Business Operations Lead, Product & Science at Periodic Labs

About Periodic Labs The most important scientific discoveries of our time won’t happen in a traditional lab. We’re an AI and physical sciences company building state-of-the-art models to accelerate breakthroughs across materials, energy, and beyond. Backed by world-class investors and growing rapidly, we operate at the pace the frontier requires. Our team brings deep expertise, genuine ownership, and an insatiable drive to push the boundaries of what’s scientifically possible. About the Role Periodic Labs sits at the intersection of frontier AI and physical science — and the operational challenges we face reflect that complexity. As Business Operations Lead, you will be the connective tissue between our research teams, our model development roadmap, and the broader strategic and operational needs of the company. You will work cross functionally to accelerate the translation of scientific progress into outcomes that matter. This is a high-ownership role for someone who can operate in deeply technical environments without being a researcher themselves — someone who understands how science gets done, how AI models get built, and what it takes to build the organizational systems that allow both to happen faster. You will help withproduct-science coordination, and serve as a trusted strategic partner to leadership on the decisions that shape our trajectory. The ideal candidate has a graduate-level scientific background — physics, chemistry, materials science, or a closely related field — combined with meaningful experience in strategy, operations, or product roles at a technology or research organization. You think rigorously, communicate exceptionally, and have a rare ability to earn the trust of both scientists and executives. What You’ll Do Research & Science Operations - Support the operating rhythm of the research organization — research planning cycles, milestone tracking, experiment prioritization, and cross-team coordination between AI and physical sciences - Design and maintain systems that give leadership real-time visibility into research progress, resource utilization, and emerging risks across the model development and lab science roadmaps - Partner with the Head of Research and Principal Scientists to translate long-horizon scientific goals into quarterly operating plans, resourcing decisions, and hiring priorities - Identify and remove the organizational, process, and tooling bottlenecks that slow down researchers and scientists — acting as a force multiplier for the people doing the core work - Coordinate compute, lab equipment, and infrastructure resource allocation across research projects, working closely with infra and lab operations leads Product–Science Interface - Serve as the operational link between research outputs and product development — ensuring scientific milestones translate into clear product implications and that product needs are legible to research teams - Drive the product planning process in close partnership with founders and product leads: roadmap development, prioritization frameworks, and cross-functional alignment - Build the processes and artifacts (roadmaps, decision logs, spec templates, review cadences) that make the product-science collaboration scalable as we grow - Lead or support evaluation design, benchmark development, and model assessment processes that connect scientific capability to real-world product requirements Strategy & Leadership Partnership - Lead special projects and strategic analyses that don’t fit neatly into any existing function: competitive landscape assessments, build/buy/partner decisions, new capability evaluations - Support external partnerships, collaborations, and customer engagements that sit at the boundary of research and commercial — from scoping to execution You Will Thrive in This Role If You Have - An undergraduate or graduate degree (PhD or Master’s) in physics, chemistry, materials science, computational science, or a closely related quantitative discipline — or equivalent depth demonstrated through research or industry experience - 5+ years of experience in strategy, operations, product management, chief-of-staff, or a closely related function — with at least some of that time spent inside a technical, research-driven, or AI organization - A genuine ability to read and engage with primary scientific literature, follow technical discussions at the frontier of AI and physical science, and translate what you learn into operational decisions - Exceptional analytical and structured thinking — you can decompose hard problems, build models under uncertainty, and present findings with conviction and intellectual honesty - Outstanding communication skills: you write with precision and clarity, and you can adapt your register from a conversation with a principal scientist to a board presentation without losing rigor - High agency, strong judgment, and the organizational credibility to influence without authority across a team of world-class researchers and engineers - Experience designing and operating planning and prioritization systems in environments where the work is exploratory, the outputs are uncertain, and the stakes are high - A genuine belief in the mission — you are drawn to the idea of using AI to accelerate scientific discovery, and that orientation shapes how you approach your work Especially Strong Candidates May Also Have - A PhD in a physical science or engineering discipline with research experience at the boundary of computation and experiment — molecular simulation, condensed matter, materials informatics, or similar - Prior experience in a research operations, technical program management, or science strategy role at an AI lab, national lab, or research-intensive technology company - Hands-on experience with AI/ML workflows, model evaluation, or the product development lifecycle for AI-powered applications - A background that spans both the scientific and commercial sides of a technology organization — you’ve sat in rooms with researchers and with customers, and you know how to bridge those worlds - Experience building or scaling operational functions from scratch, including hiring, process design, and tooling selection Mechanics - Minimum education: Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and training or experience - Location: Our lab is located in Menlo Park and we prefer folks to be located in Menlo Park or San Francisco but can be flexible based on role - Compensation: The annual compensation range for this role is approximately $277,000-$350,000 - Visa sponsorship: Yes, we sponsor visas and will do everything we can to assist in this process with our legal support. We’re building a team of the world’s best — the scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers who don’t just follow the frontier, they define it. If you’re driven to bring AI to life in the physical world and make discoveries that have never been made before, you belong here.