RTI International

Design and deploy AI-powered cloud-native applications integrated with research infrastructure. | Bachelor's degree with 5+ years experience in cloud-native development and 2+ years Python/JS programming, plus AI/LLM deployment experience. | Why RTI RTI International is an independent, scientific research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Our vision is to address the world's most critical problems with technical and science-based solutions in pursuit of a better future. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach—one that integrates expertise across social, statistical, data, and laboratory sciences, engineering, and other technical disciplines to solve the world’s most challenging problems.We believe in the promise of science and technical solutions, and we push ourselves every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities, and businesses in the US and around the world. If you are looking for the opportunity to make a real difference, RTI is the place for you. About the Hiring Group You are: A Software Engineer with experience building cloud-native applications and applying AI technologies to practical business, research or client needs. You have contributed to systems beyond the proof-of-concept stage and understand the engineering work required to make AI-enabled applications reliable, secure and maintainable. You are comfortable working through ambiguity, explaining technical trade-offs and collaborating with researchers, data scientists and software engineers. You can distinguish between a compelling demonstration and a solution that is ready to support real users. You have personally contributed to building and deploying AI-enabled applications, not just experimenting with models or using AI tools as an end user. You can clearly explain the systems you worked on, your individual contribution, the technical decisions you made, and how you evaluated whether the solution worked. What You'll Do The Work: You will work closely with internal teams and clients to contribute to the design, development, and deployment of AI‑powered solutions across sectors such as health, energy, and education. You will help translate business and research needs into technical implementations, build and refine multi-step AI workflows, and support the delivery of scalable, secure systems in enterprise environments. You will contribute to new systems and enhancements that integrate with existing infrastructure, collaborating with colleagues and partners to deliver practical solutions that can be tested, deployed, maintained, and supported over time. In this role, you will support the development of AI systems and enhancements that integrate with RTI’s research infrastructure—including survey data collection platforms, systematic review pipelines, data quality assurance systems, and proposal development workflows—working closely with data scientists, domain researchers, and software developers to ensure solutions meet the rigor expected in federally regulated and research‑driven environments. This position offers flexibility to be based at our headquarters in Research Triangle Park, NC, or to work remotely. As part of the interview process, candidates will be asked to discuss a system they personally helped build. The discussion will cover their individual contribution, key technical decisions, challenges encountered, evaluation approach and results. Candidates will also participate in a job-related technical discussion and exercise. Responsibilities: AI System & Agent Development. Design, build, and maintain AI‑enabled systems and multi-stepworkflows, including retrieval, tool use, orchestration, and iterative improvement, with a focus on production readiness and maintainability. Enterprise & Research Infrastructure Integration. Contribute to AI systems that integrate with and extend RTI’s existing platforms—such as survey data collection, systematic review pipelines, data quality assurance tools, and proposal workflows—working within established architectures and constraints. Cloud‑Native Engineering. Develop and deploy cloud‑native services using APIs, containers, and modern CI/CD practices, contributing to scalable, secure, and cost‑aware AI solutions in enterprise environments. Workflow Translation & Automation. Translate research, business, and client needs into working AI applications that automate or augment workflows, collaborating closely with data scientists, researchers, and software engineers to ensure practical value and methodological rigor. Evaluation, Quality, and Reliability. Contribute to testing and evaluation approaches for AI systems, including performance monitoring, reliability checks, and cost/quality trade‑off analysis appropriate for federally regulated and research‑driven contexts. Client & Cross‑Team Collaboration. Participate in technical discussions, workshops, and prototype development with internal teams and clients, helping gather requirements, demonstrate solutions, and iterate based on stakeholder feedback. Reusable Patterns & Knowledge Sharing. Document systems, contribute to reusable components and shared abstractions, and support internal knowledge sharing to strengthen RTI’s AI engineering practices over time. What You'll Need Minimum Qualifications: Master's degree and at least three years of relevant work experience building cloud-native applications such as APIs, microservices, containerization, or serverless