Principal Technical Program Manager, Science

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education to addressing the needs of our local communities. Our mission is to build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future for everyone.

The Team

CZI supports the science and technology that will make it possible to help scientists cure, prevent, or manage all diseases by the end of this century. While this may seem like an audacious goal, in the last 100 years, biomedical science has made tremendous strides in understanding biological systems, advancing human health, and treating disease. 

Achieving our mission will only be possible if scientists are able to better understand human biology. To that end, we have identified four grand challenges that will unlock the mysteries of the cell and how cells interact within systems — paving the way for new discoveries that will change medicine in the decades that follow:

• Building an AI-based virtual cell model to predict and understand cellular behavior
• Developing state-of-the-art imaging systems to observe living cells in action
• Instrumenting tissues to better understand inflammation, a key driver of many diseases
• Engineering and harnessing the immune system for early detection, prevention, and treatment of disease

CZI’s work in science includes grantmaking programs, open-source software development, and close collaboration with the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network. The CZ Biohub Network includes the San Francisco, Chicago, and New York Biohubs as well as the Chan Zuckerberg Imaging Institute. CZI also collaborates with institutional partners like the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural & Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University. Join us in accelerating science.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced Principal Technical Program Manager to report to the Vice President of Imaging Science and support cross-functional teams in the planning, execution, and delivery of ambitious imaging science and technology projects. The ideal candidate will combine strong technical knowledge with exceptional program management skills to guide complex initiatives from conception to scalable implementation.

This role will play a key part in developing innovative technologies and ensuring they are positioned for broad impact — including successful translation and adoption across academic research institutions and commercial industry settings. The Technical Program Manager will shape the execution required to scale scientific tools and platforms in a way that supports CZI Imaging Institute’s mission to democratize access and maximize global scientific benefit.

This on-site position will be based in San Francisco, CA.

What You'll Do

• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams in the planning, execution, and scaling of complex imaging technology projects that bridge scientific discovery and translational application, with direct alignment to biological use cases.
• Lead cross-functional project planning with a focus on transitioning prototype technologies into scalable, reproducible tools that can be adopted across diverse academic and commercial environments.
• Develop comprehensive project roadmaps including scope, scale-up strategy, timelines, resource allocation, risk assessments, commercialization pathways, and budgets.
• Manage cross-platform integration and execution across hardware, software, probes, and data science teams, ensuring readiness for broader deployment.
• Track impact metrics including publications, platform performance, and adoption metrics across both research and industry ecosystems.
• Proactively identify scalability bottlenecks and dependencies, and implement mitigation plans to enable sustainable, widespread technology use.
• Serve as a liaison between scientific researchers, productization teams, and industry collaborators to ensure successful technology transfer and scaling pathways.
• Communicate project milestones and risks clearly to stakeholders across technical and non-technical domains.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in bioengineering, imaging sciences, computational engineering, or a related technical field; Master’s or PhD preferred.
• 12+ years of experience managing complex technical programs with demonstrated success in scaling scientific technologies from early-stage research through to operational deployment across academia and/or industry, preferably in imaging technology or related fields.
• Strong understanding of biological imaging systems, computational tools, and integrated hardware/software platforms, wit