Grants Coordinator

Who You Are:

You are an organized, detail-oriented administrator who takes genuine satisfaction in keeping complex processes moving. You understand that grants administration is compliance work at its core and you treat every reporting due date and submission requirement with that seriousness.

You're comfortable working inside structured federal award environments and across multiple projects at once. You know how to track moving parts without losing sight of the ones that matter most, and you follow through without needing to be reminded.

You're a quick learner on systems and processes. You pick up new platforms quickly and look for ways to use them more efficiently over time. You're curious about how AI tools can reduce manual work in administrative workflows, and you're willing to experiment.

Most importantly, you understand that this role is part of something larger. Ai2's grants portfolio supports foundational AI research that reaches the world, and the work you do is what keeps that research funded and moving forward.

Who We Are:

Ai2 is a Seattle-based nonprofit AI research institute founded in 2014 by the late Paul Allen. Our mission is to build breakthrough AI to solve the world's biggest problems. We develop foundational AI research and innovation to deliver real-world impact through large-scale open models, data, robotics, conservation, and beyond.

The Grants Administration team manages Ai2's portfolio of federal and private philanthropy awards and is responsible for the compliance, reporting, and operational integrity of every active award. The team is growing, and this role is a foundational hire as we build toward a full department. We think in color-coded spreadsheets, work with a large amount of autonomy, value clarifying questions, and are energized by envisioning and implementing systems. You'll be joining us at an exciting time of growth with intentional scaling plans to grow with Ai2's portfolio as well as implement AI-augmented workflows across the grants lifecycle.

Your Next Challenge:

The Grants Coordinator is the operational backbone of the grants administration function at Ai2. You'll work directly with the Director of Grants Administration across the full grants administration lifecycle, managing reporting and compliance tasks on the back end, so the Director can focus on strategy, funder relationships, and compliance oversight. You will support federal award operations from day one under Director oversight and are expected to assume primary operational ownership within six months of onboarding.

This role is a strong fit for someone who wants to build deep expertise in research grants administration at a mission-driven organization, with a clear path toward increased responsibility as the portfolio and team grow.

Award Onboarding Support

• Manage institutional registrations and system accounts required for federal submissions (SAM.gov, Grants.gov, Research.gov, and similar portals)
• Route legal documents through CLM for Legal review
• Maintain the grants calendar, tracking reporting due dates, award end dates, prior approval deadlines, and renewal windows
• Schedule and prepare materials for Grant Award Kickoff meetings

Post-Award Administration

• Track reporting and compliance deadlines across the active award portfolio; draft progress reports for active awards for Director review and submission
• Maintain award files and documentation in the grants management system (GMS); ensure records are complete, current, and audit-ready
• Support subaward administration: collect required documentation, track milestones and invoices, and coordinate with subrecipient contacts
• Collaborate with Finance to monitor award budgets; flag variances and help prepare budget modification requests
• Assist with closeout tasks including final reports, equipment dispositions, and file archiving

Subrecipient and Financial Administration

• Conduct regular monitoring reviews of subrecipient performance reports; collect required documentation and coordinate with subrecipient contacts
• Review subrecipient invoices and coordinate processing with Finance
• Track expenditures across active awards; flag first-pass budget variances for Director review
• Prepare budget modification documentation and route for Director approval
• Facilitate subrecipient closeout; establish and maintain records retention files

Federal Award Operations

• Support day-to-day federal award operations from date of hire under Director oversight, with expectation of assuming primary operational responsibility within six months of onboarding
• Own meeting scheduling, agenda preparation, and action item tracking for internal meetings
• Maintain the Project Execution Plan and governing documents, including document filing, version control, and change control log maintenance in collaboration with the Project Manager
• Support reporting preparation, data compilation, and submission logistics for required reports to NSF and organizational oversight entities
• Maintain document control across workstreams; keep project files organized and audit-ready consistent with NSF award requirements

