Principal / Senior Principal Product Lead, Lab-as-Software

Your Impact at Lila

As Lila’s Product Lead for Lab-as-Software you will own product definition and execution of a novel, AI-first lab automation software platform that is fully integrated with our in-house LIMS and enables closed-loop learning cycles with unprecedented speed and variability. You will define the strategy and lead the execution to embed the latest advancements in AI directly into the scientific workflow. Your work will directly accelerate research, empowering scientists to ask bigger questions and find answers faster than ever before.

PM at Lila is a high-ownership, hands-on job. You will be the bridge between scientists, commercial teams, and software & automation engineers, and own the entire product lifecycle from user research and rapid whiteboarding to shipping and iterating on production systems. Your product sense and stakeholder conversations will determine the scope and sequence of what we build into each phase of our LIMS.

What You'll Be Building

• Own the product vision, strategy, and execution for our Lab as Software platform, identifying the highest-impact opportunities to augment the scientific method.
• Launch novel, user-facing features and products that leverage the latest tools and techniques in thoughtful, meaningful ways that work in production
• Lead the end-to-end product development process, from conducting deep user research with scientists to writing specs, wireframing concepts, and working with engineers to build and launch.
• Partner closely with our world-class ML and software engineering teams to discern what is technically possible and creatively apply it to user problems, separating production-ready solutions from mere demos.
• Define and analyze simple, insightful metrics to measure the success of your products, ensuring our AI tools are not just technologically impressive but also drive meaningful scientific outcomes.
• Act as the internal subject matter expert on lab automation, constantly evaluating new models, techniques, and tools to keep Lila at the forefront.
• Be the voice of the user, championing their needs and ensuring the products we build are intuitive, reliable, and powerful.

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• Proven experience in product management, delivering technically complex, user-centric products from concept to launch. This role is also open to exceptional, product-oriented engineers looking to transition into product management.
• Direct, hands-on experience as a PM for lab automation. You know the failure modes and what it takes to ship.
• Extreme product sense and user empathy, with a demonstrated ability to conduct your own user research, distill complex needs into simple solutions, and drive product vision.
• A bias for action and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, ambiguous startup environment. You are comfortable moving from a problem statement to a whiteboard solution to a spec in minutes, not weeks.
• Strong technical fluency and credibility, with the ability to engage deeply with software & automation engineers
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, capable of articulating a clear vision and working with stakeholders across science, engineering, and leadership.
• Ability to work from our Cambridge, MA office 3-5 days per week.

Bonus Points For

• Prior experience building products for scientists, researchers, or other technical expert personas.
• Strong quantitative and data analysis skills
• A background or formal education in life sciences, chemistry, physics, or materials science.
• Experience as a founding or early-stage product manager.

About Lila

Lila Sciences is the world’s first scientific superintelligence platform and autonomous lab for life, chemistry, and materials science.  We are pioneering a new age of boundless discovery by building the capabilities to apply AI to every aspect of the scientific method.  We are introducing scientific superintelligence to solve humankind's greatest challenges, enabling scientists to bring forth solutions in human health, climate, and sustainability at a pace and scale never experienced before. Learn more about this mission at  www.lila.ai

If this sounds like an environment you’d love to work in, even if you only have some of the experience listed below, we encourage you to apply.

Compensation

We expect the base salary for this role to fall between $204,000–$310,000 USD per year, along with bonus potential and generous early equity. The final offer will reflect your unique background, expertise, and impact.

We’re All In

Lila Sciences is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

Information you provide during your application process will be handled in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Policy.

A Note to Agencies

Lila Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Lila Sciences or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Lila Science’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Lila Sciences, and Lila Sciences will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.