Product Manager, Chemistry AI Science Factory
About The Position
The Product Manager owns the product layer for Lila Sciences’ Chemistry AI Science Factory (AISF), an automated experimental system spanning molecular chemistry and small-molecule synthesis, targeted drug delivery and LNP formulation, colloidal nanochemistry and quantum materials, and the shared flow-chemistry and analytical backbone. The role determines which capabilities to build, in what sequence, to what specifications, and how to assess their effectiveness. It partners with the Chemistry AISF Program Lead, who owns scientific direction, and AISF Engineering, which owns the build. The Product Manager translates commercial demand, scientific ambition, and AI model needs into a prioritized roadmap and actionable engineering requirements. The role sets the product vision, roadmap, and capability priorities; defines delivery criteria, including scope, throughput, performance, and autonomy; and co-owns the program charter, capital plan, resourcing, and phasing with the Program Lead. It drives execution from concept through commissioning across science, engineering, automation, software, and AI, and makes build-versus-buy and platform architecture decisions. The Product Manager represents the Chemistry AISF to executives, scientific leaders, partners, and customers, and reports progress against technical, product, and commercial milestones.
Requirements
- MS, PhD, or equivalent experience in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials chemistry, or a closely related field.
- At least 5 years in product management, technical product ownership, or a product-adjacent platform role delivering complex hardware and software systems such as lab automation, scientific instrumentation, robotics, or ML-enabled experimental platforms.
- Working fluency in at least one Chemistry AISF domain and ability to become credible quickly in the others.
- Ability to discuss reaction workup and purification, analytical characterization, or nanoparticle formulation, and recognize when further expertise is needed.
- Track record of writing clear, buildable requirements rather than feature wish lists.
- Ability to make and document prioritization decisions amid incomplete information and disagreement.
- Experience leading through influence in a matrixed organization spanning science, engineering, software, and commercial teams.
- Strong written communication skills.
Nice To Haves
- Hands-on experience with automated synthesis platforms such as ChemSpeed, liquid handling under inert atmosphere, or high-throughput formulation systems.
- Familiarity with closed-loop and self-driving lab architectures, including Bayesian optimization, active learning, or agentic experiment design.
- Experience with lab orchestration and scheduling software, instrument integration, or scientific data capture architecture.
- Background in small-molecule discovery workflows or LNP and nucleic acid delivery.
- Experience supporting partner-funded or customer-funded platform programs, including scoping deliverables and structuring milestones.
- Capital equipment planning experience, including specification, vendor evaluation, and commissioning and qualification timelines.
Responsibilities
- Set product vision, roadmap, and capability priorities for the Chemistry AISF across its scientific domains and shared analytical backbone.
- Translate commercial demand, scientific ambition, and AI model needs into a prioritized roadmap, making tradeoffs explicit and defensible.
- Define capability requirements and delivery criteria, including scope, throughput, performance, and level of autonomy.
- Co-own the Chemistry AISF program charter with the Program Lead, including capital planning, resourcing, and work phasing.
- Drive product execution from concept through commissioning across science, engineering, automation, software, and AI.
- Own build-versus-buy and platform architecture decisions for scaling the Chemistry AISF.
- Represent the Chemistry AISF to executives, scientific leaders, partners, and customers as the product voice for the domain.
- Report progress against technical, product, and commercial milestones.
- Produce charters, roadmaps, and requirements documents that enable teams to act and execute.
Benefits
- Competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early-stage equity.
- For full-time U.S. employees: medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer-paid life and disability insurance; flexible time off; generous company-wide holidays; paid parental leave; educational assistance; commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office-based employees; and a company-subsidized lunch program.
- For full-time employees outside the U.S.: a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
