[Hiring] Reference Scenario Lead @Reflective

Role Description

Decision-makers evaluating SAI need a concrete, internally consistent account of what hypothetical early deployment would involve. Existing research addresses many individual components, but important questions remain about how they fit together. Reflective is developing a reference scenario that examines one or two specified cases, from precursor supply chains and aircraft to observing systems, data assimilation, and feedback control. The resulting public document set will make assumptions, uncertainties, and practical constraints explicit so experts and governments can scrutinize and challenge them. Its purpose is to support assessment of SAI’s feasibility, costs, and consequences without presuming that deployment should occur.

The Reference Scenario Lead owns this. You are accountable for the reference scenario existing, being internally consistent, shipping on a date, and landing with the audiences who need it. This is a synthesis and delivery role, not a people-management role: the technical work will be done by Reflective scientists and engineers, external contractors, and academic collaborators, most of whom you will not manage directly. Your job is to make one coherent thing out of many contributors' work — and to do a meaningful share of the analysis yourself.

The first six months are a scoping sprint. Before we hire further into this program, you will define what version one contains, what it explicitly excludes, who its canonical audiences are and what they need in order to trust it, and the workplan and hiring plan to deliver it.

What you'll do

• Own scope and delivery.
• Define what is in and out of version one, hold that line as contributors push to add, and ship on the committed date.
• Maintain the dependency map across every workstream — deployment hardware, monitoring, data assimilation and feedback control — and surface conflicts before they become slips.
• Ensure internal consistency.
• Catch inconsistencies in the reference scenario's components and document incompatibilities and their implications.
• Do a share of the technical work.
• Pick up two or three work streams yourself — likely those spanning multiple domains.
• Manage external contracts and collaborations.
• Scope, commission, and quality-check work from various external partners.
• Define and serve the audience.
• Run a structured listening effort with key stakeholders to determine their needs.
• Shape the deliverables accordingly and coordinate independent technical review before public release.
• Support the experiment.
• Connect the reference scenario with experiment feasibility work and inform candidate research designs.

How this role fits

Reflective runs a matrix model: functional leads own discipline quality and people development; program leads own outcomes. You own the reference scenario outcome. You will negotiate for contributors' time with functional leads rather than building a standing team, though the program may add one or two direct reports as it matures. You will report to the Head of Engineering and work closely with Reflective's leadership, Scientific Advisory Board, and academic partners.

This is a leadership role in the sense that matters here: you set the scenario's scope, you make the calls that keep it coherent, and the organization holds you accountable for whether it ships and lands.

Who you are

• You have led delivery of a complex, first-of-its-kind technical program.
• You are technically fluent across several fields: atmospheric science, aerosol physics, aerospace engineering, control systems, observing systems, techno-economic analysis.
• You decompose ambiguous problem spaces into explicit milestones and dependencies.
• You work well through influence rather than authority.
• You communicate precisely with non-specialist audiences.
• You are comfortable with public scrutiny of your work.

Location

Our goal is to hire the right person for the role regardless of location, but we have a slight preference for candidates who can work from our Bay Area office 2-3 days/week. The role can be fully remote and we are open to candidates based anywhere in the world who can overlap with our core working hours (9am-1pm PST).

Compensation and Benefits

• Annual salary between $130,000 and $190,000 USD (before geographic adjustment).
• Medical, dental, vision insurance.
• 401(k).
• Professional and personal development.
• Generous paid time off and sick leave, including 12 weeks paid parental leave.
• Flexible working hours.

Diversity

At Reflective, recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and retaining a diverse workforce is critical to our success. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Reflective is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.