lower copays/coinsurance.

• Take advantage of our free Metro transit U-Pass for eligible employees.

• WashU provides eligible employees with a defined contribution (403(b)) Retirement Savings Plan, which combines employee contributions and university contributions starting at 7%.

Wellness

• Wellness challenges, annual health screenings, mental health resources, mindfulness programs and courses, employee assistance program (EAP), financial resources, access to dietitians, and more!

Family

• We offer 4 weeks of caregiver leave to bond with your new child. Family care resources are also available for your continued childcare needs. Need adult care? We’ve got you covered.

• WashU covers the cost of tuition for you and your family, including dependent undergraduate-level college tuition up to 100% at WashU and 40% elsewhere after seven years with us.

For policies, detailed benefits, and eligibility, please visit: https://hr.wustl.edu/benefits/

EEO Statement

Washington University in St. Louis is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity. It is the University’s policy to provide equal opportunity and access to persons in all job titles without regard to race, ethnicity, color, national origin, citizenship (where prohibited by federal law), age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information.