Founding Scientific Program Lead

Oakwell Hampton Group; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Oakwell Hampton Group, a fast-growing startup in Palo Alto, is seeking a scientist to ensure excellence in data quality within AI-driven drug discovery projects. The ideal candidate will possess hands-on experience managing expert contributors and thrive in a fast-paced environment. With opportunities to work alongside leaders from Google and OpenAI, this role is pivotal in shaping the future of biotech.

Successful applicants will have a PhD in life sciences and be detail-oriented leaders ready to make a significant impact.

Qualifications

• Experience managing expert contributors and ensuring data quality.
• Proven ability to handle multiple projects under pressure.
• Background in pharma or biotech is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Ensure data quality by validating and enforcing scientific rigor.
• Manage day-to-day operations across multiple projects.
• Recruit and manage a network of PhD expert contractors.
• Translate scientific needs into precise data specifications.

Skills

Hands-on experience managing expert contributors

Ability to run multiple complex projects

Detail-oriented mindset

Education

PhD in life sciences

Job description

We are a fast-growing, confidential startup building the data layer that every AI drug discovery platform will run on. We operate at the intersection of AI and drug discovery, which is the most exciting space in biotech. Backed by an Nvidia VP, we are working with top AI labs, global tech companies like Google and OpenAI, and global pharma.

We are looking for someone who is a scientist first, who is tired of big pharma bureaucracy, wants to build infrastructure that matters, and wants to get in early at a company that is going to be big. We need a scientist who can lead, not just manage.

The Role

You will be the person who ensures our data is world-class. Your core responsibilities will include:

• Owning data quality end-to-end: You will personally examine, validate, and enforce scientific rigor at every stage.
• Running day-to-day operations: You will track progress across multiple concurrent projects to ensure nothing falls through the cracks and deadlines are hit.
• Managing expert networks: You will recruit, brief, review, and iterate on the work of a distributed network of PhD expert contractors.
• Translating science to engineering: You will translate client scientific needs into precise data specifications and collaborate with AI engineers to improve data generation pipelines.

The Ideal Candidate

You must have a detail-obsessed, fast-moving, builder mentality. The qualifications for this role are:

• Hands-on experience managing expert contributors and owning data quality delivery at a tech-enabled scientific data or AI training data company (required).
• Proven ability to run multiple complex projects simultaneously under real deadline pressure (required).
• A PhD in life sciences, such as biology, bioinformatics, or pharmacology (strong plus).
• Pharma or biotech domain experience (strong plus).

Why Join Us

• Be part of the founding team with real equity and real impact.
• Your work will directly train the AI models that discover the next breakthrough drug.
• Work alongside industry leaders like Google, OpenAI, and top pharma.

Apply today if you are ready to build infrastructure that matters