Chief Product Officer

Chief Product Officer

New Jersey 2-3 days per week

Mission of the Role

Lead the end-to-end product strategy for
my client
, transforming advanced chemistry modeling and simulation into a modern, scalable enterprise SaaS platform. You will embed AI across the portfolio, simplify complex scientific workflows, and drive global enterprise adoption — all while maintaining scientific rigor, reliability, and trust.

About My Client

My client is a global leader in chemistry modeling and simulation software used by 500+ enterprises and academic institutions across 35+ countries. Their solutions power decision-making in manufacturing, energy, water, materials, and sustainability. As they expand, they are modernizing their product suite into a unified, cloud-native, AI-enabled platform for industrial digital transformation.

Why This Role Matters

Customer complexity is rising, sustainability pressures are accelerating, and global operators need modern, intuitive, enterprise-ready tools. My client has unmatched scientific technology — now they need a CPO to scale it into a fully integrated SaaS platform.

You will unify science, engineering, design, and commercial teams to modernize the portfolio, elevate user experience, guide AI strategy, and ensure the product drives measurable customer and business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Vision & Strategy

• Define and own the long-term SaaS platform vision and multi-year product roadmap.
• Prioritize AI capabilities that accelerate expert workflows, enhance simulation accuracy, and unlock new enterprise use cases.
• Align investments with customer needs, scientific advancements, and commercial strategy.

Enterprise SaaS Leadership

• Evolve legacy products into a cohesive cloud platform with enterprise-grade reliability, performance, governance, and security.
• Build subscription models, integration frameworks, and a scalable API ecosystem.
• Ensure consistent, modern user experiences across desktop, cloud, and data services.

Design & User Experience

• Apply design thinking to simplify complex modeling workflows and create intuitive interfaces for technical users.
• Define human + AI interaction patterns that improve efficiency, insight discovery, and trust.

Execution & Alignment

• Lead cross-functional planning, prioritization, and execution across engineering, science, design, and commercial teams.
• Drive predictable delivery of roadmap milestones with transparency and quality.
• Establish data-driven processes for product performance, adoption, and iteration.

Customer & Market Insight

• Act as executive sponsor for strategic customers, advisory groups, and discovery programs.
• Gather deep insights from operators, engineers, scientists, and enterprise buyers.
• Monitor trends in simulation software, industrial SaaS, AI, and sustainability to ensure differentiation.

Success Metrics

• Clear, adopted roadmap aligned with executive and commercial priorities.
• On-time delivery of major SaaS and platform milestones.
• ≥50% enterprise adoption of key new features within 12 months.
• ≥4.5/5 satisfaction from customers on product direction.
• Measurable contribution to enterprise revenue growth and competitive win rates.

Profile We're Seeking

• 10–15+ years of progressive product leadership, ideally in
  enterprise SaaS, industrial software, simulation or modeling software, or AI/ML-driven platforms
  .
• Direct experience with
  engineering or scientific simulation tools
  (e.g., process modeling, physical/chemical simulation, industrial modeling) and the workflows of technical expert users.
• Strong UX sensibility with the ability to simplify complex technical domains.
• Demonstrated success transforming complex products into scalable SaaS platforms.
• Ability to influence and collaborate with scientists, engineers, executives, and enterprise customers.
• Builder-coach leadership style with strong communication, prioritization, and stakeholder management.

Core Competencies

• Enterprise SaaS strategy & platform thinking
• Customer obsession
• Cross-functional alignment
• AI & data fluency
• Scientific or technical credibility
• Prioritization and judgment
• Execution excellence
• Leadership & influence