Director, R&D Operations

Osmo•Elizabeth, NJ

2d•$114,000 - $146,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Osmo is a digital olfaction company focused on improving human health and well-being by giving computers a sense of smell. The company is scaling into a new type of fragrance house and is seeking a Director, R&D Operations to architect the Scientific Operations and own the 'Atoms-to-Bits' pipeline. This role involves transforming the laboratory into a high-velocity data factory capable of delivering across various applications at scale, including significant sample throughput for model training. The Director will set the roadmap for liquid handling, sample preparation, lab automation, and applications development, and will partner with leadership to drive technical requirements into software, automation, and manufacturing. The role also includes building the team, standards, and budget for physical sample management within the company.

Requirements

12+ years of experience in lab operations, advanced manufacturing, fragrance/flavor, or biotech scaling, including time leading and managing teams.
Experience building high-throughput systems where software meets the physical world.
Direct experience delivering across multiple application bases — fine fragrance, laundry, candles, personal care, or comparable categories.
Understanding of what it takes to move a fragrance from a lab bench into a finished product format at quality, on customer timelines.
Deep understanding of liquid handling, robotics, and the software that drives them.
Ability to make strategic calls on what to build, buy, or defer.
Ability to hold your own with ML PhDs and Hardware Engineers.
Comfortable with Python and SQL — not at expert level, but enough to pull data, run analysis, and drive technical requirements into engineering teams.
Ability to pick up new software independently.
Track record of taking a "v1" lab and turning it into a "v10" industrial engine.
Experience building repeatable processes, managing operating budgets, and leading a high-stakes team through rapid scale.
Experience hiring, developing, and retaining operational and applications talent.
Hands on — not afraid to get your hands dirty when needed — leading by example.

Nice To Haves

You are bored by manual pipetting.
You don't do things "the way they've always been done in fragrance." You look at the goal and architect the most efficient system to get there.
You see the Manager role under you as a growth seat, not a delivery channel.

Responsibilities

Set the Scientific Ops Roadmap: Define the 1–2 year strategic plan for R&D operations, including capex priorities, automation investments, applications expansion, and headcount. Own the operating budget end-to-end.
Own the Applications Portfolio: Set the strategy for which application bases Osmo invests in and when. Build the operational capability to deliver fragrance into EtOH, laundry, candles, and the next set of categories on the roadmap — including key customer programs — at the quality bar a fragrance house demands.
Scale the Data Factory: Establish the operational systems required to generate, track, and deliver 100k+ vial samples per year for model training, with full data capture compliance.
Industrialize Sample Prep: Set the standards for transforming sample preparation from a manual bench process into a high-throughput operation across solvents and application bases.
Bridge R&D to Production: Partner with the manufacturing team to ensure seamless transition of discoveries from lab to factory across all application formats. Establish the quality manufacturing protocols and industrial best practices that synchronize lab-scale breakthroughs with factory-scale output.
Deploy Next-Gen Lab Automation: Own the roadmap for liquid handling and robotics, including the automation needed to scale applications work. Make the build/buy/partner calls on the hardware stack that will define the next level of scale.
Establish Operational Excellence: Build the "Osmo Way" for scientific R&D. Set the standards for lab logistics, safety (EHS), data capture compliance, and resource allocation to ensure 100% reliability in our data pipeline.
Build an Elite Ops Org: Recruit, lead, and develop a lean team of Lab Managers, Applications specialists, and Technicians. Drive a culture where "shipped data," "applications delivered," and "operational uptime" are the primary metrics.
Roadmap & Capex: Own the multi-year capital plan for lab infrastructure, automation, equipment, and applications capability. Build the capex plans for liquid handling and robotic equipment. Make the prioritization calls on where Osmo invests next.
Standards & Governance: Define the operating standards for the lab — SOP frameworks, applications protocols, quality manufacturing protocols, data capture compliance, safety, and quality. The Manager and team execute against the standards you set.
Budget Ownership: Own the R&D Operations budget end-to-end, including consumables forecasting, capex planning, and headcount.
Applications Portfolio: Set the strategy for the application bases Osmo operates in. Collaborate on when and how we bring up new categories (e.g., personal care, fabric care, home care).
Customer Program Delivery: Own the operational capability behind key customer programs ensuring Osmo delivers on commitments at quality and at scale.
Quality Standards: Define what "good" looks like across each application format — the operational and technical bar Osmo is delivering against.
Category Bringup: Lead the operational and capability planning for new applications, from feasibility through scaled delivery.
Hardware Strategy: Act as the executive stakeholder for lab robotics and liquid handling systems. Ensure our hardware stack is future-proofed for the next level of scale across applications.
Drive Technical Requirements: Partner with software, ML, and hardware engineering to drive the technical requirements for the systems that operate the lab — automation platforms, data capture, and manufacturing process tooling.
Build/Buy Decisions: Lead the evaluation and selection of automation platforms, vendors, and integration partners.
The Physical Feedback Loop: Partner with the CTO, ML, and Software teams to ensure the physical lab's output is perfectly structured for digital ingestion. You own the "throughput" part of the AI feedback loop.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Represent R&D Operations in executive forums, capex reviews, and strategic planning. Operate as a partnership-level peer to the CTO and other functional heads.
Team Leadership: Build and lead the R&D Operations org, currently including a Manager, Lab Managers, Applications specialists, Technicians, and the olfactive team.
Talent Development: Coach and develop direct reports — particularly the Manager, R&D Operations — into the next generation of operational leaders at Osmo.