The Role

The Head of Research and Science will be a core member of Contrarian Ventures internal scientific and technical foundation and will work closely with the General Partners and the wider investment team. It is an opportunity to work alongside individuals who are driven by excellence and are passionate about fixing climate problems through technology. The ideal candidate is a team player who works on their own initiative, has a scientific background, possesses analytical and problem-solving skills, and exceptional attention to detail. In addition, this role requires maintaining relationships with different internal / external stakeholders. Curiosity, the ability to learn quickly, strong analytical skills, and excellent organization and follow-through are paramount to this role.

This role is remote (preferably European time zone).

You Should Be Excited to:

• Research technical fields, including identifying state-of-the-art climate technologies and promising new technical approaches
• Research and write initial drafts of both internal and external materials (presentations, memos, fact sheets, one-pagers, FAQs, etc.) and assist the team in finalizing those work products
• Develop a vision and strategy for the research framework at Contrarian Ventures, including a plan for scaling analysis that balances prompt business needs and the growth of a best-in-class research function
• Support investment team with technical due diligence on target companies, ensuring Contrarian Ventures is making the highest quality investments
• Apply creative and logical thinking abilities to research possible investment strategies and ideas
• Review portfolio companies’ proposals on technical development roadmaps and support negotiations of those roadmaps, including advising on milestones and key deliverables
• Shape the investment strategy by identifying the priority areas and connecting the dots across the investment team
• Conduct rapid assessments of potential portfolio companies' near-term and long-term climate impact
• Develop tools and a modelling framework to quantify low, medium and high scenarios
• Communicate learnings to key stakeholders, including Contrarian Ventures internal team, Fund's Limited Partners, portfolio companies, and others within the decarbonization space
• Build a world-class internal research system that enables team members to make better investment decisions

The Ideal Candidate Will Have:

• Master’s degree required; PhD preferred in relevant field
• 5+ years of experience working with climate change; academic experience will be considered, especially if coming from a technical field such as chemical engineering, biochemistry, physics or other related fields
• Being resilient, with an ability to manage multiple projects and deliver quality work conforming to deadlines
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint; AirTable and Notion is a plus
• Passion for personal impact on climate
• Familiarity with climate tech as well as decarbonization pathways, including experience and passion towards scaling technologies from research to commercial application
• Knowledge of the energy/climate technology and innovation ecosystem and interest in supporting a global effort to find low-carbon solutions that are reliable and affordable
• Ability to demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness when dealing with uncertainty and ask insightful questions that challenge traditional thinking
• The capacity to understand and articulate complex trade-offs within our broader energy-climate system through both written and visual forms of communication
• Discretion and integrity when dealing with confidential and sensitive information
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Being comfortable working in a remote environment
• Fluent business English

We Promise:

• A competitive salary
• A bonus system when outstanding results are met
• An environment where you will always be challenged to go out of your comfort zone
• To always welcome a contrarian opinion
• A climate-neutral organisation where everyone is focused on fighting climate change

About Contrarian Ventures

We are the Seed stage VC for the climate generation, mobilising resources for climate action in Europe & Israel with our collaborative, hands-on, founders-first approach.

Benefitting from unparalleled levels of engagement with the climate tech community, our platform-based model backs the pioneers building the technology that will become the infrastructure of tomorrow.

Given that decades of collective actions got us into the climate mess, we leverage Energy Tech Summit, Energy Tech Challengers and Climate50 to make a collaborative effort to mobilise resources and get humanity back on track to decarbonize the economy.

More information here: https://www.cventures.vc/