Systems and Operations

• Serve as GMS power-user and administration lead; support GMS implementation and rollout planned for 2026/2027 and maintain ongoing system administration
• Help document and refine administrative workflows and SOPs as the function matures
• Identify opportunities to use AI tools to reduce manual effort in routine administrative tasks

What You'll Need:

Minimum Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in grants administration, research administration, project management, program coordination, or a closely related field
• Experience supporting federal grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts, including familiarity with post-award documentation standards and reporting requirements
• Strong organizational skills and demonstrated ability to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously
• Strong attention to detail in document preparation, record-keeping, and version control
• Experience with federal grants systems (SAM.gov, Grants.gov, or similar)
• Proficiency in Google Workspace; comfort working in project tracking and document management tools
• Clear, professional written communication

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or relevant certifications
• Experience supporting NSF award administration or other federal cooperative agreements
• Familiarity with 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance) and federal cost principles
• Experience with a grants management system
• Experience in a nonprofit, university, or research institute setting
• Interest in pursuing grants administration certifications (CRA, CGMS) - professional development support is available

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a team member to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for long periods of time.
• The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
• The ability to observe details at close range.
• Can work under deadlines.

A Little More About Ai2:

Ai2 is a Seattle based non-profit AI research institute founded in 2014 by the late Paul Allen. Our mission is building breakthrough AI to solve the world's biggest problems. We develop foundational AI research and innovation to deliver real-world impact through large-scale open models, data, robotics, conservation, and beyond.

In addition to Ai2's core mission, we also aim to contribute to humanity through our treatment of each member of the Ai2 Team. Some highlights are:

• We are a learning organization - because everything Ai2 does is ground-breaking, we are learning every day. Similarly, through weekly Ai2 Academy lectures, a wide variety of world-class AI experts as guest speakers, and our commitment to your personal on-going education, Ai2 is a place where you will have opportunities to continue learning alongside your coworkers.
• We value diversity - We seek to hire, support, and promote people from all genders, ethnicities, and all levels of experience regardless of age. We particularly encourage applications from women, non-binary individuals, people of color, members of the LGBTQA+ community, and people with disabilities of any kind.
• We value inclusion - We understand the value that people's individual experiences and perspectives can bring to an organization, and we are building a culture in which all voices are heard, respected and considered.
• We emphasize a healthy work/life balance - we believe our team members are happiest and most productive when their work/life balance is optimized. While we value powerful research results which drive our mission forward, we also value dinner with family, weekend time, and vacation time. We offer generous paid vacation and sick leave as well as family leave.
• We are collaborative and transparent - we consider ourselves a team, all moving with a common purpose. We are quick to cheer our successes, and even quicker to share and jointly problem solve our failures.
• We are in Seattle - and our office is on the water! We have mountains, we have lakes, we have four seasons, we bike to work, we have a vibrant theater scene, and we have so much else. We even have kayaks for you to paddle right outside our front door. We welcome interest from applicants from outside of the United States.
• We are friendly- chances are you will like every one of the 200+ (and growing) people who work here. We do.

Ai2 is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. You may view the related Know Your Rights compliance poster and the Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision by clicking on their corresponding links.

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with disabilities to the full extent required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you feel you need a reasonable accommodation pursuant to the ADA, you are encouraged to contact us at recruiting@allenai.org.

Benefits:

• Team members and their families are covered by medical, dental, vision, and an employee assistance program.
• Team members are able to enroll in our health savings account plan, our healthcare reimbursement arrangement plan, and our health care and dependent care flexible spending account plans.
• Team members are able to enroll in our company's 401k plan.
• Team members will receive $125 per month to assist with commuting or internet expenses and will also receive $200 per month for fitness and wellbeing expenses.
• Team members will also receive up to ten sick days per year, up to seven personal days per year, up to 20 vacation days per year and twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year.
• Team members will be able to receive annual bonuses and can participate in the long-term incentive plan.

Note: This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the team members(s) of this position. Team members will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the team member(s) will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an at will relationship.