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ARPA-H's primary work is directed by our Program Managers. These are leaders from academia, industry, and government who are able to develop the best ideas in biomedicine and turn them into working solutions. They create programs focused on achieving monumental healthcare and technological advances.
Do you have a groundbreaking idea to solve the hardest problems in health? We’re looking for the boldest minds to build the future of American healthcare.
Rational Risk Takers
A successful Program Manager combines serious imagination, unmatched drive, and proven expertise. These are individuals hungry to make a dent in the universe. They identify challenging problems and then turn them into breakthrough healthcare solutions. Program Manager candidates could be medical doctors, senior scientists, research engineers, or founders with technical backgrounds spanning medicine, biotechnology, data science, or other relevant disciplines.
They bring the vision. ARPA-H brings the architecture to get it done. Our Program Managers leave having changed what medicine can do.
More important than a particular degree is a candidate’s track record. We look for individuals comfortable with overcoming hurdles, leading teams, managing budgets, learning new topics on-the-job, and breaking down silos. ARPA-H programs are meant to tackle issues other government or private funders are unwilling to approach. A strong Program Manager applicant should be willing to take that risk head-on, with the confidence of rigorous data to back them up.
Ideal candidates will find and propose truly “ARPA-Hard” problems that others would judge as too complex, intractable, or spanning too many sectors. Sometimes, those ideas might sound like science fiction—but now might just be the right time for an innovative solution to succeed. A strong applicant will be able to succinctly outline the novelty of their proposed solution, the plan for risk management, a realistic budget, and benchmarks for determining success. We look for ideas that are truly revolutionary, not incremental. The average Program Manager oversees a portfolio of hundreds of millions of dollars. Importantly, ARPA-H is committed to avoiding duplication of funding already provided by other federal agencies or well-supported by the private sector.
A Day in the Life
With every week that passes, 1% of a Program Manager’s time at the agency is gone. These term-limited positions operate at an aggressive pace, as is standard for the ARPA-H model. A three-year term, renewable for up to three additional years, guarantees fresh incoming perspectives and sustained momentum. The framework of questions used in the Program Manager application, where candidates outline a health problem and their proposed solution, becomes the groundwork for the Program Manager’s first program.
If the Program Manager is hired, their pitch receives agency staffing and support for further development. A Program Manager will lead a team of experts to conduct market intelligence research and develop target milestones for technical success. That team will help to manage contracts, budgets, messaging, and engagement with the healthcare ecosystem. The agency Director signs off on every launched program concept. Remember, ARPA-H does not have its own intramural research labs. Rather, Program Managers are actively involved in the direct oversight of the teams selected to turn their programs into reality.
Program Managers also regularly engage with other stakeholders. The goal isn’t just to find consensus for a program idea, it’s to listen to the naysayers and to deeply explore the edge cases that will make a program concept as durable as can be. This role is as much about curiosity, connection, and discovery as it is about leadership. Forging relationships across private and public sectors, including government agencies and nonprofit organizations, can then also facilitate the commercialization and real-world adoption of program results.
In addition to developing and managing additional programs during their tenure, a Program Manager will also oversee a risk-balanced portfolio of smaller projects. Every Program Manager is actively involved in reviewing proposals across offices, evaluating research performer progress, and speaking on behalf of the agency. Because a program may run for as long as six years, a new Program Manager may also inherit portfolio efforts from a departing counterpart. ARPA-H operates on this premise of rapid iteration to achieve significant strides in healthcare progress.
How to Apply
If you have a big idea and are ready to launch your own ARPA-H portfolio, check out the answers to frequently asked questions online, a full job description, and helpful guidance on the application. Then, get ready to submit your package. Materials are reviewed on a rolling basis, and U.S. citizenship (or dual citizenship) is required for employment.
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