Research Program Manager

Overview

Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering seek a research program manager for water environment sector digitalization and decarbonization projects. The individual will oversee and manage research projects that gather operational, policy, and performance data from water and wastewater utilities and other partners, use models to guide the development of decision‑support tools, and support the principal investigators with analytical reporting and essential project development.

Responsibilities

1. Team & Stakeholder Leadership

·       Cultivate stakeholder relationships and participation in projects to secure data‑sharing agreements and operational and policy datasets for water environment sector digitalization and decarbonization projects.

·       Deliver clear, timely project analysis through creation of presentations, reports, and dashboards

·       Serve as primary liaison between utilities, regulators, and industry collaborators and project researchers

·       Mentor postdoctoral and graduate researchers and interns; assign tasks and affirm deliverables

·       Manage project meetings; prepare agendas and action summaries

 

2. Research Project Design and Development

·       Inform on design and development of project data requirements and research design

·       Develop high-level analytical and scientific methods for evaluating the quality of the data sets

·       Oversee collaboration with researchers to produce decision‑support tools used by non-scientific community

·       Define requirements and process of data collection, validation, and organization of heterogeneous data for water and wastewater utilities.

 

3. Project Management & Funding Proposal Development

·       Seek funding opportunities and cultivate funder relationships, manage from opportunity identification to proposal development, through to award.

·       Write funding proposals, project outcome reports, and supporting documents for program development.

·       Manage project schedules, budgets, and milestone trackers

·       Provide workflow evaluation and recommendations to PI and project team to ensure seamless project operations

Qualifications

Essential

• MS or higher in environmental/civil engineering, public administration, or related field
• Proven ability to lead multi‑disciplinary teams and deliver complex initiatives
• Minimum 8 years managing projects in the water & wastewater sector (consulting, utilities, government, or non‑profit)
• Familiarity with energy management, GHG accounting methodologies (e.g. GHG protocol, 14064, IPCC inventory guidelines), NPDES permitting, and sustainability reporting frameworks (e.g. CDP, CRSD, GRI, and SASB) as relevant to the water sector.
• Experience with modeling and data science tools (e.g. Python, Biowin, ArcGIS, Machine Learning, LLMs, etc.)
• Excellent organizational, written, and verbal communication skills

Preferred

• PMP certification or Professional Engineer (PE) licensure

The position is 60% duty time and benefits eligible. The rank and salary of this appointment will be based on education and experience. Salary range for this half-time position is $60k-$75k.

 

The term is one year with possibility of renewal based on continued funding. The work location for this position can be remote at Princeton University given planned campus visits. This position is subject to the University's background check policy.

 

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

 

The University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's qualifications, work experience, education/training, key skills, market, collective bargaining agreements as applicable, and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The posted salary range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate for a full-time position; salaries for part-time positions are pro-rated accordingly.

 

If the salary range on the posted position shows an hourly rate, this is the baseline; the actual hourly rate may be higher, depending on the position and factors listed above.

 

The University also offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. Please see this link for more information.

Standard Weekly Hours

21.75

Eligible for Overtime

No