Head of Engineering & Projects

Starting compensation: $145,000 to $185,000

Work location: On-site in Cambridge, MA (Hybrid flexibility for exceptional candidates)
About SecureBio Detection The next pandemic does not need to look like the last one. Advances in biotechnology are lowering the barriers to engineering dangerous pathogens, and SecureBio Detection exists to make sure detection and response systems are ready in time. Our Detection team runs one of the world’s largest metagenomic biosurveillance networks, sequencing wastewater and nasal swab samples daily to catch emerging pathogens before they reach outbreak scale. Every detection signal our computational team eventually produces starts with a physical sample coming through a partnership, being processed in our lab, and being handed off for analysis.
About the Team Detection is organised around the flow of a sample: from partnerships, through the lab, through computational processing, and out to reporting and stakeholders. The Project Manager sits inside the Partnerships function but works across all three, providing the connective tissue between them. It’s a role that touches every part of the pipeline.
About the Role We’re hiring a Project Manager to own the execution of Detection’s largest and most consequential program to date. Reporting to the Head of Partnerships, you’ll be responsible for program execution across technical implementation, operations and logistics, compliance, and reporting, and for building and running the workplan and deployment plan that gets this program to scale-up.
The most valuable thing you’ll do is forecasting. What’s coming in, when, and what the team needs to have in place to be ready for it. You’ll be the person keeping a clear-eyed view of the road ahead, checking assumptions, making sure buffers are in the right places, and giving the lab and computational teams the tools and heads-up they need to plan well.
How you’ll spend your time You’ll build and own the workplan and deployment plan for the program’s scale-up, spanning partnerships, lab, and computational activities, and keep both moving as the program evolves.

You’ll forecast what’s coming: what samples are arriving when, what capacity the lab needs, what the computational team needs to be ready for, and what buffers need to exist so nothing slips through the cracks.

You’ll check in weekly across each team, understand what’s actually happening (not just what’s being reported), and translate that into a clear, honest picture of where the program stands.

You’ll spot problems early and flag them before they cascade into delays elsewhere, particularly at the junctions where the lab and computational teams hand work between them.

You’ll set up the program tracking systems and reporting cadences the programme needs, from scratch. The lab has its own tools for its own work, but nothing pulls the programme together end-to-end. You’ll build that.

You’ll take on a smaller second project alongside the flagship one, largely as a way to get familiar with how SecureBio Detection operates before the main programme takes over most of your week.

You’ll own the compliance and reporting work: quarterly funder reports, tracking deliverables against the grant, and making sure nothing gets missed or scrambled together the week it’s due.

You’ll take work off the plates of the senior people currently holding this together informally, and become the person leadership trusts to give them a straight, clear answer on where things stand.
What great looks like The programme is running properly. People know what they’re accountable for, and nobody finds out about a delay after it’s already caused a mess somewhere else, because you’ve already flagged it.

The lab and computational teams have a clear, forward-looking view of what’s coming, and the buffers, capacity, and preparation they need to receive it well.

Leadership has stopped chasing status updates because you’re already ahead of them with the picture.

You’ve built a simple tracking system the team actually uses, not because someone told you to, but because you saw the gap and filled it.

Funders are receiving clear, well-prepared reports on time.
What Kinds of Things We’re Most Interested In You Having 5+ years in project or programme management, ideally in a technical or mission-driven environment. Biotech, life sciences, public health, or research all fit well.

A track record of running programmes that involve both scientific and operational people, and keeping both sides moving together.

Real experience with grants or contracts: tracking budgets, deliverables, and reporting deadlines against what was promised.

Comfort working directly with senior leadership on programmes that evolve as they run.

Strong ability to take in a lot of moving pieces, make sense of them, and know when something needs pushing. This is the core skill.

Excellent written and verbal communication. You need to turn a complicated, messy programme into something people can actually act on.

Genuine self-direction and organisational skill. Nobody will be telling you what to prioritise every day.
Preferred A PMP or similar project management certification.

Experience building tracking systems and operational processes from scratch in a small, growing organisation.

Some background in biology, infectious disease, or public health.

Experience with partner relationships, fundraising, or business development.

A degree in business, life sciences, or something related.
Logistics and benefits This is a full-time in-person role located in our Cambridge, MA office. For exceptional candidates, there may be flexibility on hybrid work.
Our employee benefits reflect our belief in investing to build the strongest possible team, in which everyone receives the trust and support they need to excel. Our benefits package includes:
Flexible work hours; unlimited paid time off (PTO) for all employees; and minimum 12 weeks fully-paid parental leave.
401(k) Employer 401(k) match up to 4% of total salary.
Relocation & commuter support Free commuter benefits up to $250/month, plus a generous relocation allowance for employees who move to the Boston area.
Referral bonus We offer a referral bonus of up to $5,000 to individuals who refer successful candidates for this position:
To receive these bonuses, we must reasonably believe that you were responsible for referring the candidate to us (e.g.due to you introducing them to us when we didn’t previously know them, or them mentioning you on their application as the reason they heard about the position).
If you refer a candidate that we invite to an in-person work trial, you will receive $1,000;

If the candidate accepts a job offer from us, you will receive a further $4,000, for a total of $4,000;

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