Program Officer, Diagnostics for Family Health

The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve. We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities. As a workplace, we’re committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

The India Country Office (ICO) is central to the Foundation’s commitment to advancing equitable health outcomes and strengthening India’s health innovation ecosystem. The Digital, Health Innovations and Artificial Intelligence (DHAI) cluster is a core enabler for key goals of the India Country Office (ICO) across our portfolio.

On the health innovation front, the cluster focuses on advancing new products—including diagnostics, vaccines, drugs, and devices—alongside AI-enabled diagnostics, modeling, and other data science approaches that are critical across programs.

In diagnostics, we aim to accelerate the discovery, development, and deployment of high-quality, affordable, and accessible in vitro diagnostics and devices for maternal newborn, child health, nutrition and infectious diseases that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. We collaborate with the Government of India, state governments, academia, the private sector, and global partners to strengthen diagnostic ecosystems as part of a broader effort to reduce disease burden and advance health equity.

We also partner with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), BIRAC, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and industry to strengthen vaccine R&D in India. Our goal is to support India as a reliable global supplier of life-saving diagnostics, vaccines, and pharmaceutical products for diseases that primarily impact low-income populations.

Our AI work emphasizes ethical and responsible adoption, ensuring that innovations drive positive impact, reduce inequities, and align with government priorities in India and select countries in South and Southeast Asia. Our digital initiatives provide technical assistance to central and state governments to design, implement, and scale digital public infrastructure across health, gender, and poverty reduction programs, while also supporting impact evaluation.

Application Deadline: May. 7th 2026

Your Role

As Program Officer, Diagnostics for Family Health, you will design and manage a portfolio of investments focused on maternal, neonatal, and women’s health diagnostics, as well as nutrient biomarker tools for high-burden populations. The portfolio spans the full product development arc—from upstream biomarker research and assay development through clinical validation, regulatory navigation, and public health deployment. 

Priority diagnostic areas in this portfolio include: 

• Antenatal diagnostics: anemia, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and AI-enabled maternal risk identification 

• Neonatal and infant diagnostics 

• Women’s health diagnostics, including STI detection 

• Micronutrient biomarker tools for nutrition surveillance and food fortification monitoring, including non-invasive technologies 

You will bring deep familiarity with the diagnostic product lifecycle—including biomarker identification, analytical and clinical validation, regulatory strategy (CDSCO, WHO PQ), and market access—and apply this expertise to shape technically rigorous, strategically sound investments. You will be required to engage credibly with scientists, product developers, and regulators at a technical level, while also understanding how diagnostics are procured and scaled through India’s public health system. 

You will report to the Senior Manager, Diagnostics, and be based in Delhi. 

What You'll Do

This is a highly collaborative role and will involve working with multiple Program Strategy Teams (PSTs) in Seattle and teams across the ICO, government agencies, product development partners, and global health networks for new product development and scaling. In this role you will. Core responsibilities include:

 

Portfolio Design and Technical Oversight 

• Design, structure, and manage grants and contracts for diagnostic innovation in family health, aligned with India and global PST objectives. 

• Conduct technical due diligence on potential investments, including assessment of scientific validity, assay development maturity, regulatory pathway feasibility, and market access strategy. 

• Apply milestone-based performance metrics and facilitate go/no-go decisions; review interim and final grantee reports and synthesize learnings across the portfolio. 

• Provide ongoing technical and strategic support to grantees and contractors to ensure alignment with Foundation priorities and programme quality. 

 

Partnerships and Ecosystem Engagement 

• Identify, select, and manage partner institutions; define scope, negotiate terms, and monitor investment progress. 

• Build and sustain relationships with key government bodies (CDSCO, ICMR, DBT/BIRAC, MoHFW), academic institutions, and private sector players to support regulatory navigation, clinical testing, and public health integration. 

• Engage global product development partnerships and external technical experts to strengthen the diagnostic ecosystem for maternal, newborn, and women’s health. 

 

Strategy and Learning 

• Analyse emerging science and innovation in family health diagnostics to identify new investment opportunities. 

• Represent the Foundation at technical forums, policy convenings, and public events. 

• Contribute to the global learning ecosystem by documenting and sharing findings, evidence, and best practices. 

Others 

• Support to create a highly collaborative work culture across the teams  

• Partnership with relevant stakeholders to advise on innovative go-to-to-market approaches for some of these tools. 

• Support on writing briefs and making presentations for leadership visits and for foundation priorities as needed. 

Your Experience

• PhD in a life-science, biomedical science, clinical science, or biomedical engineering discipline. Candidates with an advanced degree (MD, MTech) and equivalent translational or product development experience will be considered. 

• At least 5 years of hands-on experience in diagnostic product development, translational research, or regulatory science—including direct involvement in assay development, analytical or clinical validation studies, or regulatory submissions (CDSCO, WHO PQ, or equivalent). 

• Deep familiarity with the full diagnostic product lifecycle: biomarker identification and prioritization, assay development, clinical use case validation, regulatory approval, and market access. 

• Demonstrated understanding of how diagnostics are procured, integrated into national health programmes, and scaled through government channels in India or comparable LMICs. 

• Demonstrated understanding of India’s diagnostics policy ecosystem and experience engaging with Indian regulatory and research agencies (ICMR, CDSCO, DBT/BIRAC) in a technical or advisory capacity. 

• Experience in the family health diagnostic space: maternal health, neonatal health, STIs, or nutrition biomarkers. 

• Grant or project management experience, including structuring and overseeing large-scale, milestone-driven investments. 

• Familiarity with biotech industry dynamics, innovation scale-up, and public-private partnership models in global health. 

Other Attributes

• Must have legal authorization to work in India without the need for visa sponsorship

• This position is not a remote role and will require the selected candidate to work from the New Delhi office

• Ability to operate credibly at the interface of science, policy, and implementation, translating technical evidence for government stakeholders and translating policy priorities back to scientific partners. 

• Strong analytical and strategic thinking; ability to assess risk and opportunity across early- and late-stage diagnostic investments. 

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across cultures, disciplines, and organizational boundaries. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; experience presenting to senior leadership and external stakeholders. 

• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 33%. 

 

Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you have a disability or medical condition and need an accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process—such as an ASL interpreter, alternative interview format, or physical accessibility support—we’re happy to help. Please contact HR@gatesfoundation.org with the position number and a brief description of your accommodation needs. Requests will be handled confidentially.

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.