I agree with the other comments suggesting you need to speak with your managers, but I'll go one further. I too work for an R&D organization (CSIRO). Last year

I agree with the other comments suggesting you need to speak with your managers, but I'll go one further. I too work for an R&D organization (CSIRO). Last year I was moved out of development into a management position by my boss because they felt I would be more useful in a Product/Project management role. The interesting thing was during the discussion, my boss outlined how R&D people aren't developers, developers aren't managers and that managers aren't R&D people. Your manager likely understands this, but wanted to give you a shot at running the project you created. In the early days, you may be the best person to maintain it as you saw the potential and likely had great insight and vision. This is also seen in start-ups where many early start-up CEOs can't make the transition from discovery to growth. They can get the company to the early stage of growth, but then in comes a growth focused CEO to lead the next stage. I also have a friend who only joins companies at this stage, and takes them from < 20 employees to > 100. This is the same as launching a rocket. The booster that gets you to the outer atmosphere doesn't get you into space. All of this is to say, you may have a fear that your manager thinks this is the job that you should be doing, but don't be surprised to hear management is aware of the challenges, but doesn't want to take away your baby before you're ready to give it up.