Program Officer
What this job does:
Shapes the strategic direction of scientific funding at a research funding organization such as NIH, NSF, Gates Foundation, HHMI, Wellcome Trust, CZI, or DARPA - evaluating grant proposals, identifying emerging research opportunities, and managing portfolios of funded projects. The core of this role is big-picture scientific judgment: reading across dozens to hundreds of proposals and publications to assess where a field is heading, deciding which research bets to fund, and designing new funding initiatives that catalyze progress in priority areas. Serves as a scientific field architect - identifying what is working, what is missing, and where strategic investment can accelerate discovery.
This job is similar to these lab/research tasks:
Conducting comprehensive literature reviews, identifying knowledge gaps, framing novel research questions, evaluating research quality across diverse methodologies, reviewing and critiquing scientific proposals
Typical starting salary range
$68k to $100k
Salary estimate represented as 25th to 75th percentile. Gathered from recent job postings, Glassdoor.com, and Salary.com
Daily task breakdown
- Scientific review and evaluation: reading grant proposals, assessing merit, reviewing progress reports (30%)
- Strategic portfolio management and field synthesis: analyzing gaps, monitoring trends, developing funding priorities and new program concepts (25%)
- Peer review coordination and management: organizing panels, recruiting reviewers (20%)
- Stakeholder engagement and community interaction: meeting PIs, conferences, advising applicants (15%)
- Other: administrative tasks, budget tracking, interagency coordination, compliance (10%)
Skills you'll use in this job:
Deep scientific expertise in one or more research domains; ability to evaluate research quality across diverse topics and methodologies; scientific synthesis and big-picture thinking; knowledge of the research funding landscape and peer review process; excellent communication; diplomacy and interpersonal skills for managing investigators and review panels; portfolio management; strategic planning; ability to identify emerging scientific opportunities; grants management systems familiarity; judgment and decision-making under uncertainty; ability to work across disciplines
Talk about these PhD skills in your resume and interview:
Talk about conducting comprehensive literature reviews, identifying knowledge gaps, and framing novel research questions - the exact skill set Program Officers use when evaluating whether a field is ready for new investment. Talk about scientific peer review experience and your ability to evaluate research quality across diverse topics.
Alternative job titles to search:
Program Director (NIH/NSF); Scientific Program Officer; Science Officer; Grants Program Officer; Program Manager (foundation); Portfolio Manager (research funding); Science Program Manager; Research Program Officer; Associate Program Officer; Health Scientist Administrator
*Note:
-Job titles are inconsistent between companies. Try various keywords.
-PhDs tend to undershoot seniority level. Target higher than you think.
