---
title: 'Operations Program Manager at Constellation Institute'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/operations-program-manager-constellation-institute-berkeley-rx7fnxry292w'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-05'
---

# Operations Program Manager at Constellation Institute

- **Company:** Constellation Institute
- **Location:** Berkeley, CA
- **Compensation:** $148k–$192k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-11-03
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-05
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/constellation-institute/am9icG9zdDo4ftMoR3yERIayJQP2wdh1

## Job description

## About the role

The Operations Program Manager leads Constellation's Operations Coordinator (OC) team, which provides day-to-day support to our researchers and programs. In this role, you’ll be responsible for the people, the development path, and the capacity of the team that keeps our research center running.

This is a people management role, and a people development role where your primary responsibility is to manage and develop the careers of a team of 5-10 junior Operations Coordinators to be both excellent in their current roles while preparing for long careers in AI safety.

The OC role is an entry-level operations role. They handle arrivals and tours, requests, onboarding and offboarding, and event support for dozens of organizations and hundreds of researchers. Coordinators learn the core work, take on projects, and move into roles across the AI safety ecosystem.

The Operations Program Manager is accountable for both sides of that: ensuring the team delivers excellent service every day, and that every coordinator develops their skills to prepare them for taking on more responsibilities.

You will be responsible for prioritizing larger requests for OC time from Constellation teams and partner orgs. Since OC time is finite, you’ll weigh those tradeoffs and make clear, well-communicated decisions. As our organization grows, you’ll also work closely with other managers to develop and improve processes for efficiently handing off work between teams.

This is a full-time, in-person role. You must be able to work on-site in Berkeley from 9am to 5pm on weekdays. There is occasional evening work for events and urgent issues.

## Key responsibilities

People management and development

- People manage a team of 5-10 Operations Coordinators. Set goals, give regular feedback, and own performance management for up to ten OCs and Senior OCs.
- Guide each OC through their professional development path: core skills, mentorship, projects, and transition. Actively source small operations projects from other Constellation teams and partner orgs in our building to help them test their fit and land a strong next step.
- Coach and advise Senior OCs, who split their time between doing their own projects and training/mentoring new OCs.
- Managing the OC hiring process and own hiring decisions for new cohorts of OCs. Teach current OCs how to do screening and interviewing to build their skills and share the workload.

Capacity planning and intake

- Act as the single intake point for requests on OC time. Weigh them against core coverage, training load, and organizational priorities, and communicate decisions (including "not now") clearly and kindly.
- Manage the OC schedule. The OC role is non-exempt and requires overtime for any hours worked beyond 40 per week. The Operations Program Manager is responsible for ensuring OCs manage their time effectively and for approving OT when necessary.
- Forecast OC capacity across cohort transitions, event-heavy periods, and the project portfolio. Keep the coverage rotation sustainable.
- Balance core operations against projects with other Constellation teams and partner orgs.

Program ownership

- Working closely with the Senior OCs, own the OC training plan: keep it current, improve it with each cohort's feedback, and make sure trainers are set up to succeed.
- Set and uphold quality standards for the core functions: arrivals and tours, requests, onboarding, offboarding, etc. Work with the Senior OCs on quality assurance and setting standard operating procedures.
- Help OCs scope and complete projects that build their skills and benefit the organization.

Cross-functional partnership

- Partner with Site Operations, Convening, People Ops, and BizOps team leads to keep OC work aligned with the organization’s priorities.
- Contribute to long-term org design for the OC program as it evolves.

## Skills & experience

- Experience and confidence managing and developing a team of 5-10 early-career staff, ideally in operations or a service-oriented team
- Experience designing or running onboarding and training programs
- Skill at prioritizing among competing requests from many stakeholders, and at saying no with grace
- Direct, kind, specific feedback, and comfort delivering difficult news
- Hiring experience: screening, interviewing, and making decisions
- Enough hands-on operations knowledge (office, events, customer support) to set standards and QA the work credibly
- Systems thinking: you notice what breaks at scale and fix the process
- Clear, concise written communication
- Comfort with:- Asana, Slack Google Workspace, and Claude
- Ambiguity and change during an interim structure
- Thinking on your feet in a fast-paced environment

You might be a good fit if you

- Get energy from helping early-career people grow, and are proud when they move on to great roles
- Like fitting finite capacity to a large volume of demand
- Have a service mindset and care about the experience of researchers and visitors
- Take ownership and enjoy building a program, not just running one
- Are excited to support the AI safety ecosystem and learn more about it
- Care about making transformative AI go well

