Founding Sports Scientist (PhD Required)

About Metron AI

We’re building the brain of human performance. One intelligent system that ingests your wearable data, training, nutrition, and recovery and learns what actually works for you. Not generic advice. Not static plans. A system that adapts every day and gets smarter the longer you use it.

We’re pre-seed, currently in beta for iOS, and both cofounders are building this alongside full-time jobs. The platform is live, and now we need the people who will define the science and intelligence behind it.

We’re competing with YC-backed startups. We have less money but more speed, taste, and conviction. Our moat isn’t the AI. It’s the data that trains the AI. We need someone to make sure the science is right.

The Role

We’re looking for a Founding Sports Scientist to own the physiological and sports science foundation of Metron AI. You’ll be the person who makes sure our models aren’t just statistically sound, but scientifically valid. You’ll work directly with the cofounders and our data science team to translate exercise physiology, recovery science, and load management research into real coaching logic.

This is a foundational, equity-heavy role. We’re offering ownership. This is part-time (5-10 hrs/week) and hybrid.

What you’ll own

∙ Recovery and readiness model validation (HRV, resting heart rate, sleep architecture, subjective wellness)

∙ Training load management framework (acute:chronic workload ratios, periodization logic, dose-response thresholds)

∙ Safety thresholds and override logic (when should the system tell someone to stop, regardless of what they want to do?)

∙ Coaching recommendation validation (does the AI’s output make physiological sense before it reaches the user?)

∙ Sleep, nutrition, and supplement interaction models (what actually matters vs. what’s noise?)

∙ Population baseline design (what does “normal” look like across age, sex, training history, and sport?)

∙ Literature review pipeline (staying current on wearable validation studies, recovery protocols, and load monitoring research)

∙ Device accuracy interpretation (translating measurement error from Oura, WHOOP, Apple Watch into model confidence)

Who you are

∙ PhD in exercise physiology, kinesiology, sports science, or related field (required)

∙ You can code. Python or R, no exceptions. You’ll be working directly with our data pipeline, not reviewing someone else’s slides.

∙ Deep experience with athlete monitoring, load management, HRV, sleep physiology, and recovery science

∙ You understand wearable data and its limitations at the device level (measurement error, sampling rates, what’s signal vs. noise)

∙ Comfortable reading, interpreting, and challenging statistical models

∙ You use AI tools (LLMs, copilots, research agents) as part of your workflow, not as a novelty

∙ Experience working with athletes, teams, or performance programs

∙ You stay current. You know what was published last month, not just what you learned in grad school.

∙ Self-starter who doesn’t need to be managed

∙ Genuine interest in fitness, health tech, or performance

What we offer

∙ Founding Sports Scientist title. You’re not a consultant. You’re one of the first.

∙ Significant equity (4 year vest, 1 year cliff)

∙ Minimal cash right now. This is equity-heavy. You’re betting on upside, not salary.

∙ A role that grows with the company. This becomes VP of Sports Science as we scale.

∙ Your work reaches real people every day, not a poster at ACSM once a year

∙ Advisors from Oura, Stanford, NBA, and a $860M Medtronic exit

We move fast and care more about hunger and taste than credentials. We can teach someone our system. We can’t teach someone to care.

If you’re the kind of person who’s tired of publishing papers that no one implements and would rather build the system that actually puts sports science into practice at scale, reach out to [email protected] with:

∙ Your resume or LinkedIn

∙ A link to something you’ve built or a paper you’ve written

∙ One sentence: Why Metron?