Program Manager, Language Data & Gen AI Initiatives
Location: Bangalore
Type: Full-time
Role Overview:
Artpark and IISc are at the forefront of creating Indic language datasets and building AI models to ensure inclusivity in India’s digital ecosystem. We are looking for a Program Manager to drive strategic execution and cross-functional coordination for Project Vaani. You’ll lead end-to-end program planning, manage multiple vendor relationships, and align day-to-day operations with long-term project milestones across data collection, curation, and ML pipeline integration.
This is a high-impact role at the intersection of data, language technology, and AI—ideal for professionals who combine program management discipline with a hands-on, ownership-driven mindset.
Key Responsibilities:
Ownership of Project Operations:
Lead planning, execution, and monitoring of all operational and strategic activities in Project Vaani.
Own the delivery timelines of speech data collection and curation pipelines, ensuring milestone alignment.
2. Stakeholder and Vendor Management:
Identify, negotiate contracts, and onboard vendors for speech & text data collection.
Oversee and lead a team of ~25 data curation associates responsible for quality checks of audio and transcription data.
Serve as the SPOC for external vendors and partners who collect speech data.
Conduct regular syncs with stakeholders to align goals, timelines, and dependencies.
Translate project requirements into operational plans and coordinate dependencies across functions.
3. Process Optimisation and Scale-up:
Design and implement systems to scale up operations as the project expands.
Systemise and optimise current processes to improve efficiency and quality.
4. Delivery ownership of the operations:
Ensure all quality-checked datasets are delivered on time to meet project deadlines.
Maintain and enhance communication and workflows between all stakeholders involved in the project.
Propose and drive mitigation strategies to manage operational uncertainty and vendor variability.
Requirements
Educational Background: Undergraduate degree/MBA with 4-6 years of experience in Program management/Project management, preferably within a startup or fast-paced environment.
Ownership mindset: Self-driven, self-starter who looks to find problems and solve them in the interest of the organisation. If you are one to work when told, it wouldn't be a good fit.
Skills and Experience:
Experience in managing on-ground operations is a must. Experience in a startup is recommended but not mandatory.
Comfortable working in a dynamic and uncertain environment, with an ability to adapt quickly.
Experience in leading operational teams, with a focus on data-driven decisions
Strong leadership and team management skills, with an ownership mindset to take initiative and drive projects and targets.
Analytical mindset & Hands-on with tech
Why Join Us?
This role is ideal for someone looking to break into the field of AI, datasets, and language models. You will gain hands-on experience managing complex data operations, leading teams, and working on one of the largest AI language data collection projects in India. You will also step into the field of AI Models from the basics and ground up, quite literally in this case!
This is also ideal for someone who has experience in handling data operations and is looking for a high-exposure, impactful role, Project Vaani offers you the chance to make a significant difference in the AI and language technology landscape. You will be at the forefront of one of India’s largest AI-driven language data collection initiatives, working with diverse partners and cutting-edge processes to deliver results that directly impact millions of people across the country.
About Vaani:
Launched in 2022 by IISc/ARTPARK and Google, Project Vaani is a pioneering initiative aimed at creating an open-source multi-modal dataset that truly represents India's linguistic diversity. This dataset is unique in its geo-centric approach, allowing for the collection of dialects and languages spoken in remote regions rather than focusing solely on mainstream languages.
Vaani targets the collection of over 150,000 hours of speech and 15,000 hours of transcribed text data from 1 million people across all 773 districts, ensuring diversity in language, dialects, and demographics.
About ARTPARK
ARTPARK @ IISc (AI & Robotics Technology Park) fosters innovations in AI & Robotics by bringing together the best of research, startup, industry, and government ecosystems. We drive mission-oriented deep-tech projects, technology business incubation, and translational research in areas such as industrial automation, mobility, agriculture, healthcare and education.ARTPARK is seed-funded by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) and the Govt. of Karnataka.