Staff Research Scientist & Project Lead

SandboxAQ

About The Position

SandboxAQ is a high-growth company delivering AI solutions that address some of the world's greatest challenges. The company’s Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) power advances in life sciences, financial services, navigation, cybersecurity, and other sectors. We are a global team that is tech-focused and includes experts in AI, chemistry, cybersecurity, physics, mathematics, medicine, engineering, and other specialties. The company emerged from Alphabet Inc. as an independent, growth capital-backed company in 2022, funded by leading investors and supported by a braintrust of industry leaders. At SandboxAQ, we’ve cultivated an environment that encourages creativity, collaboration, and impact. By investing deeply in our people, we’re building a thriving, global workforce poised to tackle the world's epic challenges. Join us to advance your career in pursuit of an inspiring mission, in a community of like-minded people who value entrepreneurialism, ownership, and transformative impact. We’re hiring a senior technical leader to own and scale SandboxAQ’s LQM-driven Alloy Materials platform, with a particular focus on lightweighting alloys for U.S. Government and defense applications.. This person will be the program execution leader—owning customer-facing delivery, internal coordination, and technical-program alignment across alloy materials discovery, optimization, qualification, and manufacturing enablement efforts. You will define the technical vision, guide execution across multidisciplinary teams, and represent SandboxAQ to senior government stakeholders. This is a high-visibility role requiring excellent communication, strong program leadership, experience with AI/ML, and deep domain knowledge in alloy materials.

Requirements

MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or related field.
8+ years experience in technical and program leadership (DoD, national labs, aerospace/defense, advanced manufacturing, or adjacent) with demonstrated success leading multi-stakeholder, high-complexity technical programs using AI/ML for materials or engineering problems.
Strong alloy materials expertise (e.g., Al/Mg/Ti/Ni/steel systems; microstructure–property relationships; processing and qualification pathways).
Demonstrated success leading multi-stakeholder, high-complexity technical programs with external customers. Comfort working with ambiguity and evolving requirements with a high ownership mindset.
Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated ability to translate complex technical concepts for diverse audiences, including senior government leaders, executives, and technical teams with a proven ability to lead through influence and drive accountability.
Familiarity with ITAR-compliant environments, CUI handing, and cloud-based HPC workflows.
Must be a U.S. Citizen.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience supporting U.S. Government contracts (DoD, DOE, DARPA, AFRL, ARPA-E, NAVSEA, Army, etc.).
Background in metallurgical engineering or applied materials science with familiarity with ICME, computational materials, CALPHAD, process modeling, qualification/transition workflows.
Familiarity with knowledge graphs, data ontologies, or structured materials databases.
Experience with hardware/manufacturing programs (additive manufacturing, casting, forging, heat treatment, welding, joining) and understanding of structural engineering or lightweight design principles.
Experience supporting or developing AI-driven tools for engineering or manufacturing workflows.

Responsibilities

Technical & Platform Leadership: Own the technical vision and "north star" architecture for the AI-driven alloy platform. You will lead the integration of AI/ML, physics simulations, and materials knowledge graphs to represent complex microstructure knowledge and processing pathways, ensuring data is connected and reusable across all programs to optimize for lightweighting and manufacturability.
Program Execution & Delivery: Drive end-to-end delivery for multiple U.S. Government programs, managing the full lifecycle from discovery and down-selection through to validation and manufacturing transition. You will establish success metrics that balance scientific rigor and AI performance with critical customer mission impact.
Stakeholder & Customer Engagement: Serve as the primary technical interface for senior government, lab, and defense partners. You will lead Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs) and roadmap discussions, translating sophisticated AI-materials insights into clear strategic narratives for both engineers and senior decision-makers.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Orchestrate and influence multidisciplinary teams—spanning materials science, AI research, software engineering, and security—to translate mission objectives into executable technical plans that ensure long-term platform scalability and reuse.
Strategy & Growth: Contribute to the long-term strategy for alloy initiatives across defense and adjacent sectors. You will lead proposal development (including SOWs and win themes) and identify key opportunities for platform expansion, strategic partnerships, and future investment areas in AI-enabled alloy materials engineering.

Benefits

Competitive base salary, performance-based incentives or bonuses (where applicable), and equity participation.
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents with generous employer premium contributions, retirement savings with company matching, paid parental leave, and inclusive family-building benefits.
Flexible paid time off, company-wide seasonal breaks, and support for flexible work arrangements that enable sustainable performance.
Opportunities for continuous learning and growth through on-the-job development, cross-functional collaboration, and access to internal learning and development programs.

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