Senior​/Technical Program Manager, Government Partnerships

Overview

Lila Sciences is hiring a Senior Technical Program Manager (TPM) to run government partnerships and contracts end-to-end once intent is established. This role is the operational backbone of our public-sector work — owning execution, coordination, and follow-through across complex, multi-stakeholder government programs.

This is not a research role and not a pure grants role. It is a cross-functional, execution-first program manager who understands how government partnerships actually run: LOIs, MOUs, CRADAs, pilots, interagency coordination, compliance rhythms, and handoff to post-award operations. This role will be principally client-facing during contract execution, and when between client contracts will adopt a business development and proposal support role.

The TPM allows the Head of Government Partnerships to focus on pipeline, strategy, and senior external engagement
, while ensuring nothing drops on the floor once a partnership is in motion.

What You ll Be Building

End-to-End Program Execution

• Own government partnership programs from letter of intent through launch and steady-state execution
• Translate high-level partnership intent into workplans, milestones, owners, timelines, and artifacts
• Act as the single operational quarterback across legal, finance, science, product, AI, comms, and external partners

Government Agreement Operations

• Manage the mechanics of CRADAs, pilots, user-facility access, MOUs, and partnership agreements
• Track dependencies across contracting, compliance, technical scope, and stakeholder approvals
• Ensure agreements move forward on schedule and align with internal operating constraints

Cross-Functional Program Management

• Run internal operating cadence for active government programs (standups, reviews, risk tracking)
• Identify bottlenecks early and drive resolution without escalation where possible
• Maintain clear documentation and decision logs so programs don’t rely on institutional memory

Partner & Agency Coordination

• Serve as the day-to-day point of contact for program-level coordination with agencies, labs, and partner organizations
• Prepare materials, agendas, and follow-ups for partner working sessions
• Ensure commitments made externally are feasible, resourced, and tracked internally

Transition to Post-Award / Steady State

• Support clean handoff to Grants / Post-Award / Ops as programs formalize
• Help define what “good” post-award ownership looks like as the function scales
• Contribute to templates, playbooks, and repeatable program infrastructure

Who This Role Is For

This role is ideal for someone who:

• Has project managed complex government or quasi-government programs, not just supported them
• Is a generalist operator who can be dropped into ambiguous, fast-moving environments
• Understands government bureaucracy without being slowed down by it
• Is comfortable interfacing with scientists, engineers, lawyers, contracting officers, and execs
• Wants real ownership and visibility, not a narrow swim lane

Strong Backgrounds Include

• Military program management (including Skill Bridge or recent transition)
• Federal contractor PMs
• National lab, FFRDC, or government-adjacent operators
• Cross-functional PMs in regulated or public-sector-heavy environments

What You’ll Need To Succeed

• 5–10 years experience in program management, government partnerships, or adjacent roles
• Demonstrated ability to run programs end-to-end
• Comfort operating across technical, legal, financial, and bureaucratic domains
• Excellent written and verbal communication — you turn chaos into clarity
• Strong judgment, follow-through, and bias toward action

Nice to Have

• Experience with CRADAs, national labs, DOE, DoD, USDA, or international public-sector partners
• Technical literacy (STEM degree or equivalent experience)
• Familiarity with pre- and post-award government processes
• Experience building PM infrastructure from scratch

Why This Role Matters

This is the keystone role for making Lila s government partnerships real. You bring structure, momentum, and execution discipline to work that is currently spread across senior leadership. If this hire works, it becomes the blueprint for scaling the entire public-sector operating model.

About Lila

Lila Sciences…