Program Director
In this role, you'll own a major piece of IAA's core program—identifying promising technologies, understanding what's standing in the way of their development and adoption, and then building the relationships and executing the interventions needed to move them forward. Think of it as a DARPA program manager model applied to animal welfare: you'll have significant autonomy to shape your portfolio, place bets on promising technologies, and drive them toward real-world impact.
About the role
- Full-time
- US applicants only
- Remote
Key responsibilities
- Build and maintain relationships with key players in your focus area—researchers, companies, investors, industry groups, and other stakeholders—to stay close to the frontier and identify opportunities for impact.
- Conduct deep research into a key animal health or welfare technology area, identifying gaps, bottlenecks, and opportunities. Leverage AI tools to accelerate and deepen this work.
- Develop and execute interventions to fill gaps or accelerate progress—such as research grants, competitions, investments, market shaping initiatives, or other approaches you identify as high-impact.
- Directly support grantees and partners, helping them collaborate and progress toward key technological milestones.
- Identify and cultivate new partnerships, funding opportunities, and industry collaborations that can amplify IAA's programmatic work.
About you
- You are deeply aligned with our mission to improve animal health and welfare through technology.
- You understand and buy into our unique theory of change, and are excited by the opportunity to push it forward.
- You are a creative problem solver.
- You can quickly and critically absorb new information about a novel field.
- You have a track record of stellar achievement in any field, especially with a research or entrepreneurial focus.
- You are excited to work in an early-stage startup nonprofit environment. This means:
- You have an entrepreneurial drive, are ambitious and anti-complacent.
- You’re comfortable navigating ambiguity and creating structure from scratch.
- You’re eager to jump into whatever task is needed—even if it’s tedious, unglamorous, or outside your job description.
- You are comfortable with repeatedly failing, learning, and adjusting (then failing again).
If you’re interested, please send a resume and a short personal essay (<1 page) to careers@animalinnovation.org. In your personal essay, be sure to mention your relationship to our mission, and why you want to work at Innovate Animal Ag in this specific role.
Innovate Animal Ag is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply—if you're excited about this role but aren't sure you meet every qualification, we'd still love to hear from you.
