Director of Engineering

About FirstPrinciples:
FirstPrinciples is a non-profit foundation dedicated to advancing our understanding of the universe’s fundamental principles through technological innovation, data-driven strategies and powerful communication. We are building an AI-powered research ecosystem to revolutionize how scientific knowledge is discovered, analyzed, and applied. At the core of this effort is FirstPrinciples AI, an intelligence engine designed to help researchers analyze vast scientific literature, identify meaningful connections, and generate new insights across disciplines. This next-generation research platform will bridge the gap between AI and scientific inquiry, equipping scientists, institutions, and policymakers with the tools to accelerate breakthroughs and make informed, data-driven decisions that shape the future of discovery.

Job Description:
Our engineering team is expanding rapidly, and we are looking for a Director of Engineering to lead, scale, and drive innovation in our technical development. This role will be pivotal in ensuring our platform's scalability and integration of cutting-edge capabilities while fostering a strong engineering culture. The Director of Engineering will oversee the development of our AI-driven research platform, integrating advanced NLP, symbolic reasoning, theorem proving, and machine learning models into a cohesive system. This role will manage a growing team of engineers, ensuring we build high-performance, scalable, and secure software systems that can accelerate scientific research. The Director of Engineering will work closely with FirstPrinciples leadership to align engineering efforts with business and scientific objectives, ensuring FirstPrinciples evolves into a foundational tool for global scientific advancement.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership & Architecture:

• Define and drive the technical vision and strategy for FirstPrinciples’ AI-powered research platform.
• Lead architecture design, ensuring a scalable and maintainable system that can support rapid growth.
• Oversee infrastructure, DevOps, and cloud-based solutions to optimize performance and reliability.
• Implement best practices in software development, CI/CD, and system security.

Product & AI Development:

• Drive development of FirstPrinciples AI, an intelligence engine designed to synthesize scientific knowledge, generate hypotheses, and support groundbreaking discoveries across disciplines.
• Lead the integration of symbolic reasoning, theorem proving, NLP models, and research intelligence analytics into a scalable AI framework.
• Oversee the ingestion and analysis of complex scientific data to provide a comprehensive research intelligence platform.
• Collaborate with AI researchers and domain experts to implement self-learning AI models that identify emerging scientific trends, gaps in knowledge, and new potential theories.
• Build AI-driven tools that enhance literature analysis, automate peer review processes, and optimize research workflows.

Team Leadership & Growth:

• Build and lead a world-class engineering team, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence.
• Scale the engineering team efficiently, hiring and mentoring engineers across multiple disciplines.
• Define and oversee engineering processes, performance reviews, and team development plans.
• Establish clear objectives and key results (OKRs) to align engineering work with FirstPrinciples' mission.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Partner with leadership to define the long-term technical roadmap for FirstPrinciples AI, ensuring alignment with our mission of revolutionizing scientific discovery.
• Work closely with data scientists, AI researchers, and research institutions to develop AI-assisted hypothesis generation tools that integrate with real-world experimental data.
• Collaborate with the fundraising and business development teams to present FirstPrinciples AI's impact on research intelligence and scientific funding allocation.
• Engage with the broader scientific and AI communities, staying ahead of emerging trends in AI-driven research, theorem proving, and automated discovery frameworks.
• Support the integration of FirstPrinciples Research Intelligence, ensuring that funders, policymakers, and institutions gain real-time insights into research trends, funding opportunities, and global innovation patterns.

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3+ years in a leadership role.
• Proven track record of leading and scaling engineering teams in high-growth, technology-driven environments.
• Strong expertise in building AI-driven platforms, distributed systems, and cloud-based infrastructure.
• Experience working with machine learning models, data pipelines, and high-performance computing environments.
• Background in scientific computing, research tools, or AI for research is a strong plus.
• Demonstrated passion for physics and for making scientific knowledge accessible and impactful.

Application Process:

• Interested candidates are invited to submit their resume, a cover letter detailing their qualifications and vision for the role, and references. Please include "Director of Engineering" in the cover letter.

Join us at FirstPrinciples and be a part of a transformative journey where science drives progress and unlocks the potential of humanity.