Senior Project Manager

Plasmidsaurus
San Francisco, CA
Hybrid

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have experience building project management systems in genomics or sequencing and thrive in a collaborative, cross-functional environment.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with experience building project management systems in genomics or sequencing
    — “experience in genomics, sequencing, life science research tools or services”
  • Individuals who can align cross-functional teams without relying on authority
    — “create alignment and accountability across teams without relying on authority”

Things to consider

  • The role requires creating systems from scratch, not managing existing ones
    — “You’ll have the opportunity to establish how project management works at Plasmidsaurus”
  • This is a high-impact role that demands visibility and coordination across departments
    — “Create the coordination and visibility needed to increase project velocity”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience in building or improving project management systems from scratch
    — “demonstrated success building or materially improving project management systems”
  • Emphasize your ability to work with scientific and technical teams effectively
    — “understand technical and scientific work well enough to identify dependencies”
  • Showcase your skills in system integration with tools like Notion and Slack
    — “Integrate project management with the tools teams already use, including Notion, Linear, and Slack.”
  • Demonstrate your ability to simplify complex workflows using automation and AI
    — “use AI, automation, integrations, and other tools to simplify workflows”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • build a project management system
  • drive strategic projects
  • create portfolio visibility
Typical background
experience in project management

Skills & requirements

Required

Project ManagementProcess ImprovementTeam LeadershipStrategic PlanningCommunication

Preferred

NotionLinearSlack

Stack & domain

Project ManagementNotionLinearSlackLeadershipStrategic PlanningProblem-solvingProduct DevelopmentProduct Improvement

About the role

Original posting from Plasmidsaurus via Ashby

About Plasmidsaurus

Plasmidsaurus is on a mission to accelerate new cures and promote a healthier planet by unlocking a new level of productivity for scientists. Our sequencing services are used daily by thousands of innovators, including Nobel laureates, Fortune 100 pharma, and over 70,000 scientists.

We began by revolutionizing plasmid sequencing, making it exponentially cheaper and faster, with innovative sequencing technologies and a global network of laboratories that turn samples into answers in hours, not weeks.

Now we are expanding that same disruptive model across all of genomics. With the launch of our new RNA-seq service, we are taking a bold step toward our vision to sequence everything, providing scientists everywhere with faster, simpler, and more affordable access to the data that powers discovery.

Every team member at Plasmidsaurus plays a crucial role in driving the future of biotech research. Together, we are building the world’s most efficient sequencing engine that operates overnight, scales globally, and helps scientists make breakthroughs faster than ever before.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Plasmidsaurus is looking for a Senior Project Manager to build a project management function to help us execute more high-impact, cross-functional work, faster.

You’ll turn our existing patchwork of project and task management processes into an effective, practical system for managing new product development and product improvement projects from inception through launch, and monitoring overall health and velocity our project portfolio.

This is a builder role. You won’t be stepping into an established PMO or simply managing a portfolio of existing project plans. You’ll have the opportunity to establish how project management works at Plasmidsaurus, build the system that help us prioritize our most important work, and you’ll be the driving force behind high impact projects across the company.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

BUILD THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

  • Operationalize our existing product development and product commercialization processes into a standardized project management system that teams actually use.
  • Establish practical standards for project planning, milestones, ownership, dependencies, risks, decisions, resources, and reporting.
  • Integrate project management with the tools teams already use, including Notion, Linear, and Slack.
  • Train and support project and functional leads in using the system effectively.
  • Continuously improve the system based on what works, what doesn’t, and what teams need as we scale.

DRIVE STRATEGIC PROJECTS

  • Lead complex, cross-functional product development and product improvement projects from inception through launch.
  • Establish clear plans, owners, milestones, dependencies, and committed dates.
  • Keep teams aligned and accountable, identifying risks, blockers and constraints early and driving them toward resolution.
  • Create the coordination and visibility needed to increase project velocity and improve performance against launch commitments.

CREATE PORTFOLIO VISIBILITY

  • Build a clear portfolio view of project health, priorities, resources, dependencies, and constraints that allows teams to make better decisions about what work gets done, when, and with what resources
  • Help teams and leadership understand how new projects and changing priorities affect work already in flight.
  • Improve our ability to forecast timelines, understand capacity, and make informed decisions about what we take on.
  • Use project and portfolio data to identify opportunities to increase the amount of work we can successfully execute.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN YOUR FIRST 90 DAYS

You’ve built a project management system that teams across Product, Engineering, R&D, Production, Operations and Marketing use to plan and execute their work.

You’ve taken an active role in our highest-priority cross-functional projects, creating clearer ownership, timelines, dependencies, decisions, and visibility into blockers.

Leadership has a clearer view of the project portfolio and the information needed to make better decisions about priorities, resources, capacity, and new work.

WHO YOU ARE

  • A builder. You create systems that work in practice, test them, and improve them rather than defaulting to process for process’s sake.
  • A systems thinker. You understand how people, processes, resources, and decisions interact and optimize for the whole rather than one piece.
  • A leader. You can create alignment and accountability across teams without relying on authority and can mentor other project leaders on best practices and how to use the system you build.
  • An efficient problem solver. You identify what matters most while avoiding lower priority distractions, get to the root of ambiguous problems, evaluate tradeoffs, and find practical ways forward even when information or resources are limited.
  • A clear communicator. You turn complexity into information people can understand and use to make decisions.
  • Technically fluent. You understand technical and scientific work well enough to identify dependencies, ask useful questions, and work credibly with R&D and Engineering teams.
  • Adept with technology. You use AI, automation, integrations, and other tools to simplify workflows, connect systems, and reduce project-management overhead.

YOUR BACKGROUND

Educational Requirements and Certifications

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required.
  • PMP preferred. Other relevant project management training or certification considered.

Experience

  • Ideally, you have experience in genomics, sequencing, life science research tools or services, or you’ve worked in a closely related industry where scientific, technical, and operational teams work together to develop and launch products or services.
  • You have demonstrated success building or materially improving project management systems, not simply operating within an established PMO.
  • You have experience leading complex, cross-functional technical projects from inception through launch, ideally across Product, Engineering, R&D, and Marketing.
  • You’ve successfully created portfolio-level visibility across projects, resources, dependencies, timelines, and project health.
  • You’ve been able to implement project management tools and workflows across teams that use different systems. You have familiarity with Notion, Linear, Slack, or comparable platforms.
  • You been successful in fast-growing, dynamic environments where work and priorities evolve quickly, and teams operate with a high degree of autonomy.

We encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't perfectly align with the job description as we seek out diverse and creative perspectives. Team members who love to learn and collaborate in an inclusive environment will thrive with us. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need additional accommodations to feel comfortable during your interview process, please let us know at careers@plasmidsaurus.com. careers@plasmidsaurus.com

Source: Plasmidsaurus careers (Ashby)

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