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Salary: USD 140,000 - 197,333 / annual
Lila Sciences is building AI Science Factories—automated experimental systems that enable AI to learn science by running experiments. The Chemistry AISF spans molecular chemistry, small-molecule synthesis, targeted drug delivery, LNP formulation, colloidal nanochemistry, quantum materials, and the analytical infrastructure connecting them.
You will own the product layer for the Chemistry AISF, deciding which capabilities to build, in what order, to what specification, and how to measure success. You will partner with the Chemistry AISF Program Lead (who owns scientific direction) and AISF Engineering (who owns execution). Your responsibility is the "what" and "why": translating commercial demand, scientific ambition, and AI model requirements into a prioritized capability roadmap, then into requirements crisp enough for engineering teams to scope, staff, and execute.
Key responsibilities include:
- Set product vision, roadmap, and capability priorities across molecular chemistry, synthesis, drug delivery, formulation, nanochemistry, and the shared analytical backbone
- Translate commercial pull, scientific ambition, and AI model needs into a single prioritized roadmap, making tradeoffs explicit and defensible
- Define delivery criteria for capabilities (scope, throughput, performance, autonomy level) in requirements engineering teams can build against
- Co-own the Chemistry AISF program charter with the Program Lead, including capital planning, resourcing, and phasing
- Drive product execution from concept through commissioning across science, engineering, automation, software, and AI
- Own build-versus-buy and platform architecture decisions that determine AISF scalability
- Represent the Chemistry AISF to executives, scientific leaders, partners, and customers; report progress against technical, product, and commercial milestones
Lila combines advanced AI models with proprietary AI Science Factory instruments into an operating system for science that executes the scientific method autonomously, accelerating discovery across medicine, materials, and energy.
REQUIREMENTS:
- MS, PhD, or equivalent experience in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials chemistry, or closely related field
- 5+ years in product management, technical product ownership, or product-adjacent platform roles delivering complex hardware and software systems (lab automation, scientific instrumentation, robotics, ML-enabled experimental platforms)
- Working fluency in at least one Chemistry AISF domain (reaction workup/purification, analytical characterization, nanoparticle formulation) with ability to get credible quickly in others
- Track record of writing requirements engineers can actually build from, not feature wish lists
- Comfort making prioritization calls on incomplete information in front of disagreeing stakeholders; ability to document reasoning for organizational continuity
- Experience leading through influence in matrixed organizations spanning science, engineering, software, and commercial teams
- Strong written communication; significant portion of role involves producing charters, roadmaps, and requirements documents others act on independently
BONUS:
- Hands-on experience with automated synthesis platforms (ChemSpeed or similar), liquid handling under inert atmosphere, or high-throughput formulation systems
- Familiarity with closed-loop and self-driving lab architectures (Bayesian optimization, active learning, agentic experiment design)
- Experience with lab orchestration/scheduling software, instrument integration, or scientific data capture architecture
- Background in small-molecule discovery workflows or LNP/nucleic acid delivery
- Experience supporting partner-funded or customer-funded platform programs
- Capital equipment planning experience (specification, vendor evaluation, commissioning/qualification timelines)
