Job Overview
Location
Remote
Job Type
Full-time
Category
Data Scientist
Date Posted
February 12, 2026
Full Job Description
đź“‹ Description
- • SandboxAQ is seeking a visionary and results-oriented Staff Research Scientist, Project Lead to spearhead the development and scaling of our AI-driven Alloy Materials platform. This pivotal role is designed for a senior technical leader who will own the end-to-end execution of our lightweighting alloy initiatives, with a strategic focus on U.S. Government and defense applications. You will be instrumental in driving customer-facing delivery, orchestrating internal multidisciplinary teams, and ensuring seamless technical-program alignment across the entire lifecycle of alloy materials discovery, optimization, qualification, and manufacturing enablement.
- • As the program execution leader, you will define the overarching technical vision for the alloy platform, guiding its evolution and ensuring its alignment with critical mission objectives. Your leadership will extend to guiding diverse teams, fostering innovation, and representing SandboxAQ with distinction to senior government stakeholders. This is a high-visibility position that demands exceptional communication skills, robust program leadership capabilities, a deep understanding of AI/ML principles, and profound domain expertise in alloy materials.
- • **Technical & Platform Leadership:** You will be responsible for establishing and championing the technical vision and the 'north star' architecture for our AI-driven alloy platform. This involves leading the sophisticated integration of cutting-edge AI/ML techniques, advanced physics simulations, and comprehensive materials knowledge graphs. The goal is to create a unified representation of complex microstructure knowledge and processing pathways, ensuring that data is interconnected, reusable, and optimized for lightweighting and manufacturability across all programs. This foundational work will enable predictive capabilities and accelerate the discovery of novel alloy compositions and processing routes.
- • **Program Execution & Delivery:** You will drive the end-to-end delivery of multiple U.S. Government programs, meticulously managing the full lifecycle from initial discovery and down-selection of candidate materials through to rigorous validation and successful transition to manufacturing. A key aspect of this responsibility is establishing clear, measurable success metrics that effectively balance scientific rigor and AI performance with the critical mission impact required by our government partners. This requires a keen understanding of both technical validation and operational deployment.
- • **Stakeholder & Customer Engagement:** You will serve as the primary technical interface for senior government officials, national laboratory researchers, and defense partners. This involves leading crucial Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs) and strategic roadmap discussions. A core competency will be your ability to translate sophisticated AI-materials insights and complex technical findings into clear, compelling strategic narratives that resonate with both highly technical engineering teams and senior decision-makers. Building trust and fostering strong relationships with external stakeholders will be paramount.
- • **Cross-Functional Leadership:** This role demands the orchestration and influential leadership of multidisciplinary teams. You will collaborate closely with experts in materials science, AI research, software engineering, and cybersecurity to translate high-level mission objectives into executable technical plans. Ensuring the long-term scalability and reusability of the platform will be a continuous focus, requiring strategic foresight and effective team coordination.
- • **Strategy & Growth:** You will play a significant role in shaping the long-term strategy for alloy initiatives within the defense sector and adjacent markets. This includes leading the development of compelling proposals, defining Statement of Work (SOW) documents, and crafting winning themes. Furthermore, you will actively identify key opportunities for platform expansion, forge strategic partnerships, and pinpoint areas for future investment in the rapidly evolving field of AI-enabled alloy materials engineering. Your strategic insights will be critical to SandboxAQ's continued growth and leadership in this domain.
- • At SandboxAQ, we are building a future where advanced AI and quantum technologies solve some of the world's most pressing challenges. Our Alloy Materials platform is at the forefront of this mission, enabling the creation of next-generation materials critical for national security and technological advancement. By joining our team, you will contribute to groundbreaking work, collaborate with world-class experts, and have a tangible impact on the future of materials science and engineering.
🎯 Requirements
- • MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a closely related scientific or engineering field.
- • Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in technical and program leadership roles, preferably within the DoD, national labs, aerospace defense, advanced manufacturing, or related sectors.
- • Demonstrated success in leading multi-stakeholder, high-complexity technical programs, particularly those leveraging AI/ML for materials science or complex engineering problems.
- • Strong foundational expertise in alloy materials, including but not limited to Al, Mg, Ti, and Ni systems, with a deep understanding of microstructure-property relationships, processing techniques, and qualification pathways.
- • Proven ability to lead complex technical programs with external customers, demonstrating success in managing diverse requirements and delivering impactful results.
- • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a proven track record of translating complex technical concepts for a wide range of audiences, including senior government leaders, executives, and technical teams. Must possess the ability to lead through influence and drive accountability across teams.
- • Familiarity with ITAR-compliant environments, handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and experience with cloud-based High-Performance Computing (HPC) workflows.
- • Must be a U.S. Citizen.
🏖️ Benefits
- • Competitive compensation package including base salary, performance-based incentives, and potential equity participation.
- • Comprehensive health benefits: medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, with substantial employer premium contributions.
- • Robust retirement savings plan with company matching contributions.
- • Generous paid time off (PTO) and company-wide seasonal breaks to support work-life balance.
- • Paid parental leave and inclusive family-building benefits.
- • Opportunities for continuous learning and professional growth through on-the-job development, cross-functional collaboration, and access to internal learning and development programs.
Skills & Technologies
Senior
Remote
Degree Required
About SandboxAQ Inc.
SandboxAQ is an enterprise AI company spun out of Alphabet in 2022, focused on applying large quantitative models to solve complex problems in cybersecurity, encryption, sensing, and simulation. Its software and hardware solutions combine AI with quantum-inspired methods to help government and Fortune 500 clients secure data, accelerate materials discovery, and optimize sensing for healthcare and navigation. Based in Palo Alto with global offices, the company partners with large systems integrators and cloud vendors to deploy scalable, physics-aware AI platforms for defense, life sciences, and financial services organizations.
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