PSBA Program Manager
About the role
Portland State University is Oregon’s most affordable public research university, located in the heart of one of America’s most dynamic cities. Our mission to “let knowledge serve the city” reflects our dedication to turning ideas into action — in Portland and around the world. The city is our campus, giving students unmatched access to career connections, a vibrant cultural scene and hands-on learning experiences with hundreds of community partners. More than 20,000 students from all backgrounds bring diverse perspectives to our classrooms and campus life, from the tree-lined Park Blocks to the bustling Urban Plaza and state-of-the-art science labs. We are proud of our world-class faculty, groundbreaking research and international reputation for excellence in sustainability, community engagement and innovation. The PSU Business Accelerator is an entrepreneurial community like none other in Oregon. Home to promising local startups, including spinouts from all major Oregon research universities, the Accelerator provides office space plus a menu of services designed with fast-growing startup needs in mind. The PSBA Program Manager serves as an operational driver and front-facing manager for a one-year startup acceleration and project coaching model supporting Portland State University (PSU) ventures and translational research initiatives. Operating under the general direction of the Director of the Portland State Business Accelerator (PSBA), this position directs ongoing founder engagement, maintains accountability for milestone execution, and ensures teams systematically progress toward investment, partnership, and commercial readiness. While the PSBA Director leads overarching strategy and provides subject-matter expertise during initial deep-dive workshops, the Program Manager manages day-to-day cohort operations, leads recurring founder check-ins, and tracks venture pipelines. The position actively collaborates with project leads to co-develop key commercialization assets (including investor pitch decks, market sizing models, and outreach scripts), conducts progress interviews to identify operational bottlenecks, and advocates for strategic pivots when necessary. The primary objective of this role is to drive measurable market traction, with target benchmarks including each project team securing $100K+ in capital/revenue or executing significant strategic partnerships. Additionally, the Program Manager oversees the operational integration of students from the Leaders in Innovation and Technology (LIT) program into participating startup ventures.
Responsibilities
- Serves as the primary operational liaison for participating startup founders and project leads