Technical Program Manager AI Research

Technical Program Manager – AI Research
Location: New York, NY — Hybrid, 3 days onsite preferred
Contract: 12 Months - W2
Bill Rate: $95 – $100/hour
Note: This is a W-2-only position. We do not offer visa sponsorship and cannot accept H-1B, F-1/STEM OPT, 1099, C2C, or C2H arrangements.

About the Role

We are seeking a Technical Program Manager – AI Research to support business-critical programs within an advanced AI research environment. This role will focus on AI compliance and review processes, helping research and engineering teams navigate requirements, approvals, risks, and dependencies needed to initiate and ship projects.

The ideal candidate brings 5+ years of Technical Program Management experience within a technology company, with direct experience in AI, privacy/compliance reviews, data annotation, risk management, or research operations. This person should be highly organized, comfortable operating in ambiguity, and able to influence cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority.

What You’ll Do

• Own AI Research Programs: Lead multiple concurrent compliance and review initiatives supporting frontier AI research, from requirements definition through approval and project launch.
• Drive Execution: Draft requirements, track daily progress, manage action items, identify dependencies, and proactively remove blockers to keep milestones on schedule.
• Coordinate Compliance Reviews: Partner with research, engineering, requesters, reviewers, and privacy stakeholders to clarify requirements and navigate approval workflows.
• Optimize Processes: Identify opportunities to streamline review and approval stages, document best practices, and improve operational efficiency across AI research workflows.
• Manage Stakeholders: Establish clear communication channels across technical and non-technical teams, build consensus, and maintain visibility into project status and dependencies.
• Report Program Health: Prepare recurring status reports covering milestones, accomplishments, risks, blockers, dependencies, and insights into the review process.
• Manage Risk: Identify potential compliance, operational, and timeline risks early; develop mitigation strategies and escalate issues when appropriate.
• Catalog & Analyze AI Assets: Research, catalog, annotate, and organize AI Research assets with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Analyze Data: Use Google Sheets/Excel and related tools to perform data exploration, ad-hoc analysis, tracking, and workflow optimization.
• Stay Current on AI: Maintain awareness of developments in Generative AI, AI research tooling, data workflows, and AI governance/compliance to improve program execution.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of Technical Program Management experience within a technology company.
• Direct experience with AI compliance, privacy/compliance reviews, or AI-related program operations is required.
• Experience working in Big Tech, frontier AI, or similarly complex technology environments strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing multiple concurrent technical programs, review processes, or complex operational workflows.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence, negotiate, communicate, and build consensus across engineering, research, privacy, and business teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience producing executive-ready status reports and program updates.
• Ability to operate independently, prioritize competing demands, and make progress in ambiguous and rapidly changing environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Advanced proficiency with Google Sheets/Excel, including data analysis, annotation, tracking, and workflow management.
• Proficiency with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, web browsers, and AI productivity tools.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Privacy, Compliance, AI Governance, Generative AI, Data Analytics, Data Annotation, Risk Management, or AI Research Operations.
• Experience working with frontier AI research or large-scale technology organizations.
• Hands-on experience conducting ad-hoc queries, data analysis, and research.
• Experience using AI agents, AI research tools, or AI-assisted productivity platforms.
• Experience with data collection, annotation, labeling, or dataset management.
• MBA, Master’s degree, or other advanced technical/business degree.
• PMP/PMI certification.

Why This Role Matters

You’ll play a central role in helping AI Research teams move complex initiatives through compliance and review processes efficiently and responsibly. The work sits at the intersection of AI research, technical program management, privacy/compliance, data operations, and cross-functional execution, making this an opportunity to influence how advanced AI projects progress from research concepts toward launch.