Chief Scientific Operations Officer - Biological & Chemical Innovation Cloud Lab - Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR)

Carnegie Mellon University•Pittsburgh, PA

About The Position

Carnegie Mellon University is seeking an inaugural Chief Scientific Operations Officer (CSOO) to provide scientific, organizational, and operational leadership for the Biological & Chemical Innovation Cloud Lab (BCICL), a foundational component of the University's AI Science Foundry. The BCICL is being established to transform how biological and chemical experiments are conceived, executed, analyzed, and scaled through cloud-based infrastructure and AI-driven workflows. The CSOO will build and lead the operations of this multidisciplinary enterprise, defining its vision, operating model, governance, strategic partnerships, and long-term trajectory. Reporting directly to the Vice President for Research and serving on the AI Science Foundry leadership team, the CSOO will connect CMU faculty and leaders with engineers, technologists, and external collaborators across government, industry, national laboratories, academia, and nonprofit organizations. The BCICL is expected to serve as a major node in the National Science Foundation's Programmable Cloud Lab Testbed in support of the Genesis Mission. The role will establish and lead the operational organization supporting the BCICL's research, education, partnership, and external-user portfolio. Responsibilities span scientific and laboratory operations; integration of AI, robotics, automation, and advanced instrumentation; financial and business operations; facilities, quality, safety, and compliance; and user services, partnerships, and external engagement. The CSOO will develop reliable, reproducible, secure, customer-focused services and help establish the AI Science Foundry as a nationally recognized leader in AI-enabled research infrastructure. The position is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a regular, full-time staff position. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States; CMU will not sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa for this opportunity. A pre-employment background check is required.

Requirements

Proven executive leadership experience within complex scientific, research, technology, laboratory, or innovation-intensive organizations.
Deep understanding of biological, chemical, biomedical, or related scientific research environments.
Demonstrated success building, scaling, or transforming multidisciplinary organizations and operating platforms.
Experience overseeing sophisticated laboratory facilities, research infrastructure, advanced instrumentation, and capital-intensive operations.
Experience managing significant operating budgets, capital expenditures, long-range financial planning, and resource allocation.
Demonstrated expertise establishing operational processes, governance frameworks, performance metrics, and organizational accountability mechanisms.
Strong understanding of laboratory quality systems, safety programs, regulatory requirements, compliance frameworks, and enterprise risk management.
Proven ability to lead and integrate teams spanning science, engineering, data science, robotics, automation, information technology, and operations.
Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with executive leaders, scientific stakeholders, technical experts, sponsors, and external partners while fostering alignment around a shared vision.
Technical fluency and scientific literacy necessary to lead in a complex biological, chemical, or AI-enabled laboratory environment.
Currently legally authorized to work for Carnegie Mellon University in the United States; CMU will not sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa.
Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in a relevant field.
Substantial executive operating experience, leadership credentials, and/or business training relevant to building and scaling research infrastructure.
Experience leading initiatives involving AI, machine learning, automation, robotics, digital laboratories, cloud-based scientific platforms, or related technologies.
Experience developing customer-oriented service models supporting internal and/or external scientific users.
Experience developing shared-service, platform, cloud-based, or externally facing research environments serving multiple user constituencies.
Experience leading organizations that combine physical laboratory infrastructure with sophisticated digital technologies.
Experience developing and managing strategic partnerships with universities, government agencies, national laboratories, industry partners, nonprofit organizations, and funding entities.

Responsibilities

Lead laboratory operations across biological, chemical, characterization, analytical, and automated platforms.
Establish operating standards, quality systems, performance metrics, and customer service models.
Oversee technical and operations staffing, instrumentation, scheduling, resource utilization, and continuous improvement.
Partner with researchers, educators, roboticists, engineers, and software developers to integrate AI, robotics, automation, and advanced instrumentation.
Transition prototype workflows into reproducible, remote-access automated workflows and advance secure, cloud-enabled laboratory operations.
Develop and manage annual operating and capital budgets and establish a sustainable operational and financial model.
Oversee workforce planning, procurement, capital equipment strategy, resource allocation, and strategic investments.
Provide executive oversight for laboratory facilities, infrastructure, instrumentation, robotics, and supporting systems.
Ensure appropriate EHS, biosafety, biosecurity, chemical safety, cybersecurity, and institutional compliance.
Establish governance, risk-management, quality-assurance, emergency preparedness, and continuous improvement practices.
Develop partnerships across academia, government, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and industry.
Establish and maintain a high-quality user experience for internal and external research users supporting research, education, and translation.
Balance sponsored research, technology development, translational science, and external service activities.
Help establish the AI Science Foundry as a nationally recognized leader in AI-enabled scientific research infrastructure.
Build and lead the operational organization supporting the BCICL's research, education, partnership, and external-user portfolio.