Noah A. Benjamin-Pollak
On the academic job market, 2026–27

Noah A. Benjamin-Pollak

PhD Candidate, Management Science & Engineering, Stanford University
Center for Work, Technology, and Organization (WTO)

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I research how status, authority, and expertise are negotiated across boundaries—both between different occupations, and between experts and the public—in different organizational settings (startups, large firms, universities). I focus on how these dynamics impact coordination and innovation, particularly during periods of strategic transition. This work sits at the intersection of strategy, organization theory, and entrepreneurship.

My dissertation, Alternating Currents, is a Finalist in the 2026 INFORMS/Organization Science Best Dissertation Proposal Competition. It follows Gradient (a pseudonym), a multibillion-dollar deep-tech battery startup, over four years through three strategic transitions—from scientific discovery to growth, a product pivot to support the AI data center boom, and a forthcoming IPO—using qualitative (primarily ethnographic) methods. I am advised by Arvind Karunakaran, with Kathleen Eisenhardt and Chuck Eesley on my committee. I will defend my dissertation and graduate in spring 2027.

My job market paper, “Suits and Lab Coats” (with Arvind Karunakaran), is under review—see Research.

Before my doctoral studies, I earned a BA (summa cum laude) and an MBA from Boston College and worked as a research associate and course assistant at Harvard Business School.

TheoryOccupations · Status · Authority · Expertise Coordination · Strategic Transition · Innovation

PhenomenaDeep-tech Ventures · Platforms · AI · Technological Change

MethodsLongitudinal Ethnography · Participant Observation · Interviews · Qualitative Field Research

Selected Fellowships & Honors