Head of Chemistry at PhysicsX in London, United Kingdom

Chemistry and materials underpin many of PhysicsX’s highest-priority sectors, spanning semiconductors, electrochemistry, specialty and commodity chemicals, mining, and oil & gas. We work from atoms to systems, transforming how chemists, materials scientists, and engineers exploit new materials, design new processes and devices, monitor performance, and optimise the operation of existing assets. This includes identifying the key chemical phenomena and mechanisms that must be captured, and the scale at which to simulate them, to drive discovery, scale-up, and optimisation. We apply a diverse range of approaches, from DFT to AI-driven inverse problem solving, and simulate at every scale between atomistic and continuum.

Many AI companies are working on materials discovery. Most stop at a predicted property or a ranked list of candidates. We go further. We carry chemistry from the atom to the device, cell, reactor, and plant, so our customers can see whether a new material or process delivers the performance they need, at industrial scale, and within real manufacturing constraints.

This role is available in the UK or US.

This Role

You’ll build this distinctive atoms-to-systems capability, coupling atomistic and molecular insight into the continuum and systems-scale models across PhysicsX, so our customers can industrialise novel materials and processes faster. This is a mandate to define and deliver a new era for chemists, materials scientists, process engineers, and operators.

To do this, you’ll own chemistry capabilities at PhysicsX, from the team to the technology. You’ll set the technical direction and standards for chemistry across the company, and lead the chemistry team across two streams:

• Capability: Direct the team building our chemistry capabilities. Work with Product to productise functionality, and with Research to keep pushing the frontier across chemistry and AI. Partner with our industry leads so the roadmap delivers the greatest value to our customers.
• Customers: Work with our Delivery leads to ensure the right people are on the right customer projects and well supported, and that we keep growing the team with the right skill sets. You are the hiring manager for the team across both streams.

You’ll be the foremost chemistry voice in conversations with prospective customers. You’ll work with industry leads and customers, read the signal from those interactions, and decide which technical directions to pursue, how best to support our customers’ chemistry needs, and which capabilities to use or develop.

You’ll also:

• Decide which machine learning approaches for chemistry we build, which we adopt, and how they couple into our continuum and systems-scale models
• Own the balance between capability development and time with our customers
• Stay hands-on enough to go deep with the team on hard technical problems

Your performance will be judged in equal parts by the success you drive with our customers and the uptake of new, distinctive capabilities.

This Role

You have a PhD in computational chemistry or computational materials science. Alternatively, your PhD is in a related field such as chemical engineering, materials science, electrochemistry, or applied physics, with substantial research in atomistic or multiscale modeling. You have 6+ years of deep technical work since your PhD, in industry or an industry-facing setting.

You have hands-on depth in atomistic simulation and machine learning interatomic potentials. You also have working knowledge of techniques at other scales, including molecular, mesoscale, phase-field, reactive flow, and process simulation. Just as importantly, you know how to connect them: which quantities must carry from one scale to the next, and where a surrogate can replace a simulation. You’ve applied this to real industrial problems and have direct experience in relevant industries. Semiconductors, electrochemistry, or catalysis would be ideal.

You’ve led and grown a team of 5+ technical specialists. You’ve set their research and capability direction, hired them, and developed them. You’ve built a technical roadmap, prioritized it against competing demands, and owned its delivery.

You communicate clearly in all directions: up to leadership; across to Product, Research, and Delivery; out to customers; and down to your team. You lay out decisions, options, and constraints so nobody’s guessing. You have credibility with both a deep technical team and senior leadership.

Ideally, you’ve spent recent years at an AI-led materials company or a start-up, setting technical direction at pace in a field that was still being defined, where you had to build the approach as you went. You have a deep entrepreneurial streak: you want to build, and you want to lead and grow things. You want real responsibility and to be held accountable for it. You’re energized rather than drained by ambiguity and a fast-changing environment. This isn’t a 9-to-5 role, and you won’t be told exactly what to do; you forge your own path and help others forge theirs.

You’re willing to travel to customer sites and PhysicsX offices, on average 3–4 weeks per quarter, including internationally.

Our delivery teams drive innovation to turn AI models into practical solutions - read our blog to learn more about how you’ll contribute to this exciting journey!

What We Offer

Build what actually matters

Help shape an AI-native engineering company at a formative stage, tackling problems that genuinely matter for industry and society. This is work with real-world impact - and something you can be proud to stand behind.

Learn alongside exceptional people

Work with a high-caliber, collaborative team of engineers, scientists, and operators who care deeply about doing great work, and about helping each other get better. We come from diverse backgrounds, but we share a commitment to operating at the highest level and addressing some of the most complex challenges out there. If you’re ambitious, thoughtful, and driven by impact, you’ll feel at home.

Influence over hierarchy

We operate with a flat structure: good ideas win - wherever they come from. Questioning assumptions and challenging the status quo isn’t just welcomed, it’s expected.

Sustainable pace, long-term ambition

Building meaningful technology is a marathon, not a sprint. We believe in balancing focused, ambitious work with a life beyond it. Our hybrid model blends time together in our Shoreditch office with work-from-home days, giving you the flexibility to work sustainably while staying connected in person.

And it doesn’t stop there …

🚀 Equity options - share meaningfully in the company you’re helping to build.

🏦 10% employer pension contribution - because investing in future matters.

🍽️ Free office lunches - to keep you energised and focused.

👶 Enhanced parental leave - 3 months full pay paternity and 6 months full pay maternity leave, to provide extra flexibility during the moments that matter most.

🍼 YellowNest nursery scheme - to help working parents manage childcare costs.

☀️ 25 days of Annual Leave (+ Public Holidays) - because taking time to rest matters.

🏥 Private medical insurance - 100% employee cover, giving you complete peace of mind.

💪 Wellhub Subscription - gain access to thousands of gyms, classes and wellness apps, supporting both physical and mental wellbeing.

👀 Eye tests - because good work depends on good health.

📈 Personal development - dedicated support for learning, development, and leveling up over time.

💛 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - confidential wellbeing support, available whenever you need it.

🚲 Bike2Work scheme and 🚆 Season ticket loan - to make getting to work easier and greener.

🚗 Octopus EV salary sacrifice - for a simpler, more sustainable way to drive electric.

🔎 Watch this space, we’re continuing to build this as we grow…