About Protocol Labs

Protocol Labs is an innovation network of 750+ teams, projects, and movements with a common mission: To drive breakthroughs in computing to push humanity forward. For us, decentralization is more than just a rallying cry; it’s an operational ethos and a belief system baked into the products we develop.  Protocol Labs operates as an innovation network built to help breakthrough technologies move from bold R&D into real-world adoption. Through funding, mentorship, and deep network support, PL has enabled pioneering teams to cross the critical “R&D chasm” and bring transformative products to market. Our network has supported projects like IPFS, Filecoin, and libp2p, alongside emerging efforts in neurotech, AI, and digital rights. The projects are real-world examples of the progress we’re making in our five focus areas, and together demonstrate the breadth of impact possible when world-class founders and investors connect within Protocol Labs.

Our current focus areas include digital human rights, upgrading economies and governance systems, AI and robotics, and neurotech. We advance digital human rights by building open, decentralized infrastructure that protects privacy and agency; upgrade economies and governance by enabling more transparent, resilient, and programmable coordination systems; shape safe AI and robotics through research and platforms that prioritize alignment, accountability, and human values; and unlock neurotech breakthroughs by supporting responsible interfaces between minds and machines.

For more information on Protocol Labs and our focus areas, please watch Juan Benet’s talk from PL Summit 2023 and the 2024 PL Summit Video (Remote Update).

About Protocol Labs R&D

Protocol Labs R&D is the field-building engine of the Protocol Labs network. We design and operate programs that accelerate progress across critical computing frontiers—Digital Human Rights, Economies & Governance, AI & New Breakthroughs, and Neurotechnology. PL R&D is being stood up as a new, strategic business unit within the Protocol Labs ecosystem. Its mandate is ambitious: coordinate talent, capital, programs, and infrastructure to move entire fields forward.

The Role

The PL R&D Lead is responsible for setting and executing Protocol Labs’ R&D field-building strategy across all Focus Areas (FA0–FA4). This role manages and supports all Focus Area Leads, ensuring that PL’s research, ecosystem programs, and capital coordination efforts compound into coherent, high-leverage outcomes across domains.

This is a systems-level leadership role: part chief scientist, part ecosystem architect, part portfolio strategist. The R&D Lead ensures that PL’s investments in research, programs, talent, and narrative translate into measurable acceleration of entire fields—from early discovery through production-scale impact.

The role sits at the intersection of PL R&D, PL Infra, Polaris, and PL Capital, translating frontier research and field needs into scalable network strategy.

What You’ll Do

Own PL’s R&D Field-Building Strategy

• Define the cross-focus-area R&D strategy for Protocol Labs, aligned with PLv12–PLv20 goals.

• Ensure each Focus Area has a clear theory of change, roadmap, and measurable outcomes.

• Identify systemic bottlenecks across fields and design interventions that unlock step-change progress.

• Nurture R&D Field Building as a domain within the PL network infrastructure teams

Lead and Manage Focus Area Leads (FA0–FA4)

• Directly manage all Focus Area Leads, supporting them as strategists and field engineers.

• Set expectations for focus area performance, cadence, and outcomes.

• Drive alignment and collaboration across focus areas where technical, capital, or policy needs intersect.  

Operate the PL R&D Engine

• Oversee PL’s R&D programs, including:

  • Field-building & roadmapping

  • Application and use-case mapping

  • Forecasting & horizon scanning

  • Targeted breakthrough grants

  • Investigator, founder, and team support

• Ensure R&D efforts translate into repeatable pipelines, not one-off pilots.  

Coordinate Capital, Programs, and Network Leverage

• Partner with PL Capital, grant programs, and external funders to align capital flows with R&D priorities.

• Ensure focus areas mobilize the right mix of grants, venture capital, philanthropic funding, and partnerships.

• Leverage PL’s convening power—workshops, retreats, publications, and coalitions—to shape field direction.

Translate Field Needs into PL Infrastructure

• Act as a primary interface between R&D and PL Infra.

• Ensure insights from focus areas inform:

  • Network tools and platforms

  • Membership models

  • Data, dashboards, and shared infrastructure

• Drive feedback loops so PL’s infrastructure compounds research and ecosystem outcomes.

What Success Looks Like

Within 12 months, a successful R&D Lead will have:

• Established PL R&D as a credible, staffed, and world-class field-building organization

• Enabled Focus Area Leads to deliver visible step-changes in their fields (capital mobilized, adoption, legitimacy)

• Created repeatable R&D-to-deployment pathways across multiple domains

• Strengthened PL’s reputation as a neutral, sovereign-grade, frontier R&D network

• Increased conversion from research → pilots → startups → scaled infrastructure

Core Competencies

• 10+ years operating at the intersection of research, technology, and institutions

• Proven experience leading high-ambiguity, multi-stakeholder systems

• Strong first-principles thinker with the ability to reason across technical, economic, and policy domains

• Demonstrated ability to manage senior, high-agency leaders rather than traditional IC teams

• Exceptional written and verbal communication—able to align researchers, founders, funders, and policymakers

• Comfort operating without precedent, playbooks, or fixed organizational boundaries