Research Engineering Manager

About the Role

As a Research Engineering Manager at Citrine Informatics, you will play a pivotal role in advancing our state-of-the-art AI platform for materials and chemical innovation. This is a unique opportunity to apply your expertise in machine learning and optimization to real-world challenges, contributing directly to the acceleration of sustainable, high-performing material discovery. You will be instrumental in bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and impactful product features, helping our customers achieve breakthroughs up to 98% faster than traditional methods.

You will leverage your deep technical skills to develop and implement novel algorithms, validate their performance through rigorous experimentation, and guide their seamless integration into our no-code SaaS platform. Your contributions will directly influence the evolution of our generative AI capabilities, empowering product developers, researchers, and engineers with unparalleled tools for domain-specific data management and intelligent material design. This role demands a hands-on approach, a passion for scientific rigor, and a collaborative spirit to partner with cross-functional teams in bringing transformative solutions to market.

Responsibilities

• Lead & Mentor: Manage a team of applied and research scientists, providing technical guidance, mentoring, and career development support.
• Drive Research-to-Product Pipeline: Translate research outcomes into production-ready features that create customer value.
• Shape Research Programs: Collaborate with Product and Engineering to define and prioritize applied science initiatives aligned with strategic goals.
• Hands-on Contribution: Develop prototypes, validate algorithms, and guide experiments that inform adoptions of cutting-edge ML methods.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner closely with engineers, designers, and product managers to ensure scientific rigor and seamless feature delivery.

Skills and Experience

• Advanced degree (PhD or MS with experience) in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Materials Science, or related field.
  
  
• 5+ years of industry or research experience applying ML/optimization in real-world systems.
  
  
• Excellent programming skills in Python and experience with ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn, etc).
  
  
• Demonstrated ability to implement new algorithms or optimization methods in code (beyond configuring pre-built libraries).
  
  
• Experience managing or mentoring applied science or research teams, with a “hands-on” leadership style.
• Deep understanding of experimental design, statistical analysis, and ML deployment best practices.

Nice-to-Haves

• Background in materials science, chemistry, or scientific computing domains.
  
  
• Experience shipping ML-powered product features in SaaS or enterprise software.
• Track record of publications, patents, or contributions to open-source ML/science software.
• Studies have shown that women and underrepresented minorities are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification listed. Citrine Informatics is invested in creating a diverse, authentic, and inclusive team, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t perfectly align with what you read above, please consider applying anyway!

Equal Opportunity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin. Please let us know if you need any accommodations during the interview process. 

Accommodations

Citrine is an inclusive work environment, and we are committed to ensuring equal opportunity in employment for qualified persons with disabilities. Please email us at peopleops@citrine.io or inform your recruiter if you require any reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process.

Our Core Values

Citrine Informatics recognizes that its most valuable asset is its people. We have created our set of Core Values to encourage, support, and invest in our team as they work to innovate and support a more sustainable world. Our Core Values reflect our ongoing commitment to continuously invest in nurturing our talent and our people-first approach to conducting business.   

- We take pride in and recognize the successes and growth of ourselves and our colleagues. We support each other in our growth.

- We prototype and collect data to make good decisions. We question that data and are constantly iterating to find the best solution.

- We are all owners of Citrine and make decisions like owners. We work autonomously with personal and organizational accountability. 

- We commit to building a diverse and inclusive community within Citrine and actively promote equity and belonging.

- We are tirelessly committed to creating value for our customers.

- We exist to help our customers accelerate the development of sustainable products that are critical to the future of both our planet and our industry.

Compensation and Pay Transparency 

At Citrine, we want your path to career growth to be transparent, straightforward, fair, and easily accessible -- starting with your application and interview process. The annual salary range listed below reflects the level we are considering for this position (please note that there may be unique situations where you may fall outside of this range). Where you fall within the range will depend on how your experience and skills align with our internal leveling system as we learn more about you throughout the interview process.

$185,000 USD - $230,000 USD

*Range(s) listed are for full-time employees based in the United States only.

Our Benefits (for exempt, full-time employees based within the United States)

401k with matching up to 4%

Medical, vision, dental insurance (we pay 100% of your premium and 75% of your dependents)

Company-paid Life and Disability insurance

FSA and HSA plans

Equity options within the company

12 weeks of paid parental leave

Flexible PTO on top of our 15 paid company holidays (includes your birthday!)

Free financial counseling 

$600 tech allowance

Monthly $75 phone reimbursement

$5,000 annual continuing educational allowance