Technical Head Of Operations (Engineer)

Technical Head Of Operations (Engineer)

About Us

Grafton Sciences is building physical superintelligence — systems that can experiment, reason, and make discoveries in the real world. We’re designing autonomous laboratories that learn through interaction, not imitation — starting with disease and energy. Backed by $42.5 million from ARPA-H, our mission is to build the first system capable of true scientific discovery. If you want to help invent the future of discovery itself, this is the place.

Role Overview

To realize this vision, we need a Technical Chief of Staff who can design not only machines but the systems that make those machines possible. You will build the connective tissue of the company: integrating technical execution, organizational design, finance, legal, and logistics into one coherent operating architecture. This is a founder-type role for a technically fluent systems builder who thrives on complexity, acts with urgency, and takes personal responsibility for outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

· Engineer and maintain operational infrastructure — from procurement and vendor networks to lab build-outs, hardware provisioning, and compliance systems — using software and automation wherever possible.

· Manage budgets and financial models; use LLM-based tools and scripting to accelerate accounting, legal drafting, and documentation.

· Negotiate and execute contracts, NDAs, IP agreements, and vendor relationships with rigor and velocity.

· Coordinate multi-disciplinary projects spanning robotics, ML, data infrastructure, and laboratory systems; translate seamlessly between technical and non-technical stakeholders.

· Implement company-wide systems for reliability, security, and traceability, minimizing bureaucracy while maximizing clarity and precision.

· Identify capability gaps — technical, organizational, or logistical — and close them yourself or recruit the right people to do so.

· Serve as the integrator between founders, engineers, investors, and partners; ensure the entire system remains synchronized and moving.

Qualifications

· BS/MS in an engineering, physical-science, or computer-science discipline (or equivalent practical experience).

· 5 – 15 years of experience in deep-tech startups, R&D organizations, or complex hardware/AI programs. Demonstration of excellence is more critical than years of experience.

· Demonstrated success leading multi-stakeholder technical projects from concept to delivery — lab buildouts, hardware development, or large-scale experiments.

· Technical fluency across at least two domains (e.g., robotics, ML, data systems, electrical or mechanical engineering, biophysics).

· Comfortable using AI tools, scripting, and automation to accelerate business and technical workflows.

· Proven ability to manage finances, contracts, and vendors while maintaining scientific or engineering integrity.

· Exceptional written and verbal communication; able to produce precise, structured documentation under pressure.

· A temperament suited to early-stage environments: relentless follow-through, intellectual curiosity, and calm in ambiguity.

Candidates must demonstrate clear evidence of systems-level thinking and executional excellence; formal technical degrees do not impact evaluation.

Preferred Backgrounds

• Former founder or early engineer at a robotics, AI, or scientific-hardware company.

• Staff engineer or technical lead who transitioned into operations or strategy to keep complex programs aligned.

• Builder from a venture-studio, defense, or moonshot lab who enjoys solving both organizational and technical problems.

• Researcher or lab engineer from a complex academic project — someone who managed technical experiments, infrastructure, and cross-disciplinary collaboration under resource constraints.

You Might Be a Fit If…

• You’ve built something from nothing — a startup, a lab, a fleet, or an automation system.

• You think in systems and act with urgency.

• You’re equally comfortable in Python, Excel, or a vendor negotiation.

• You believe reliability is elegance.

• You thrive in environments where everything matters.

We’re looking for people who thrive in demanding environments — researchers and engineers who could work anywhere but want to work on something that actually changes the pace of scientific discovery.

Why This Role Matters

You will help design the operating system for physical superintelligence, the grandest challenge of our era. Your fingerprints will be on everything: the systems we run, the discoveries we make, and the culture we build.

Compensation

Competitive salary commensurate with experience, plus performance-based incentives and meaningful equity participation.