## About Constellation Institute

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Constellation Institute is a non-profit independent research center that develops talent, supports key organizations, and creates coordination space to ensure transformative AI is developed, deployed, and governed safely.
- **Entity Type**: Private (501(c)3 Nonprofit)
- **Headquarters**: Berkeley, California, United States
- **Founded**: Not publicly available (likely recent, based on operational trajectory)
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: AI Safety & Security Research, Talent Development, Field Building
- **Target Customers**: Researchers, founders, and organizations working on AI safety; the broader AI safety ecosystem (nonprofits, academia, industry, government)
- **Mission/Purpose**: To ensure transformative AI is developed, deployed, and governed safely by reducing risks through talent development, supporting key players, and creating space for coordination [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/about)

## Products & Services
- **Astra Fellowship**: A fully-funded, in-person program pairing emerging researchers with senior advisors in technical safety, governance, strategy, or field-building [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Visiting Fellowship**: A lightly-structured 3–6 month funded fellowship for full-time AI safety researchers to connect with the Constellation network and work from the Berkeley research center [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Generator Residency**: A three-month, in-person residency for AI safety generalists starting in Summer 2026 [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Incubator**: Office space, operational support, and access to an expert network for the next wave of organizations working on advanced AI risks [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Research Center**: An independent research center in Berkeley, CA where exceptional researchers, forecasters, and operators collaborate on the hardest problems in AI safety and security [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/about)
- **Convening Programs**: Curated events to upskill talent, build shared understanding, and strengthen collaboration across the field [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not applicable (Nonprofit)
- **Annual Revenue**: Not publicly available (nonprofit, funded by donations/grants)
- **Total Funding**: Not disclosed (nonprofit, 501(c)3 status confirmed)
- **Headcount**: **43 employees** with a monthly headcount growth of **+18.4%** [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: No formal investors; network includes talent sourced from top AI safety organizations (Redwood Research, MATS Research, FAR.AI, GovAI, Center for AI Safety, University of Cambridge) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
- **Growth Signals**: 12 active job postings; monthly job posting growth of +20.0%; LinkedIn follower growth of +10.3% per month; workforce distributed across 5 countries (US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Poland) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Network-First Model**: Deeply embedded in the AI safety ecosystem, regularly collaborating with top researchers and thought leaders
- **Field-Building Focus**: Not just research—actively incubates new organizations and places talent in high-impact roles, creating moats through ecosystem ownership
- **Beautiful Physical Workspace**: Operates a dedicated research center in Berkeley, providing a unique collaborative environment for in-person work [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Full-Stack Support**: Covers the entire lifecycle of AI safety work—from talent identification and fellowship training to organizational incubation and scaling

## Strategic Focus
- **Current Priorities**: Scaling up the talent pipeline (Astra Fellowship, Generator Residency), incubating new organizations, and facilitating field-wide coordination. Strong emphasis on in-person collaboration at the Berkeley research center.
- **Direction for Growth**: Expanding the number of fellows and residents, broadening the range of research supported (from technical safety to policy and governance), and deepening connections across the global AI safety community [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/about)

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Mission-driven, friendly team deeply driven by the work; regular collaboration with top AI safety researchers and thought leaders [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Remote/Hybrid Policy**: Not explicitly stated, but the emphasis on the "beautiful physical workspace" in Berkeley and in-person programs suggests a strong preference for on-site work; however, the workforce is distributed across 5 countries, indicating some remote flexibility [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
- **Perks**:
  - Flexible time-off policy that encourages regular recharging
  - Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
  - Generous 401(k) employer match
  - Employer-paid commuter stipend (public transportation + on-site parking)
  - Delicious, healthy lunches and dinners every weekday, plus unlimited snacks & drinks [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Hiring Process**: Transparent and respectful—phone screen, work test reflecting actual job tasks, interviews with teammates, and a focus on mission alignment [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Engineering/Hiring Focus**: Currently hiring for operations, program coordination, events, IT/data, facilities, and talent mobilization roles; strong focus on generalists and operators who care about AI safety [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)

## Sources
1. [Constellation Institute Careers Page](https://constellation.org/careers)
2. [Constellation Institute Homepage](https://constellation.org/)
3. [Constellation Institute About Page](https://constellation.org/about)
4. [Constellation Institute LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
5. [Built In Company Profile](https://builtin.com/company/constellation-institute)

## Other roles at Constellation Institute

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- [Expression of Interest - Program Coordinator (Analysis)](https://feeny.ai/job/expression-of-interest-program-coordinator-analysis-constellation-institute-93m1ypvwvcap) — Berkeley, CA
- [Expression of Interest - Program Coordinator (UX)](https://feeny.ai/job/expression-of-interest-program-coordinator-ux-constellation-institute-berkeley-nhb0zzqye268) — Berkeley, CA
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