Head of Chemistry (AI)

Location: Available in the UK or US; hybrid model with time in the Shoreditch office and work-from-home days. Travel to customer sites and hirify.global offices is required on average 3–4 weeks per quarter, including internationally.

Company

hirify.global is an AI-focused engineering company building simulation software and physics AI capabilities for industrial engineering and manufacturing across aerospace and defence, automotive, semiconductors, materials, and energy.

What you will do

• Own chemistry capabilities across the company, including team leadership, technical standards, and technology direction.
• Lead capability development with Product and Research, and align the roadmap with industry leads and customer needs.
• Work with Delivery leads to staff and support customer projects and hire the chemistry team.
• Represent chemistry in prospective-customer discussions and determine which technical directions and capabilities to pursue.
• Select, build, or adopt machine-learning approaches for chemistry and connect them to continuum and systems-scale models.
• Balance capability development with customer engagement while remaining hands-on with difficult technical problems.

Requirements

• PhD in computational chemistry or computational materials science; alternatively, a related PhD in chemical engineering, materials science, electrochemistry, or applied physics with substantial research in atomistic or multiscale modeling.
• 6+ years of deep technical work since the PhD in industry or an industry-facing setting.
• Hands-on depth in atomistic simulation and machine-learning interatomic potentials.
• Working knowledge of molecular, mesoscale, phase-field, reactive-flow, and process simulation, including how quantities connect across scales and where surrogates can replace simulations.
• Experience applying these methods to real industrial problems and direct experience in relevant industries; semiconductors, electrochemistry, or catalysis are ideal.
• Experience leading and growing a team of 5+ technical specialists, including hiring, development, research direction, and capability direction.
• Experience building a technical roadmap, prioritising it against competing demands, and owning delivery.
• Clear communication with leadership, Product, Research, Delivery, customers, and technical teams, with credibility at both senior-leadership and deep-technical levels.
• Willingness to travel to customer sites and hirify.global offices 3–4 weeks per quarter, including internationally.

Nice to have

• Recent experience at an AI-led materials company or startup setting technical direction in an emerging field.
• Entrepreneurial drive, comfort with ambiguity, and experience building and leading new capabilities.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid working with Shoreditch office collaboration and work-from-home days.
• Flat structure that values ideas, questioning assumptions, and challenging the status quo.
• Equity options, 10% employer pension contribution, private medical insurance, and 25 days of annual leave plus public holidays.
• Enhanced parental leave, YellowNest nursery scheme, Wellhub subscription, eye tests, and an Employee Assistance Programme.
• Personal development support, free office lunches, Bike2Work scheme, season ticket loan, and Octopus EV salary sacrifice.
• Collaborative work with engineers, scientists, and operators on complex industrial and societal challenges.