Job Description

The Senior Digital Project Manager runs the delivery process for digital product, AI, design, and data visualization projects from intake through launch — owning planning, sequencing, and coordination across web development, other internal teams, and external partners.

This is not an entry point into project management. We need someone who has done this before: a seasoned operator who can run stakeholder relationships independently and hold the line on scope and timelines under pressure. Backgrounds in agency or logistically challenging environments, where deadline and resource discipline are non-negotiable, are a strong fit.

AI is changing the shape of this work: routine status reporting and timeline tracking are increasingly automated. We're looking for someone with a strong process orientation who eagerly adopts new AI-powered tools and workflows as they emerge, freeing up more time for judgment calls, stakeholder management, and risk resolution.

This is a hybrid position based in Washington, DC, requiring regular in-office time to support close collaboration with internal teams and stakeholders. The role carries no direct reports.

The projected salary range for this role is $90,000 to $120,000 per year, commensurate with experience and demonstrated skill.

About Cato

The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.

Founded in 1977, Cato owes its name to Cato’s Letters, a series of essays published in 18th-century England that presented a vision of a society free from excessive government power. Those essays inspired the architects of the American Revolution. And the simple, timeless principles of that revolution — individual liberty, limited government, and free markets — turn out to be even more powerful in today’s world of global markets and unprecedented access to information than Jefferson or Madison could have imagined. Social and economic freedom is not just the best policy for a free people, it is the indispensable framework for the future.

The Cato Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Responsibilities

• Conduct end-to-end planning and delivery of multiple concurrent digital products, including AI, design, and data visualization projects, with minimal oversight.
• Independently manage stakeholder relationships, including evaluating and flagging scope creep, unrealistic timelines, and competing priorities.
• Coordinate cross-functionally with design, web development, data visualization, and other internal teams, as well as external partners, to keep work aligned and moving.
• Apply AI tools to streamline status reporting, timeline tracking, and resourcing visibility, and continually look for process improvements.
• Maintain clear, current project documentation, and communicate progress, risks, and scope changes to stakeholders and leadership.
• Communicate frequently and consistently with the Chief-of-Staff on status, changes, and requests for new digital projects or products.
• Co-own WorkFlo, our internal project management tool, including user management and feature request intake, and collaborate with design and development to expand its capabilities.
• Serve as a power user of the Cato Digital Platform content operating system, with the ability to perform content operations when necessary directly on behalf of the team.

Requirements

• Significant, proven experience managing digital projects independently, ideally including time in an agency or logistics/operations environment.
• Working knowledge of content management systems and comfort operating within technical platforms, since this role primarily supports content and technical teams.
• Strong process orientation, with an openness to adopting new AI-powered tools and workflows to reduce manual project-tracking work.
• Broad knowledge of digital product management, design, and data visualization work.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills, with the judgment to know when to escalate[SK1] [SK2].
• A personal interest in or familiarity with classical liberal ideas, free-market economics, or related policy areas is a plus.

To Apply

Please submit the following materials:

• CV/Resume
• Cover Letter

Benefits

All Cato employees are offered the following benefits:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Employer contribution to a Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Generous vacation and sick leave
• Paid parental leave
• Employer-provided life and disability insurance
• 401(k) with employer match
• Transit/Parking benefits
• Pet discount plan