functions; OR a Bachelor's degree with at least five years of relevant experience building cloud-native applications such as APIs, microservices, containerization, or serverless functions. At least two years of programming experience in Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, or similar languages commonly used in AI and backend development. Demonstrated experience contributing to the development and deployment of AI- or LLM-based systems, including retrieval pipelines, prompt design, agentic workflows, or workflow automation. Experience integrating commercial or open-source AI models into a software application through APIs or model-serving infrastructure. Experience developing systems that work with sensitive, restricted, or confidential data, and understanding how data access, privacy, and compliance requirements influence system design. Proficiency with shared version control (e.g., Git) and collaborative software development workflows. Familiarity with modern deployment and delivery practices, including CI/CD pipelines, containers, and basic infrastructure-as-code concepts. Experience working in cross-functional, team-based environments, including participating in technical discussions, reviews, and iterative delivery. Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain AI system behavior, trade-offs, and limitations to non-technical researchers, clients, and federal stakeholders. To qualify, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and should not require, now or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B visa status, etc.). Preferred Qualifications: Experience working with AI orchestration frameworks such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar tools. Exposure to AI orchestration or workflow frameworks, or experience building applications that coordinate multiple models, tools, or processing steps. Experience working with one or more cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP. Experience working with relational and cloud-native database systems (e.g., PostgreSQL, SQL-based systems). Experience supporting projects in enterprise, regulated, or research-driven environments. Experience contributing to proposals, technical writing, or business development efforts in a research or federal contracting context. Proficiency with Unix/Linux command-line environments. Interest in growing into more senior AI engineering or technical leadership roles within a collaborative, research‑driven environment. EEO & Pay Equity Statements For San Francisco, CA USA Job Postings Only: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Further information is available here. RTI accepts applications to our job openings from candidates with criminal histories or conviction records in accordance with all applicable laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. For Applicants in Massachusetts Only: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below. Our pay ranges represent national averages and may vary by location as a geographic differential may be applied to some locations within the United States. RTI considers multiple factors when making an offer including, for example: established salary range, internal budget, business needs, and education and years of work experience possessed by the applicant. Further, salary is merely one element to our offer. At RTI, we demonstrate our commitment to rewarding individual and team achievement through a total rewards package. This package includes (among other things) a competitive base salary, a generous paid time off policy, merit based annual increases, bonus opportunities and a robust recognition program. Other benefits include a competitive range of insurance plans (including health, dental, life, and short-term and long-term disability), access to a retirement savings program such as a 401(k) plan, paid parental leave for all parents, financial assistance with adoption expenses or infertility treatments, financial reimbursement for education and developmental opportunities, an employee assistance program, and numerous other offerings to support a healthy work-life balance. Hiring Salary Range $122,000 - $150,000

Provide operational leadership and oversight for external site management activities across multiple clinical trial protocols. | Requires extensive experience managing external clinical trial sites, knowledge of GCP and regulatory requirements, and leadership in NIH-funded trials. | About the Hiring Group RTI International, an independent nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition, is seeking a Lead External Site Manager to support a large, NIH-funded Long COVID clinical trials program. This role will partner closely with the Site Managing Director to oversee external site management activities and support a team of Site Managers across a national network of clinical trial sites. The successful candidate will provide operational leadership, oversight, and hands-on support to ensure high-quality, compliant, and timely execution of site-level activities across multiple protocols. What You'll Do Essential Duties: Program & Site Operations Leadership • Oversee and support external site management functions in collaboration with the Site Managing Director, ensuring consistent execution of site management activities across the portfolio of trials. • Provide day-to-day operational leadership and support for site management team staff, including workload