Operations Manager

X4 Engineering; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full Health

Vision

Dental

Life Insurance

Commuter Benefits

Unlimited Time off

401k matched

Job summary

Frontier AI for Science is seeking an Operations Manager to keep the startup running day to day in Cambridge, MA, in person, with broad ownership from day one. You’ll thrive in a small, hands-on team that values practical problem solving.

You’ll cover scheduling, payroll support, benefits admin, applications and general company administration, plus higher‑value operational work as the business scales, with a clear path to broader operations leadership.

Qualifications

• Some professional experience in operations or business administration.
• Experience in a technology company or startup is a plus.
• Strong ownership and deadline discipline; able to follow through without prompting.
• Adaptable and comfortable with ambiguity; handle tasks from admin to strategic ops.

Responsibilities

• Scheduling and team coordination.
• Payroll support and benefits administration.
• Applications, submissions and general company administration.
• Higher-value operational work as the business scales.

Skills

Operations experience

Administration

Startup experience

Ownership & deadlines

Job description

Operations Manager: Frontier AI for Science Start-up

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts (in person)

Salary: $80,000 to $120,000, depending on experience

The company

They are a well-funded, stealth-mode start-up building frontier AI systems for science. The mission is to create the AI building blocks for atomic-scale simulation. That work could drive major advances in drug discovery, materials, batteries, polymers and other physical-world applications.

The founding team comes from leading US research universities. Its members have contributed to widely used open-source AI-for-science tools, backed by US venture capital and strategic investors, and they are growing the technical team to around 15 over the next 12 months.

The role

We're looking for a versatile, reliable Operations Manager to keep the company running day to day and grow with it. This is a hands-on role in a small, highly collaborative team. You'll have broad exposure and real ownership from day one.

You'll cover a wide range of work, including:

• Scheduling and team coordination
• Payroll support and benefits administration
• Applications, submissions and general company administration
• Higher-value operational work as the business scales

As the company grows, you'll be exposed to cloud-provider partnerships, government agencies, national labs, defence-related research programmes, European governments and pharmaceutical companies. There is a clear path to a broader operations leadership role.

About you

• Some professional experience in operations, business administration or a similar role. You don't need ten years, and you don't need a science or biotech background.
• Experience in a technology company or start-up is a plus.
• Strong ownership and deadline discipline. You follow things through without being chased.
• Adaptable and comfortable with ambiguity. You're happy to handle anything from admin tasks to more strategic operational work.

Benefits:

• Full Health
• Vision
• Dental
• Life Insurance
• Commuter Benefits
• Unlimited Time off
• 401k matched.