Flexcompute

Director of Scientific Education – University Partnerships

Flexcompute

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Hybrid

Location: Watertown • Massachusetts • United States

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Job Level

Lead

Tech Stack

Python

About the role

  • Define and execute a university adoption strategy targeting electrical engineering, photonics, physics, and applied optics departments across the US and Canada.
  • Build and maintain partnerships with professors, lab directors, and department heads. Understand their curriculum needs and research challenges, then map our tools to them.
  • Set measurable goals for university engagement, user growth, and long-term institutional adoption.
  • Serve as the voice of the academic user back to our product and engineering teams. Surface what's working, what's confusing, and what's missing.
  • As we expand into multi-physics products, lead the strategy for bringing new simulation capabilities into academic environments.
  • Design and deliver workshops and demos showing students and researchers how to use our GUI, Python client, and agentic AI tools to accelerate photonic/RF/EM design workflows.
  • Create tutorials, example projects, and course-ready materials with a focus on high-impact application areas like AI datacenter optical interconnects, silicon photonics, and RF/EM system design.
  • Grow a community of student users, university champions, and academic advocates who organically spread adoption.

Requirements

  • Genuinely passionate about education. You believe that getting powerful tools into the hands of students and researchers early changes the trajectory of their careers and their fields. This isn't a stepping stone for you; education is the mission.
  • Technical foundation in photonics, RF, or EM. You have a degree (BS required; MS/PhD preferred) in electrical engineering, physics, optics, or a related field, and you can speak credibly about waveguide design, optical simulation, electromagnetic theory, or similar topics.
  • Comfortable with code. You're fluent enough in Python to walk someone through a scripting workflow and debug on the fly. Familiarity with simulation tools (Lumerical, COMSOL, Ansys, RSoft, or similar) is a strong plus.
  • AI-curious (or AI-obsessed). You're excited about what agentic AI means for engineering workflows. You don't need to be an ML researcher, but you should understand how LLM-driven tools work and why they matter.
  • A natural communicator. You light up when explaining complex ideas. You're the person in the lab who everyone asks for help, not because you know everything, but because you make things make sense.
  • Both strategic and hands-on. You can set a quarterly adoption plan and also jump into a live workshop and troubleshoot a simulation on the spot. You're comfortable moving between the big picture and the details.
  • Self-directed and energetic. This is a role where you'll define the playbook as you go. You thrive with autonomy and aren't waiting to be told what to do next.
  • Willing and able to travel. You're comfortable with frequent trips to campuses, conferences, and research labs. You see face-to-face engagement as a feature, not a burden.
  • Nice to Have
  • Experience in technical evangelism, developer relations, or academic outreach
  • Existing relationships within university photonics/EE departments
  • Background in AI datacenter architecture, optical interconnects, or silicon photonics
  • Experience creating video tutorials, technical blog posts, or course materials
  • Familiarity with agentic AI frameworks or LLM-based automation tools
  • Experience with multi-physics simulation beyond photonics (thermal, structural, RF)
Benefits
  • Competitive compensation with equity of a fast-growing startup.
  • Medical, dental, and vision health insurance.
  • 401(k) Contribution.
  • Gym allowance.
  • Friendly, thoughtful, and intelligent coworkers.
Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools
Pythonwaveguide designoptical simulationelectromagnetic theoryAI datacenter architectureoptical interconnectssilicon photonicsmulti-physics simulationsimulation toolstechnical evangelism
Soft Skills
communicationstrategic thinkinghands-on problem solvingself-directedenergeticpassion for educationcommunity buildingworkshop facilitationrelationship managementadaptability