Events Lead

Events Lead

Location: San Francisco, CA 

Team: Communications

Reports To: Co-Founder / Communications Partner

About Laude

Laude Institute is a nonprofit research organization built by and for computer scientists who ship their research. We back impact-driven researchers turning breakthrough ideas into open-source infrastructure and real-world tools. Our goal is to accelerate the most important research and get it into people's hands faster. 

On the Institute side, we are funded by individual technologists and anchored by a $100M commitment from Andy Konwinski. On the Ventures side, our inaugural $150M fund is backed by top institutional LPs and 50+ of the world's leading computer scientists. Our community is a who's who of AI and computer science researchers from the most advanced labs in the world, and we convene them regularly to push the frontier forward together.

About the Role

Laude's events are not ancillary to the mission. They are one of its primary expressions. We bring together the people defining the frontier of AI and computer science, and the rooms we create, the atmospheres we set, and the moments we engineer have lasting effects on how that community sees itself and what it builds together. 

We're hiring an Events Lead to own this function end to end across both Laude Institute and Laude Ventures. You'll produce our flagship gatherings, including the Ship Your Research (SYR) Summit, Open Frontier, as well as Laude Lounge VIP activations at NeurIPS and other major conferences. You'll book and execute our programming at our San Francisco venue Laude Lab, which serves as homebase for the leading edge of the computer science research community. You'll pull together salon-style conversations, VIP dinners, our Annual General Meeting, and researcher gatherings. And you'll develop and steward the aesthetic and experiential identity that runs through all of it.

We take strong cues from the music industry. Laude creates rare air for the living edge of the frontier AI research community. The standard here isn't polished corporate marketing. It's something with more energy, more intention, and more soul than that.

This role requires deep event production experience, genuine hospitality instincts, and enough technical and scientific literacy to earn the trust of the community we serve. You should be as comfortable managing a budget and negotiating a venue as you are briefing a keynote speaker or setting the right tone for a late-night dinner. You're a builder and a host in equal measure.

This is a mostly on-site role based out of Laude Lab in San Francisco, with travel (at times internationally) to produce activations on the ground.

What You'll Do

• Produce major Laude events from concept through close: the Ship Your Research (SYR) Summit; Open Frontier; Laude Lounge activations at NeurIPS, ICML, and peer gatherings; and other flagship convenings as the calendar grows
• Produce our Annual General Meeting for Laude Ventures investors and the broader community
• Own Laude Lab programming: book speakers, curate experiences, manage the venue calendar, and maintain the space as homebase for the leading edge of the computer science research community
• Produce salon-style conversations, VIP dinners, and intimate researcher gatherings that reflect the depth and culture of our community
• Own budgets across the full events portfolio: forecasting, tracking, vendor negotiation, and post-event reconciliation
• Lead vendor relationships, venue sourcing, contract negotiation, and logistics management
• Develop and execute event run-of-show, staffing plans, speaker logistics, and on-site operations
• Shape the experiential identity of Laude events: environment, music, food and beverage, pacing, and the arc of the room
• Collaborate on event promotion, pre- and post-event content, and coverage strategy
• Build and manage RSVP and registration flows, guest list curation, and attendee communications
• Coordinate with the research community, external partners, and co-hosts to align on programming, guest list, VIP considerations, and logistics
• Maintain systems that support a high-volume events calendar: templates, timelines, post-mortems, and vendor rosters
• Travel, at times internationally, to produce activations on the ground

Who You Are

• A seasoned event producer with a full-stack skill set: you can lead the strategy and run the production sheet
• Equally skilled at strategic thinking and detailed execution. You have a clear point of view on how Laude should show up in the world and the operational precision to execute on it down to the granular details
• A natural host with genuine hospitality instincts. You read a room, adjust in real time, and care about how people feel in a space
• Deeply organized without being rigid. You keep complex logistics clean and stay composed when they shift
• Experienced working with technical or scientific communities: you know how to earn credibility and create environments where that culture thrives
• Financially fluent: you own your budgets, protect them, and know where to spend and where to hold
• Attuned to aesthetics and atmosphere. You have strong opinions about what makes an event feel right and the taste to execute on them
• Low ego and high ownership. You're motivated by the work landing well, not by being seen doing it
• A clear communicator who can manage up, across, and with external partners simultaneously
• 5 to 10 years of event production experience, with at least some of that in deep tech or research
• Based in San Francisco and able to travel internationally as needed

Nice to Have

• Experience producing events for or within the AI or tech research ecosystem
• Background in conference programming, speaker curation, or editorial-style event design
• Exposure to the music industry, live events, or cultural programming: festival production, venue operations, talent booking, or tour logistics
• Visual sensibility and comfort working with design teams on brand-consistent assets and environments
• Experience managing satellite activations or branded presence at third-party conferences

To Apply

Tell us about a convening you're proud of, what you built, how the room felt, and what you'd do differently. Include a brief description of your production background and any links to past work, press coverage, or programming you've curated.

Compensation

• Salary range $120,000 to $205,000 plus equity based on experience.
• Comprehensive health, dental, vision, and life insurance
• 401(k)
• Unlimited PTO
• Paid parental leave
• On-site at Laude Lab in San Francisco, with travel (at times internationally)