Product Manager, AI Platform & Partnerships

About Manifold Bio

Manifold Bio is a platform biotechnology company pioneering AI-guided protein design and massively multiplexed in vivo screening to unlock tissue-targeted medicines and organism-scale models of living systems. Using proprietary molecular barcoding technology, we screen hundreds of thousands of protein designs simultaneously in living systems, producing in vivo-validated datasets at a scale no one else can match. The datasets power our computational models, which leads to better drug designs, creating a flywheel that gets stronger with every campaign. Our team of protein engineers, biologists, and computational scientists works across this full stack to pursue programs both internally and with leading pharma companies.

Position Overview

Manifold Bio is seeking a Product Manager to serve as the internal product owner for our AI projects, leading the roadmap across key domains including protein design, foundation models, reasoning models, agents, and infrastructure. This role covers both internal product management and liaising with AI/tech partners. Internal responsibilities include interfacing with the AI team and R&D project managers to translate ambitious AI x biology ideas into shipped internal products and platform capabilities. External responsibilities include developing and nurturing relationships with external AI teams and partners, with an opportunity to flex into business development and strategic transactions. This role works closely with our co-founders, AI/ML leadership, and BD team to turn cutting-edge capabilities into durable platform assets.

Responsibilities

• Define the product vision, roadmap, and success metrics for Manifold’s AI platform capabilities, including protein design, foundation models, and agents.
• Translate internal R&D and AI x biology ideas into concrete requirements and run the operating cadences that drive decisions and accountability.
• Own Manifold's strategy for engaging the AI ecosystem; decide which partners to prioritize, what to build with each, and how to sequence engagements.
• Coordinate cross-functional execution across AI/ML, protein engineering, biology, and platform teams for partnerships and platform development.
• Source, qualify, and close new AI partnership opportunities, leading exploratory conversations through to signed scope.
• Own the quality of all external deliverables including reports, decks, and demos, and produce executive-ready memos to align internal stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• 2-5 years of product management, technical program management, alliance management, or BD experience, with at least part of that in AI/ML or computational product environments.
• Bachelor's degree in a technical field (CS, engineering, biology, or related); advanced degree a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to own complex, ambiguous strategic relationships and drive them to concrete value generating outcomes.
• Strong working knowledge of modern AI/ML concepts (foundation models, training and evaluation, agentic systems, scaling laws) and how they apply to scientific and industrial problems specific to drug discovery.
• Familiarity with biology, protein engineering, drug discovery, or another applied scientific domain.
• Exceptional written communication; ability to produce executive-ready memos, decks, and external deliverables independently.
• Track record of running cross-functional execution in matrixed organizations and shipping on aggressive timelines.
• Comfort operating in high-ambiguity, fast-evolving partnerships where the product itself is being defined as you go.
• Demonstrated handle of agentic coding skills; e.g. ability to rapidly run analyses / generate figures.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building or shipping products at a frontier AI lab, AI infrastructure company, or AI-first startup.
• Experience structuring partnership terms in collaboration with BD and legal (data rights, IP, joint roadmaps).
• Public writing, talks, or other evidence of unusually strong communication ability.
• Experience scaling a partnership function or building partnership operating processes from scratch.

If you’re excited to use unique protein technologies to shape an innovative drug development strategy, build meaningful industry partnerships, and contribute directly to our mission of advancing breakthrough treatments, please apply!