26WD99517
Autodesk Research is hiring a Senior Research Program Manager to lead a portfolio of forward-looking construction research programs. You will sit at the intersection of research strategy, construction domain expertise, AI-enabled workflows, and cross-functional program execution — helping teams move from ambiguous opportunity areas to structured plans, measurable progress, and strategic impact.
Autodesk Research explores advances that may shape products and customer workflows five to ten years out, investigating how intelligent, agentic, and AI-driven systems can transform how ideas move from concept to reality. This is not a traditional Technical Program Manager role. Research Program Managers here are horizontally focused connectors: they organize programs, manage ambiguity, coordinate stakeholders, and link research work to Autodesk outcomes.
Lead program management for construction research initiative
Manage a program spanning multiple related projects, experiments, prototypes, and partnerships across complex, extended timelines.
Build and maintain integrated program plans across workstreams, defining scope, objectives, milestones, dependencies, and owners
Align the portfolio with Research priorities, Autodesk’s long-term construction vision, available capacity, and strategic outcomes
Help teams prioritize when opportunities compete for attention, staffing, or funding
Coordinate across researchers, engineers, designers, product teams, external partners, and leadership
Manage the research lifecycle
Help teams move through opportunity framing, discovery, experimentation, validation, and transition — keeping work visible and actionable without forcing it into a rigid delivery model.
Establish lightweight governance for planning, reviews, decisions, and risk tracking
Ensure research artifacts, learnings, demos, and decision records are findable and reusable
Support transition planning when research is ready to inform product strategy, incubation, or future investment
Partner with other Research Program Managers to improve shared practices, tools, and operating rhythms
Bring construction domain fluency
You don’t need to be the deepest expert in the room, but you must understand construction well enough to ask informed questions, confidently engage with partners and connect research to real industry needs. Relevant areas:
Project delivery phases: preconstruction, planning, estimating, scheduling, procurement, field execution, and handover
BIM/VDC workflows, model coordination, construction documentation, site data, and connected data environments
Reality capture, digital twins, construction analytics, and AI-enabled decision support
Autodesk Construction Cloud, Revit, Navisworks, Forma, Tandem, or adjacent AEC platforms
Coordinate AI and emerging technology research
Support programs exploring how AI, generative AI, intelligent agents, simulation, and connected workflows can transform construction.
Help researchers structure AI-enabled workstreams with clear milestones, experiments, and evaluation plans
Coordinate research integrating BIM, schedules, reality capture, field data, and other construction information sources
Translate emerging technical work into clear narratives, decision briefs, and next-step recommendations
Use AI tools in your own practice to improve planning, synthesis, documentation, and follow-through
Drive accountability and communicate clearly
Create enough structure to help people do their best work — without slowing research down.
Maintain dashboards, milestone trackers, decision logs, risk registers, and stakeholder updates
Identify blockers, ambiguous ownership, unresolved decisions, and priority conflicts
Facilitate planning sessions, research reviews, workshops, and decision forums
Prepare crisp executive summaries, narratives, and briefing materials for senior leaders
Manage resources and external engagements
Track program budgets, planned expenditures, and resource needs in partnership with leadership and finance
Support annual and quarterly planning, goal-setting, and resource prioritization
Coordinate external collaborations, customer engagements, and academic or industry partnerships
8+ years in program management, project management, research operations, construction technology, or a related field
Experience managing complex, multi-workstream programs with diverse stakeholders, dependencies, and deliverables
Working knowledge of construction workflows: preconstruction, BIM/VDC, scheduling, field execution, or construction data management
Demonstrated ability to build structure in ambiguous, newly forming areas.
Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills, including executive-ready summaries and dashboards
Strong facilitation and influencing skills across multidisciplinary teams
Proficiency with tools such as Jira, Confluence, Miro, Slack, or equivalents
Ability to work effectively across global teams and time zones
Experience in construction technology, AEC, digital twins, BIM/VDC, reality capture, or AI-enabled construction workflows
Familiarity with Autodesk Construction Cloud, Revit, Navisworks, Forma, Tandem, or related platforms
Background in applied research, innovation programs, incubation, or early-stage product exploration
Familiarity with AI/ML, generative AI, intelligent agents, or data-driven product development
Experience coordinating programs involving data integration, connected workflows, or scalable data pipelines
Experience managing research collaborations, customer advisory engagements, or academic/industry partnerships
Degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Computer Science, HCI, Business, or related field; equivalent experience welcome
You create clarity without pretending the future is already known. You thrive managing ambitious, ambiguous work while keeping teams accountable, informed, and aligned.
Research-minded: You understand that research is iterative and uncertain, but still requires accountability and decision discipline
Construction-fluent: You connect research activity to industry problems, customer needs, and Autodesk opportunity areas
Structurally rigorous: You turn broad goals into milestones, workstreams, decision points, owners, and measurable progress
Cross-functional: You build trust with researchers, engineers, designers, product teams, executives, customers, and domain experts
AI-curious: You actively use AI tools to improve your own program management, synthesis, and communication
Strategic thinker: Ability to define and communicate a forward-looking vision, anticipate shifts in the construction and technology landscape, and align research priorities with long-term business objectives
What Success Looks Like (6–12 Months)
A clear, trusted operating rhythm for the construction research program
An integrated view of priorities, workstreams, milestones, risks, and decisions
Strong relationships with researchers, engineers, product stakeholders, and Research leadership
Improved visibility and accountability without reducing research velocity
Clearer connection between construction research and Autodesk strategic outcomes
Better documentation and reuse of research artifacts, insights, and decisions
Active, demonstrable use of AI tools to improve program operations
Learn More
About Autodesk
Welcome to Autodesk! Amazing things are created every day with our software – from the greenest buildings and cleanest cars to the smartest factories and biggest hit movies. We help innovators turn their ideas into reality, transforming not only how things are made, but what can be made.
We take great pride in our culture here at Autodesk – it’s at the core of everything we do. Our culture guides the way we work and treat each other, informs how we connect with customers and partners, and defines how we show up in the world.
When you’re an Autodesker, you can do meaningful work that helps build a better world designed and made for all. Ready to shape the world and your future? Join us!
Salary transparency
Salary is one part of Autodesk’s competitive compensation package. For Canada based roles, we expect a starting base salary between $111,400 and $163,350. Offers are based on the candidate’s experience and geographic location, and may exceed this range. In addition to base salaries, our compensation package may include annual cash bonuses, commissions for sales roles, stock grants, and a comprehensive benefits package.
Belonging
We take pride in cultivating a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive. Learn more here: https://www.autodesk.com/company/global-belonging
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