Technical Project Manager

Technical Project Manager

At Nautilus, we have a big and important mission: to improve the health of millions by unleashing the potential of the proteome to accelerate drug development and enable a new world of precision and personalized medicine. We are developing a single-molecule protein analysis platform of unprecedented sensitivity, scale, and ease of use that we believe will democratize access to the proteome – one of the most dynamic and valuable sources of biological insight. To accomplish this, we are pursuing hard scientific problems with an entrepreneurial mindset and creating a world-class team of builders, innovators, and dreamers across a wide range of disciplines.

We are hiring a Technical Project Manager to join our growing team. This position is a critical part of successfully delivering a comprehensive proteomics platform to our customers. The position is responsible for managing multiple projects varying in size and complexity for the development of the Nautilus platform. This role entails working closely with multiple cross-functional teams in R&D, along with Product Management and Manufacturing. The position interfaces with R&D leadership and scientists and is responsible for developing and managing product development schedules from early phases through to commercial product release. This role collaborates with teams to plan and track project work, identify risks and resolve issues, and manage deliverables in a dynamic environment. Additionally, this role includes coordinating large, department-wide meetings and communication. This is a commercially oriented role. The Technical Project Manager partners closely with Commercial, Marketing, Service, and Operations to ensure the development deliverables map to what customers, sales, and support need for launch.

The position requires a skilled team leader who pays excellent attention to details, has good experience managing cross functional projects, and who is comfortable getting into the technical details while engaging with the diverse team members and leading them towards a commercial product solution. The project manager will be a leader who can align the goals and deliverables across the organization. The individual will be expected to work independently, with minimal supervision, in developing strategies, detailed project goals and plans, and communicating effectively with all levels of the organization. Commercial judgment matters here as much as technical depth. This person should be able to weigh schedule, scope, and cost decisions against customer commitments and market timing – and then make the case for the tradeoff credibly to both technical and commercial leadership.

Responsibilities & Expectations

• Lead technical team to a successful first commercial launch, with accountability for launch readiness across both technical and commercial functions.
• Lead medium to large scale projects for the development of the Nautilus platform including; new assays, consumables, software, and hardware. Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while understanding their dependencies.
• Define project scope, objectives, and quarterly goals in alignment with high-level company and program goals. Measure and report project status using standard project management dashboards, tools, and techniques
• Develop project plans, milestones, and deliverables from initial product conception to product release. Experience in synthesizing a diverse set of ideas into a cohesive plan that team leads will own.
• Create and manage detailed project schedules. Work with team leads to adopt schedule management strategies.
• Collaborate with technical leads and subject matter experts to translate technical risks and experimental outlines into actionable plans with measurable metrics. Help connect technical areas and dependencies between teams.
• Identify and mitigate project risks and issues to remove obstacles and ensure milestone delivery on tight timelines.
• Facilitate prioritization and tradeoff decisions with teams and stakeholders. Frame tradeoffs in commercial terms (customer impact, launch date) so leadership can decide quickly and with confidence.
• Effectively communicate and present project status to senior management and stakeholders.
• Aid in identifying key technical resource gaps; work with functional managers to address resourcing issues.
• Utilize common Project Management tools and techniques (such as Smartsheets, Jira, and Excel) to develop appropriate processes with teams.
• Prepare agendas, lead meetings, and distribute meeting minutes and action items.
• Own the integrated commercial launch plan for first release – bridging R&D, Operations, Commercial, and Service – and drive it to an agreed, measurable launch-readiness bar.
• Partner with Product Management and Commercial to translate customer requirements, early-access feedback, and competitive and market timing into development priorities and dated commitments.
• Manage the interface between development milestones and customer-facing dates, escalating early and with options when a commercial commitment is at risk.
• Drive the transition from development to sustaining – clear handoff to Operations and Service with documented ownership, change control, and issue escalation paths post-launch.

Requirements

• This position is onsite in San Carlos, CA. This role is expected to work onsite 5 days a week during normal business hours.
• 5-10% travel may be required.
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience in Project Management with a focus on Product Development at a Biotechnology or Life Science organization is required
• Extensive knowledge of the product development process (PDP) and experience with implementing, participating, and actively contributing to the process
• Experience taking a product from concept to successful commercial launch
• Technical expertise in a cross-functional project integrating life sciences, software, hardware, assay, and consumables
• Experience at an early stage start-up
• Bachelor's degree in engineering or science field is required. Master's or PhD is a nice-to-have.
• PMP Certification, SAFe or equivalent Agile Certifications required
• Demonstrated experience owning or co-owning a commercial launch – not development delivery alone – including manufacturing scale-up, service and support readiness, and commercial enablement
• Experience working directly with Commercial, Marketing, Operations & Service functions, comfortable acting as the R&D interface to the commercial organization
• Working knowledge of design control, quality systems, and change control as they apply to commercial product release

Nautilus Team Culture

• We are determined to do whatever it takes to get our platform into the hands of researchers who will use it to upend the status quo in basic research and healthcare.
• We work on cross functional teams, wear many hats, take risks to work through uncertainty, enjoy working collaboratively on challenging problems, and celebrate one another's victories.
• We go above and beyond, but also strive to provide a supportive atmosphere of colleagues who are willing to lend a helping hand and make working at Nautilus not only fulfilling in its end goals, but enjoyable on a day-to-day basis.

Our Values

• Be Excellent
• Be a Good Human
• Catalyze Customer Success
• Dream Big
• Drive for Results
• Enjoy the Voyage
• Succeed as One Team