Technical Project Manager

Prolific Machines is ushering in a new era of biotechnology with light. Our first-of-its-kind optogenetic platform delivers unprecedented control, precisely guiding cellular behavior when and where it matters most. Unlike existing tools used to control biology, our technology enables dynamic, tunable control over virtually any cellular function in any cell type. We're enabling partners to unlock robust efficiency, quality, and reproducibility advantages across the most complex pharmaceuticals and therapeutic proteins. Prolific is supported by leading investors, including Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mayfield and SOSV.

We’re looking for a Technical Project Manager with experience in leadership/management of innovative scientific projects to manage critical customer programs in Prolific’s pipeline. As Prolific has developed a unique form of cellular control using optogenetics, these projects can include, but are not limited to:

1. R&D efforts focused on building new capabilities.

2. Enabling pharmaceutical partners to build optogenetic capabilities at their sites.

3. Full cell line development and preclinical scale up of customer molecules integrated into our optogenetic cell lines.

As part of a broad technical organization tasked with commercializing Prolific Machine’s unique technology, the successful candidate will lead scoping, technical planning, coordination, and results reporting for our client-facing projects. They will work with technical leads from R&D, Technical Operations, Hardware, and Business Development to support  cross-team collaboration and communication, as well as coordinate with senior leadership for reporting project outcomes. This position will report into the Head of the Project Management Office. This role will be based on-site in Emeryville, CA.

Accountabilities:

• Technical project scoping, planning, and schedule oversight of internal and client-facing projects.
• Resource planning with senior leadership to forecast project needs, scope alignment, and schedule coordination.
• Close collaboration with technical leads to ensure clear communication and efficient coordination.  
• Adapting and taking on new responsibilities to help the company scale project management as the company grows.
• Creation and support of new project standards and practices and improvement initiatives with project management colleagues.  
• Project reporting functions, such as monthly project updates, dashboard reporting, and critical project milestone/ data reports.

Collaborate and communicate with:

• Research & Development, cell line development, process development, analytics, hardware, business development and product development teams for cross-functional coordination to make key decisions on tech transfers and technical support.