planning/assignments, issue resolution, and implementation of standardized processes. • Support site identification, feasibility/qualification, start-up, activation, maintenance, and close-out activities, with respect to coordination of associated timelines and deliverables. • Serve as an escalation point for external site-related operational challenges and partner accordingly with cross-functional teams to implement effective solutions. Site Contracting & Regulatory Coordination • Support and coordinate external site contracting activities in collaboration with the contracts and finance team, including resolving site-level issues that may impact start up timelines. • Oversee and support site management team staff in the collection, review, and maintenance of essential regulatory documents (e.g., CVs, medical licenses, training documentation, FDA Forms 1572, financial disclosures) from external sites in accordance with protocol, GCP, and NIH requirements. • Partner with regulatory affairs and central IRB teams to help oversee external site IRB submissions, approvals, continuing reviews, and amendments. • Ensure regulatory readiness of external sites prior to activation and throughout trial conduct. Vendor & CRO Oversight • Serve as a primary operational interface with key external vendors supporting site management activities, including CROs or vendors responsible for site monitoring and oversight, patient recruitment, and statistical analysis and data management (e.g., EDC vendor, etc.). • Coordinate closely with monitoring vendors to align site management and monitoring activities, address findings, and support timely issue resolution. • Review and track vendor deliverables related to site performance, monitoring outcomes, and compliance. • Escalate external site- or vendor-related risks and collaborate with internal teams and vendors to implement corrective and preventive actions. • Support vendor onboarding, communication workflows, and ongoing collaboration to ensure efficient integration with site operations and relevant cross-functional teams. Client & Stakeholder Support • Support interactions with NIH program staff and external stakeholders related to site operations, contracting progress, regulatory compliance, and vendor-supported activities. • Contribute to preparation for NIH meetings, reviews, reporting, and audits. • Ensure clear, consistent communication between program leadership, vendors, and participating sites. Quality, Performance & Risk Management • Monitor external site performance metrics, including enrollment, retention, protocol adherence, data quality, and regulatory compliance. • Review monitoring trends and findings in partnership with the site monitoring CRO to readily identify systemic issues. • Support development and implementation of corrective and preventive actions to address both external site- and vendor-related risks. • Promote continuous process improvement and standardization across the site network. Cross-Functional Team Collaboration • Work closely with clinical operations (protocol management), regulatory, central IRB, statistics and data management, technology infrastructure and contracts and finance teams to ensure integrated external site support. • Contribute to development and refinement of SOPs, templates, tools, and training materials related to site management, regulatory compliance, and vendor coordination. • Support onboarding, mentoring, and professional development of site management staff. Programmatic Support • Assist in planning for onboarding of new sites and support for additional protocols as the program evolves. • Provide operational input into resource planning, timelines, and budgeting related to site management, regulatory activities, and other functions supported by external vendors. • Ensure continuity of leadership and coverage in partnership with the Site Managing Director. What You'll Need Required • Bachelor's Degree and 12 years of experience, Master's degree and 10 years of experience, PhD and 6 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience. • Direct experience managing several external sites on IND or regulated clinical trials. • Experience with NIH-funded or government-sponsored trials. • Strong knowledge of GCP and regulatory requirements. • Prior experience as a Lead Site Manager, Lead CRA, or equivalent position title • Ability to work in a matrixed environment. • To qualify, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and should not require, now or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B visa status, etc). Preferred • Familiarity with Long COVID or chronic disease research. • Experience with site performance metrics. • Relevant clinical research certifications (e.g., CCRA, CCRP) are preferred but not required. • Proven experience managing site start-up, enrollment, and follow up for Phase I-IV clinical trials across multiple therapeutic areas. • Knowledge of regulatory requirements (FDA, EMA, ICH-GCP) and experience navigating complex regulatory and ethical processes for clinical trial start-up. • Prior experience managing or leading a team and providing mentorship and training to junior colleagues is highly desired. #LI-KV1 Hiring Salary Range $139,000 - $170,000

