Director / Senior Director, Product, Physical Sciences

Lila Sciences; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 272,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits program

Flexible time off

Education assistance program

Company subsidized lunch program

Job summary

Lila Sciences in Cambridge, MA is seeking a Director/Senior Director for Product in Physical Sciences. In this role, you will define the product vision and strategy while managing cross-functional teams focused on scientific discovery. With over 7 years of product leadership experience, you will communicate effectively with stakeholders and drive the commercial outcomes of the domain.

The position offers competitive compensation, including potential bonuses and equity. Comprehensive benefits are also provided for full-time employees.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in product management or leadership roles in technical products.
• Deep understanding of physical-science workflows.
• Experience in building product strategies for scientific platforms.

Responsibilities

• Set product vision and roadmap for Physical Sciences portfolio.
• Drive execution from concept to launch across product areas.
• Define and report success metrics and milestones to leadership.

Skills

Product leadership

Executive communication

Collaborative leadership

Understanding of physical-science R&D

Impact-focused results delivery

Education

MS, PhD, or equivalent experience in physical sciences

Job description

Director / Senior Director, Product, Physical Sciences

Cambridge, MA USA

Lila Sciences is hiring a Director, Product, Physical Sciences: a strategic, cross-functional product leader who shapes the vision, roadmap, and execution for platforms that accelerate scientific discovery and product development. Reporting to the Head of Physical Science Product, you will lead product strategy and delivery across capabilities at the intersection of physical science, simulation and physics-based modeling, lab automation, data and ML, and scientific intelligence.

This role requires strong leadership, crisp prioritization, and the ability to translate complex technical and scientific work into clear product direction and measurable outcomes for internal teams, partners, and customers. You will be deeply customer-facing, serving as a trusted technical and product voice with prospects and partners, and shaping proposals, driving commercial conversations, and closing deals that bring Lila's Physical Sciences platform to market.

What You'll Be Building

• Set the long-term product vision, roadmap, and portfolio priorities for Lila's Physical Sciences portfolio.
• Define product strategy and target product profiles (TPPs) for physical-science workflows: materials design, formulation, characterization, reliability, scale-up.
• Drive product execution from concept to launch across physical sciences, simulation, automation, data engineering, and ML.
• Represent product to executives, scientific leaders, partners, and customers as the senior external voice for the domain.
• Own commercial outcomes end-to-end: opportunity shaping, proposal development, deal closure, and revenue for the domain.
• Define success metrics and milestones (technical, product, commercial) and report progress clearly to leadership.

What You'll Need to Succeed

• MS, PhD, or equivalent experience in physical sciences (materials science, chemistry, physics, chemical or mechanical engineering, related fields).
• 7+ years of product leadership (PM, Group PM, Product Lead) building and launching complex technical products: scientific software or hardware, simulation platforms, data products, ML-enabled systems.
• Deep understanding of physical-science R&D workflows: experimental iteration, instrumentation, data quality, scale-up constraints.
• Strong familiarity with one or more of:
• Strong executive communication: clear storytelling and decisions legible to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Highly collaborative leadership style; influences across research, engineering, operations, and commercial teams.
• Output- and impact-focused: driven by delivered results against mission and program goals.

Bonus Points For

• Track record defining and executing TPPs and product strategies for scientific platforms (software + hardware + workflows), not just standalone applications.
• Experience building products at the intersection of LLMs/agentic systems and technical or scientific workflows, with a point of view on where these tools actually change throughput and decision quality in physical-science R&D.
• Direct experience with external partners or customers in technical domains (materials, energy, aerospace, manufacturing, industrials).
• Deep domain knowledge in simulations, semiconductors, or formulations.

Compensation

We offer competitive base compensation with bonus potential and generous early-stage equity. Your final offer will reflect your background, expertise, and expected impact.

U.S. Benefits

Full-time U.S. employees receive a comprehensive benefits program including medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer-paid life and disability insurance; flexible time off with generous company wide holidays; paid parental leave; an educational assistance program; commuter benefits, including bike share memberships for office based employees; and a company subsidized lunch program.

International Benefits

Full-time employees outside the U.S. receive a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region. USD salary ranges apply only to U.S.-based positions; international salaries are set to local market.

Expected Base Salary Range

$168,000 - $272,000 USD

Lila Sciences is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.