Head of AI Research

About the Role We are a seed-stage deeptech company building an advanced materials acceleration platform at the intersection of physics-informed AI, robotics, and autonomous experimentation — with a focus on the energy sector and beyond. Our mission: compress decades of materials discovery into years by connecting frontier machine learning with real-world experimental pipelines. We are looking for a Head of AI Research to define and lead our AI-for-Materials research agenda. This is a foundational leadership role for someone who wants to shape not just a team, but a new scientific discipline — inventing the representations, learning paradigms, and evaluation frameworks that will underpin the next generation of materials discovery. What You'll Do Define a clear research vision and roadmap for AI-native materials discovery, setting thesis-level bets and identifying high-impact research directions. Identify where existing ML paradigms fall short for physical matter and specify what must be built from the ground up. Lead development of a Materials World Model that integrates experiments, simulations, and learned representations across scales. Collaborate cross-functionally with Programs, Hardware & Automation, and Software Architecture teams to embed research into end-to-end discovery loops. Ensure all models and pipelines are grounded in physical reality and continuously validated against experimental feedback — not just data-driven patterns. Balance long-horizon research ambitions with near-term deliverables and scientific rigor. Build, hire, mentor, and challenge a world-class team of senior ML researchers and computational scientists. Foster a culture of deep thinking, honest evaluation, scientific taste, and intellectual courage. Influence the broader field through external collaborations, publications, and a clear, opinionated point of view on the future of scientific AI. What We're Looking For Required: Advanced degree (PhD strongly preferred) in machine learning, computational physics, chemistry, materials science, or a closely related field. 7+ years of experience in AI/ML research, including demonstrated leadership of senior individual contributors. Deep expertise in representation learning, scientific ML, or foundation models with relevance to physical or chemical systems. Strong intuition for — or direct background in — physics, chemistry, or materials science and their governing constraints. Proven ability to operate at the boundary between theory, systems, and real-world experimental feedback. Demonstrated scientific judgment: comfort with irreversible prioritization calls under uncertainty, and the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to diverse audiences. English fluency required; additional languages are a plus. Based in Berlin, Germany or willing to relocate. Nice to Have: Experience working in or alongside autonomous laboratory / high-throughput experimentation environments. Background at national labs, research institutes, or research-forward industry settings (e.g., materials, energy, or chemical sectors). Track record of cross-disciplinary collaboration bridging ML and physical sciences. Location & Work Arrangement This is a full-time, on-site role based in Berlin, Germany . Candidates must be based in Berlin or willing to relocate. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Why This Role Rare opportunity to define an entire research discipline at an early-stage company with a technically ambitious mission. Work at the frontier of AI and physical science — where models must meet reality. Join a team with deep roots in top-tier research, national laboratories, and leading industrial science organizations. Shape the team, culture, and scientific direction from the ground up.