Technical Project Manager - EPFL AI Center and Swiss National AI Institute

Are you an experienced technical project manager with a strong background in AI, machine learning, or large-scale research engineering? Do you excel at coordinating complex, fast-moving technical programs and ensuring teams deliver on ambitious milestones? Are you motivated to help EPFL drive the next generation of sovereign, open, and world-class LLMs?
We are looking for a Technical Program Manager who thrives at the intersection of research and engineering and who can keep large, complex LLM development efforts aligned, well-scoped, and on track.
You will coordinate model development across data, training, evaluation, and infrastructure teams, working closely with AI researchers & engineers at EPFL, ETH Zurich, CSCS and other leading AI institutions in Switzerland. This role is central to the Swiss AI Inititiative's flagship project, Apertus, and will influence the direction, execution, and impact of a major scientific initiative.

• Define and maintain program structure for multi-stage LLM development cycles (data → training → eval → release).
• Track resource usage, compute allocation, and experiment timelines.
• Run technical syncs, drive cross-team alignment, and ensure timely resolution of blockers.
• Track dependencies between teams, compute resources, and deliverables.
• Manage risks proactively, adjusting scope and schedules based on engineering realities.
• Coordinate with compute partners (CSCS), academic labs, industry partners, research engineers, and student projects
• Own documentation, reporting, and program visibility

• Background in ML/AI, familiarity with LLM development.
• Demonstrated ability to understand the components of LLM development (e.g., data curation, model training, evaluation, compute workflows), and to interface effectively with both researchers and engineers.
• Experience as a TPM, project manager, engineering manager, or ML product owner, coordinating software/ML projects with multiple technical stakeholders
• Experience with research codebases and ML workflows (SLURM clusters, distributed training, experiment tracking, data versioning)
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams in parallel and thrive in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.
• Exceptional communication skills and structured thinking.

• A dynamic and cosmopolitan work environment in a multidisciplinary institution.
• Competitive salary, remote working may be possible for a portion of the time.
• The opportunity of continuous training and development according to the requirements of the function.

Contract Start Date : 01/01/2026

Activity Rate : 100,00

Contract Type: CDD

Duration: one year renewable

Reference: 1910