Head of Product, Fractional

The Role

We are looking for a Fractional Head of Product to own and execute on a defined set of workstreams within the Data & Infrastructure team. This role sits across three layers from a product perspective: understanding what the physical infrastructure produces, how the back end structures and serves it, and how the front end surfaces it. The immediate priority is a platform evaluation and build-vs-buy analysis for our data infrastructure, followed by a rightsizing of the front-end data layer. This is an execution role with a clear mandate.

What You Would Own

• Sequencing data integration and tooling work across internal use cases (experiment design, execution tracking, QC, analytical workflows) and external-facing deliverables (data packages, reports)
• Translating scientific and commercial data needs into clear specs for engineering, working closely with computational biology, data engineering, and automation teams
• Defining product direction for the interfaces, dashboards, and visualization tools through which scientists and partners interact with our biological data
• If a platform change is warranted, outlining a de-risked migration path (pilot, parallel run, validation) that protects production workflows
• Drafting decision memos that frame tradeoffs clearly for leadership, covering team impact, database setup speed, development velocity, and total cost of ownership
• Inventorying current platform usage, workflows, integrations, and pain points to produce a build-vs-buy recommendation
• Leading a structured assessment of our current data infrastructure against alternatives, including cost, speed, hiring implications, and switching costs

Experience

• 5+ years of technical product management, with meaningful time in data-intensive environments
• Familiarity with scientific data workflows, LIMS, or laboratory informatics; Benchling experience is a plus
• Track record of managing data platform or infrastructure products, including build-vs-buy evaluations, vendor assessments, or migration planning
• Strong written output: decision memos, specs, roadmaps, and tradeoff analyses that leadership can act on without a meeting
• Prior product role spanning technical execution and organizational coordination at a startup
• Familiarity with laboratory automation systems and instrument-to-data pipeline architecture

Working Style

• High agency; you default to execution with incomplete information and organize around the highest-value work without waiting for direction
• Clear communicator who can move between engineering architecture discussions and leadership briefings in the same afternoon
• Buils trust with scientific teams by understanding their workflows at a working level, not treating scientific context as overhead
• Comfortable in early-stage environments where resources are constrained and clarity is something you create rather than inherit

Location & Hours

This is an in-person role based at our San Francisco office, approximately 20 hours per week. You’ll embed directly with our engineering team to drive execution and ensure cross-functional alignment operate productively from planning to completion.