About FirstPrinciples
FirstPrinciples is a research organization building AI infrastructure for discovery in fundamental science. Currently, our work focuses on building systems like Theo, the AI Physicist, which is a domain-specialized system for research in fundamental physics.
We’re a fast-growing, remote-first team of builders, researchers, engineers, and thinkers working across Canada, the US, the UK, and expanding globally. What brings us together is a shared curiosity about how the universe works, and a belief that we can build systems that help us explore it more effectively.
We spend our time working on questions that don’t have clear answers, like how to design AI that can reason through scientific problems, and how the scientific process as a whole might evolve. This is work that sits somewhere between creativity and rigorous thinking, and often requires comfort with ambiguity and iteration. If you’re someone who enjoys tackling big, abstract problems and exploring ideas that don’t yet have a defined path forward, you’ll likely find the work here interesting.
Why This Role Exists:
We’re building systems that require more than just strong internal capabilities; they depend on the right external partnerships across AI labs, infrastructure providers, and research institutions.
This role exists to identify, land, and operationalize those partnerships end-to-end. That means not only driving the business development side, but also getting deep into the technical details of how each partnership actually works; from what data, tooling, or compute is exchanged, to how integrations are structured and maintained.
You’ll operate at the intersection of sales, technical integration, and scientific context, working with both external partners and internal teams to ensure partnerships are not just signed, but actually usable and impactful.
What You’ll Do:
Identify, develop, and close strategic partnerships across AI labs, infrastructure providers, and research organizations
Lead partnership conversations end-to-end, from initial outreach through negotiation and execution
Own the technical structuring of partnerships, defining what is exchanged (data, compute, tooling) and how it flows between systems
Work closely with engineering and research teams to translate internal needs into clear external partnership requirements
Negotiate integration details at a granular level (e.g., APIs, data schemas, infrastructure constraints, usage terms)
Ensure partnerships are operationalized effectively, moving from agreement to real, working integrations
Build long-term relationships with partners and continuously identify opportunities to deepen collaboration
Who You Are:
Experience in partnerships, business development, solutions engineering, or sales engineering roles
Strong technical fluency; comfortable discussing APIs, data flows, infrastructure, and system integrations
Ability to bridge business and technical conversations, moving seamlessly between high-level strategy and detailed implementation
Background in physics, mathematics, or a related scientific field, with an ability to engage credibly with researchers
Strong negotiation skills, including the ability to work through detailed, line-by-line technical and commercial terms
Comfortable operating in ambiguous, early-stage environments and shaping how partnerships are built from the ground up
Motivated by working on complex, long-term problems at the intersection of science and technology
Bonus:
A background in Physics or another scientific domain
Direct experience with scientific tool stacks and how researchers use their tools
What You’ll Get:
The opportunity to work on foundational problems at the intersection of AI and physics
A high-trust, low-bureaucracy environment with real ownership
Remote-first work with flexibility in how you structure your day
Exposure to cutting-edge ideas across AI, scientific discovery, and emerging technologies
A culture that values curiosity, depth of thinking, and first-principles reasoning
The chance to contribute to work aimed at advancing fundamental science
Skills Required
- Experience in partnerships, business development, solutions engineering, or sales engineering roles
- Strong technical fluency; comfortable discussing APIs, data flows, infrastructure, and system integrations
- Ability to bridge business and technical conversations and translate internal needs into external requirements
- Background in physics, mathematics, or a related scientific field to engage credibly with researchers
- Strong negotiation skills, including working through detailed technical and commercial terms
- Comfortable operating in ambiguous, early-stage environments and shaping partnership processes
- Motivated by working on complex, long-term problems at the intersection of science and technology
- Direct experience with scientific tool stacks and how researchers use their tools
What We Do
FirstPrinciples is a non-profit, AI-first research organization dedicated to understanding the fundamental nature of reality. By combining software engineering rigor with scientific curiosity, the organization is building the 'AI Physicist,' an open, autonomous research engine designed to accelerate scientific discovery. They operate as a remote-first global collective of engineers, physicists, and AI researchers, aiming to reshape how scientific research is conducted through advanced AI systems.
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