Date Posted: 05/14/2024
Req ID: 37329
Faculty/Division: Faculty of Arts & Science
Department: Acceleration Consortium
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)
Description:
The Acceleration Consortium (AC) at the University of Toronto (U of T) is leading a transformative shift in scientific discovery that will accelerate technology development and commercialization. The AC is a global community of academia, industry, and government that leverages the power of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, materials sciences, and high-throughput chemistry to create self-driving laboratories (SDLs), also called materials acceleration platforms (MAPs). These autonomous labs rapidly design materials and molecules needed for a sustainable, healthy, and resilient future, with applications ranging from renewable energy and consumer electronics to drugs.
AC Senior Staff Scientists will advance the field of AI-driven autonomous discovery and develop the materials and molecules required to address society's largest challenges, such as climate change, water pollution, and future pandemics. The Acceleration Consortium (AC) promotes an inclusive research environment and supports the EDI priorities of the unit. The Acceleration Consortium received a $200M Canadian First Research Excellence Grant for seven years to develop self-driving labs for chemistry and materials, the largest ever grant to a Canadian University. This grant provides the Acceleration Consortium with seven years of funding to execute its vision.
The AC is developing seven advanced SDLs. These include:
- Inorganic solid-state materials
- Organic small molecules for advanced materials
- Drug discovery with chemical probes
- Polymers for materials science and biological applications
- Formulations for pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and coatings
- Human organ mimicry with organoids and organ-on-a-chip
- Synthetic scale-up of materials and molecules
The Senior Staff Scientist - Products Manager will contribute to the research efforts of each of the seven self-driven labs by identifying new product opportunities and developing strategies to drive product adoption by solving relevant scientific and commercialization challenges. The Senior Staff Scientist will lead the teams in building the framework for iterative product development and data generation with the goal of commercialization and technology adoption. They will play a key role in building and maintaining relationships with key open-source communities and organizations to ensure that Acceleration Consortium products are aligned with industry standards and best practices.
The Senior Staff Scientist-Product Manager will work with faculty, other Senior Staff Scientists and industry stakeholders to ensure the design of the AC's hardware and software tools, self-driving labs, and the materials and molecules discovered reflect the end-user requirements.
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop and maintain the product roadmap of the AC research teams in alignment with the AC's overall strategic goals and priorities.
- Resolves scientific business problems by researching, identifying, and prioritizing new product opportunities and industry needs.
- Support the development of lab automation strategy for each lab.
- Work closely with AC research teams to develop and guide research and development projects, ensuring that outputs meet end-user needs and expectations.
- Lead product development efforts, including conducting user research, market analysis, and competitive analysis to inform product development.
- Build and maintain relationships with key open-source communities and organizations to ensure the AC's products align with industry standards and best practices.
- Supervise the work of project teams that may consist of Staff Scientists, Software Engineers, Research Associates, and Post-doctoral Fellows to manage research and development projects to ensure product development.
- Monitor and report on key metrics, such as product usage and adoption, to inform product strategy and decision-making.
- Develop timelines for the design and build process.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Education – Ph.D. in Biophysics, chemistry, materials science, life sciences, physics, engineering, robotics, computer science, or related discipline
Experience
- Ten years of experience working on research teams focusing on machine learning, automation, and/or product management.
- Experience working closely with Principal Investigators or Project Directors with the responsibility of managing, developing, and executing a major project to project managing a multi-functional research team to translate customer and business requests into scientific and technical solutions.
- Experience managing research staff and/or students.
- Strong experience developing lab automation strategies and lab automation.
- Experience with the development of self-driving laboratories and overseeing the activities of a lab.
- Experience working with industry partners and on industry-led research and development projects.
- Strong knowledge of open-source software development and a passion for contributing to the open-source community.
- A strong scholarly publication record.
Skills
- Strong and effective communicator in oral and written English
- Collegial in working with team members and collaborators
- Ability to work independently
- Demonstrated ability to think strategically, prioritize effectively, and adapt to changing priorities and deadlines
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
Closing Date: 08/30/2024,11:59PM ET
Employee Group: Research Associate
Appointment Type: Grant - Continuing
Schedule: Full-Time
Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone: 150,000 - $180,000 (salary will be assessed based on skills and experience)
Job Category: Research Administration & Teaching