Program Manager, Early Stage Project

About The Team

We are an early stage geoscience AI team at X with a growing, interdisciplinary portfolio. To prove our path to the moon, we make early contact with the real world through both internal and external partnerships. Our project is focusing on de-risking technology, refining prototypes, running experiments with partners, and developing product prototypes and a business.

The Role

As a Program Manager, Early Stage Project, you are the heartbeat of our most critical initiatives. You don't just manage timelines; you build and integrate the systems that allow us to run experiments, engage with partners, and scale. This is a role for a strategic operator who thrives in ambiguity and anticipates risks before they become roadblocks. As the Program Manager, you will be the organizational backbone of our team.

How You Will Make 10x Impact

• Organization: Organize the team by coordinating workstreams, managing deadlines, driving team meetings and utilizing automation tools to reduce friction and increase velocity.
• Partnership: Cultivate strong day-to-day relationships and working norms with internal teams and external partners, driving alignment and clear communication to meet shared objectives.
• Communication: Ensure clear documentation and communication to share project progress, breakthroughs, insights, and outcomes.
• Performance: Define and track performance metrics and milestones to keep the team on track.
• Represent: Act as a proxy for the General Manager when needed, using judgment and discretion to unblock decisions, identify dependencies and potential failures and represent the team.

What You Should Have

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business, Management, or a technical field.
• 6+ years in high-growth tech, VC, or consulting (or 4 years with an advanced degree) with direct "0-to-1" startup experience.
• A "systems-first" mindset that prioritizes fixing underlying processes over surface-level symptoms.
• Expert proficiency in spreadsheets and analysis models to drive decision-making and project recovery.
• Mastery of modern PM stacks (Jira/Asana) and fluency in AI productivity tools.
• Demonstrated ability to understand complex technical concepts, systems, and challenges, and skill in distilling technical meetings into clear action plans.
• Experience initiating and managing strategic partnerships.

It Would Be Great If You Also Had

• Prior experience in R&D, advanced technology development, or rapid iteration environments where quick feedback loops and experimental methodologies are key.
• Experience defining, tracking, and utilizing metrics to drive project quality, evaluate impact, and inform strategic decisions.
• Proven track record in a Program Management or a related role.
• A strong product sensibility, using user needs ('what') to inform program strategy (‘how’) and delivery timelines ('when').

Key skills/competency

• Program Management
• Early Stage Development
• AI Geoscience
• Strategic Partnerships
• Systems Thinking
• Process Automation
• Project Metrics
• Communication Skills
• Jira/Asana
• 0-to-1 Startup Experience