Head of Chemistry

The posting, as PhysicsX wrote it

About us

Re-architecting Engineering for the Age of Intelligence

PhysicsX is the physics AI company for industrials. The company’s mission is to accelerate hardware innovation by overhauling what industrial engineering and manufacturing look like today. PhysicsX is building a new simulation software stack to deliver deep physics AI enablement across the entire engineering lifecycle. The company partners with leading organisations in aerospace & defence, automotive, semiconductors, materials, and energy & renewables, supporting them on some of their most critical and complex challenges. PhysicsX is headquartered in the United Kingdom, with offices in London, New York, and Singapore and an expanding presence in the Bay Area.

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’l
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focused, ambitious work with a life beyond it. Our hybrid model blends time together in our New York office with work-from-home days, giving you the flexibility to work sustainably while staying connected in person.

US Benefits

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

💰 5% contribution to 401(k) - build long-term security with a strong retirement plan.

🍽️ Free team lunch 1x/week - good food, great company, and space to connect.

🏥 Private health insurance – comprehensive cover for you, offering total peace of mind.

👶 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.

☀️ 20 days of Annual Leave (+ Public Holidays) - because taking time to rest matters.

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

💪 Gympass / Wellhub (subsidized) – for you and up to 3 family members, supporting both physical and mental wellbeing.

💳 Flexible Spending Account (FSA) – set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible healthcare expenses.

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

Salary for this position in the USA is from $200,000 to $300,000

We value diversity and are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity. We strongly encourage individuals from groups traditionally underrepresented in tech to apply. To help make a change, we sponsor bright women from disadvantaged backgrounds through their university degrees in science and mathematics.

We collect diversity and inclusion data solely for the purpose of monitoring the effectiveness of our equal opportunities policies and ensuring compliance with employment and equality legislation. This information is confidential, used only in aggregate form, and will not influence the outcome of your application.