Science Communications and Engagement Manager

Job board
Job board

The Rosetta Commons under the Open Molecular Software Foundation (OMSF) advances biomolecular structure prediction and design through open science and open-source research software. We are seeking a Science Communications and Engagement Manager to strengthen communication, connection, and collaboration across our molecular-modeling and computational-biology community.

As Rosetta Commons has grown to over 100 research groups, partners, and open-source efforts, internal and external communication has become increasingly complex. This role blends scientific literacy, community engagement, and strategic communication—ensuring that research, software developments, and community activities are communicated clearly while maintaining the relationships and internal workflows that keep the community aligned.

This mid-career position is ideal for someone with experience in science communication, content creation, and strategic messaging who can translate complex technical work into accessible narratives and who enjoys working at the center of a collaborative scientific ecosystem.

This is a fully remote role within the United States. You must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. Occasional meetings outside standard business hours may be required due to international collaborators, as well as occasional travel.

The Science Communications and Engagement Manager will work closely with Rosetta Commons staff, leadership, and scientists. The role offers significant opportunity to shape its own direction, and is well suited for a proactive, detail-oriented communicator who thrives in a dynamic community environment. The position reports to the Chief of Staff and is supported by the technical and operations teams.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Scientific Communications

  • Lead strategic planning for internal and external communications, ensuring alignment with Rosetta Commons goals, programs, and partnerships.
  • Serve as lead writer/editor for high-impact materials, including reports, proposals (including grant proposals), newsletter messaging, annual summaries, and organizational announcements, in both print and digital form.
  • Develop integrated marketing and visibility strategies to reach scientists, trainees, funders, and industry partners.
  • Collaborate with leadership on messaging for new initiatives, collaborations, and sponsorships, ensuring clarity and scientific accuracy.
  • Use analytics, engagement data, and community feedback to refine messaging, identify communication gaps, and adapt strategy.
  • Manage and optimize the overall communication workflow—tools, processes, templates, and vendor relationships—to ensure consistency and brand alignment.

Content Creation & Marketing

  • Produce and edit compelling content across formats—web pages, social media, newsletters, marketing materials, reports, stories, and visual assets—to showcase research, software updates, and community impact.
  • Translate complex scientific outputs into accessible summaries, visuals, or narratives tailored to different audiences (scientists, trainees, funders, and the public).
  • Maintain editorial standards for tone, clarity, accuracy, and scientific rigor across platforms.
  • Conduct interviews with scientists, trainees, and partners to gather material for news posts, profiles, and storytelling features.
  • Manage content calendars and publishing timelines to balance internal updates (deadlines, opportunities, announcements) with external storytelling.
  • Manage digital platforms—website content and navigation, newsletters/email lists, Slack announcements, and social media channels (LinkedIn, X/Bluesky, YouTube, etc.).
  • Coordinate production and distribution of communication assets, working with photographers, videographers, or other vendors as needed.

Community Engagement & Partnerships

  • Connect and collaborate with people across 100+ Rosetta labs, including trainees, PIs, partners, and OMSF staff; get to know the community, its areas of expertise, and how members communicate and work together.
  • Serve as a point of contact for routing information—questions, opportunities, announcements—to the appropriate people, channels, or working groups.
  • Coordinate internal communications across Slack, email, and calendars to ensure teams remain aligned, informed, and connected.
  • Identify community needs and communication gaps (e.g., missing documentation, recurring questions, under-communicated initiatives) and work with leadership to address them through messaging, resources, or process improvements.
  • Coordinate and support community events collaborating with the conference committee, vendors and staff to make gatherings seamless and welcoming.
  • Support Rosetta Commons events (workshops, bootcamps, conferences) with communications planning, promotional materials, event flow messaging, and post-event storytelling/recaps.
  • Coordinate cross-organizational communication with academic, nonprofit, and industry partners, ensuring consistent messaging across the organization, Rosetta Labs, OMSF, and affiliated groups. Ensure that communications related to events, sponsorships, and programs are aligned with OMSF operations and finance processes.

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (communications, marketing, journalism, or life sciences) and 8+ years of professional experience in science communication, marketing, or outreach within research, higher ed, or a science-based organization. OR
  • Master’s degree in a relevant field (communications, marketing, journalism, or life sciences) and 6+ years of professional experience in science communication, marketing, or outreach within research, higher ed, or a science-based organization. OR
  • PhD degree in a relevant field (communications, marketing, journalism, or life sciences) and 1+ years of professional experience in science communication, marketing, or outreach within research, higher ed, or a science-based organization.
  • Proven ability to craft engaging stories from technical or research content.
  • Demonstrated success with social-media strategy, web content management, and campaign analytics.
  • Excellent writing, editing, and visual-communication skills.
  • Ability to manage multiple projects, coordinate stakeholders, and meet deadlines independently.
  • Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships across diverse stakeholders (e.g. scientists, trainees, staff, external partners) and to work collaboratively in a distributed, remote environment.
  • Comfort engaging with scientific concepts and computational biology/biomolecular structure topics, even if you are not a domain expert in all areas.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Advanced degree in a scientific field or science communication.
  • Experience in community-based or open-science initiatives.
  • Familiarity with academic publishing, CRM systems, and creative tools (e.g., Canva, Adobe Suite, WordPress).
  • Experience with event promotion and sponsorship marketing.
  • Knowledge of software or computational-biology communities (e.g., GitHub, open-source ecosystems).
  • Experience in a community, membership, or engagement role (formal or informal), especially in a scientific or technical context.

Classification & Compensation

  • Title: Science Communications and Engagement manager
  • Starting Salary Range: $85,000 – $105,000 (commensurate with experience)
  • Schedule: Full Time (remote). Occasional travel (up to 10%) may be required for conferences, workshops, or team meetings.
  • Benefits: Health, vision, and dental insurance; retirement plan; unlimited time off and sick leave

How to Apply Please apply by filling out THIS FORM. Contact julia.koehler.leman@omsf.io for any additional queries about the role and organization.