Manage and improve daily operations and cross-functional projects to support commercial growth and business development processes. | Bachelor's or Master's degree with 6+ years relevant experience, 4+ years operations management, PMP certification preferred, strong communication and CRM skills. | About the Hiring Group The role falls within the Growth Unit, which manages how RTI pursues, wins, and grows our project portfolio across U.S., state, local, and foreign governments, foundations, and the commercial sector in collaboration with technical staff across the organization. What You'll Do RTI is recruiting for an experienced Operations Manager for our recently launched Commercial Growth Organization (CGO). The primary focus of this role is to support the smooth operation of designated core processes daily while coordinating a changing set of projects and initiatives, which may originate within or outside the CGO. As the CGO transitions from "start up" to "scale up" mode, the Operations Manager will play an important role in supporting daily operations while contributing to the identification, design and implementation of process improvements to enhance efficiency and productivity. This role offers the opportunity to apply capabilities in operations management, project planning, cross-functional coordination, and organizational communications to make a meaningful contribution to the success of our fast-growing Commercial Growth business. An exciting aspect of this position is the range of interaction involved, both within and outside the CGO team. You will work most closely with other members of the Commercial Business Development (BD) Enablement team, which is responsible for managing the core processes within the Commercial Business Development lifecycle. In addition, you will regularly interface with our Commercial Sector Leaders and Account Executives, representatives from our Public Growth team and our technical Solutions teams, and with other corporate functions such as Finance, Marketing, Corporate Communications, IT, and HR. This position is open to remote candidates as well as those who would prefer to be hybrid or on-site at our Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina campus. This role reports to the Head of Commercial Business Development. Detailed responsibilities for this position include: • Monitor the effectiveness of CGO operations; capture issues and risks; and escalate recommendations for resolutions and improvements. Coordinate the development and refinement of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). • Provide program/project coordination for both CGO-led and interdepartmental initiatives, including, but not limited to:• Continuous improvement of core CGO processes. • Systems updates and implementations. • Training, communications, and change management initiatives. • Cross-team coordination of CGO's periodic planning efforts and cyclical activities (e.g., sector strategy updates, and key account planning and management, etc.). • CGO planning and implementation of projects and initiatives originating from Corporate or other departments. • Track and report on activities, deliverables and milestones for both CGO-led and interdepartmental projects and initiatives. Lead or coordinate selected priority CGO projects, as determined by CGO leadership. • Coordinate and support the process for reporting progress to RTI leadership and the development of executive presentations and organizational updates. Coordinate the synthesis of inputs to presentations and other communications documents. • Ensure standardization and continuous improvement of the processes for document management of MSAs, proposals, and SOWs. • Lead Salesforce maintenance and updates for the CGO. • Assist with financial and operational data analysis and reporting activities. • Liaise with business partners from other functional areas and departments to ensure coordinated and aligned cross-functional operations. • Provide day-to-day guidance and support to the CGO Operations Coordinator for assigned tasks, such as Sharepoint and portal management, and various Finance and Procurement processing activities. • Support the triage of inbound leads from potential clients. What You'll Need Required Minimum Qualifications and Experience: • Bachelor's Degree and at least 8 years of relevant professional experience, or a Master's degree and at least 6 years of relevant experience. • At least 4 years' demonstrable experience in an operations management role, or similar. • To qualify, applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and should not require, now or in the future, sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B visa status, etc.). Preferred Qualifications and Experience: • Prior commercial (for-profit) sector experience. • Experience with Business Development operations within the commercial sector (i.e., B2B sales). • Program/Project Management certification, such as Project Management Professional (PMP) or Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM). • Experience in process improvement and/or change management. Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: • Strong familiarity with business development processes and procedures. • Must have strong verbal and written communication skills, highly professional presence, and ability to interact with stakeholders from across RTI. • Excellent knowledge of MS Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, Sharepoint. • Excellent knowledge and experience with CRM software, preferably Salesforce. • Demonstrated skills and expertise in program/project management. #LI-EP1 Hiring Salary Range $128K - $158K