Research Program Manager – Model Development

About the role

Research Program Managers at Reflection embed directly with pre‑training ML and data teams to accelerate frontier model development. They act as force multipliers, turning ambiguity into clear, coordinated action across research, engineering, and infrastructure.

Key responsibilities

• Embed within pre‑training teams to understand technical landscape, build trust, and identify high‑impact program opportunities.
• Drive end‑to‑end execution of cross‑team initiatives spanning data pipelines, model architecture, training runs, and evaluation.
• Coordinate operational rhythm: experiment prioritization, run scheduling, data readiness, and checkpoint handoffs.
• Provide deep technical insight to leadership, presenting actionable recommendations on trade‑offs.
• Build lightweight processes and coordination mechanisms that replace ad‑hoc communication with durable systems.
• Serve as connective tissue between pre‑training, mid‑training, post‑training, and infrastructure teams.

Required profile

• 7+ years of technical program management, research operations, or ML engineering experience.
• Strong technical depth to discuss model architecture, scaling laws, data pipelines, training dynamics, and optimizer behavior.
• Proven ability to embed in technical teams, earn trust, and influence senior staff through competence.
• Resourceful, high‑agency mindset with excellent stakeholder management in high‑stakes environments.
• Motivated to build program management from the ground up in a fast‑moving, small team.

Required skills

• Technical program management in ML‑heavy environments.
• Understanding of model architecture and scaling.
• Experience with data processing pipelines and training dynamics.
• Ability to assess optimizer behavior and compute trade‑offs.

What we offer

• Top‑tier compensation with salary and equity.
• Stock options for all contributors.
• Comprehensive health, dental, vision, and life coverage plus wellness allowance.
• Daily lunch and dinner provided on‑site.
• 22 weeks paid parental leave for all new parents.
• Unlimited PTO in the U.S. (30 days in the U.K.).
• Visa sponsorship and immigration support.
• Regular team‑building off‑sites and celebrations.