Principal Product Manager, Catalysis

SandboxAQ's AI Simulation (AISim) division develops and applies Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) grounded in physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology to simulate molecular behavior and accelerate discovery across biopharma, chemicals, advanced materials, healthcare, and more. Within AISim, ChemSim is SandboxAQ's AI-driven materials discovery platform. SandboxAQ is seeking a Product Manager to own the Catalysis vertical. This is a dual-mandate role: in the near term, the product owner for catalysis within SandboxAQ's $500M CHIPS Act R&D award from the U.S. Department of Commerce; in parallel, building the commercial foundation that turns catalysis into a product-led business generating recurring revenue from the broader materials and process-chemistry market.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end Catalysis product strategy, vision and roadmap, spanning CHIPS Act contractual deliverables, vertical scientific depth, and commercial expansion; Build a deep understanding of customer needs by working with Application Scientists and the Business Development team, and translate insights into prioritized product requirements and specifications; Translate the program's catalysis objectives into product requirements, a vertical roadmap, and evidence packages for Fulfillment Notices to the U.S. Department of Commerce; Define dataset and model requirements for the vertical, including chemical coverage, fidelity, and benchmarking; Drive the roadmap from property and energetics prediction toward reaction-level modelling; Quantify the value catalyst products create for customers (yield, selectivity, catalyst life, energy efficiency, emissions) and equip Go-to-Market, Application Science, and Business Development teams with value propositions and commercialization strategies; Contribute to catalysis commercial strategy, including customer segmentation, scope of offer, packaging, and pricing model; Build, manage, and own strategic partner relationships at the product level, translating partner requirements into product features; Define and track strategic product and commercial KPIs and drive course corrections against OKRs; Develop and defend build-vs-buy and build-vs-partner recommendations for scientific engines, datasets and validation tooling; Serve as the primary product voice for catalysis to program stakeholders, semiconductor ecosystem partners, and prospective commercial customers; Define which parts of the roadmap are shared capability across end markets and which are market-specific

Requirements

5+ years in product management, including ownership of a technically deep product sold to external customers; Ability to operate in a product capacity within software and service-oriented business models; Strong domain grounding in materials science, catalysis, chemistry, or chemical engineering; Track record shipping AI/ML-driven scientific or engineering software to external, paying or contracted users; Track record shipping products where the ICP was not clearly understood or demand generation and funnel was not already in place; Experience contributing to scope of offer, packaging and pricing decisions for technical software, or clear evidence of the commercial instinct to do so; Ability to engage both computational scientists and industrial, refining, chemical or equipment OEM partners, and to turn partner requirements into product requirements; Ability to reason commercially across multiple end markets, sizing opportunities, comparing them on evidence, and sequencing entry; Comfort navigating deep ambiguity and translating unclear scientific and customer problems into structured roadmaps, success criteria, and measurable outcomes; Ownership mindset and rigorous operational execution track record; Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or Materials Science or equivalent practical experience

Nice to have

Experience in one or more major catalysis end markets (refining and downstream, petrochemicals and commodity chemicals, emissions control, or energy-transition catalysis); Familiarity with computational chemistry workflows such as DFT, molecular dynamics, or microkinetic modelling; Semiconductor or electronic materials process chemistry experience (e.g. deposition, etch, wafer cleaning, gas abatement); Familiarity with homogeneous or solution-phase catalysis alongside heterogeneous surface chemistry; Understanding of machine-learned interatomic potentials, spin polarization in transition-metal systems, and evaluation of ML models against experimental or first-principles reference data; Track record building product-led growth motions for technical or scientific software, including self-serve adoption and land-and-expand commercial models; Prior product or business development engagement with catalyst manufacturers, chemical producers, refiners, or semiconductor ecosystem partners; Experience with multi-tenant SaaS, API governance, and enterprise security and compliance requirements; Advanced degree in Computational Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Catalysis, Materials Science, or a related field

Benefits

Career defining work; Competitive base salary, performance-based incentives or bonuses (where applicable), and equity participation; Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents with employer premium contributions; Retirement savings with company matching; Paid parental leave and inclusive family-building benefits; Fully remote work; Flexible paid time off; Company-wide seasonal breaks; Support for flexible work arrangements; Opportunities for continuous learning and growth, cross-functional collaboration, and internal learning and development programs