Principal research scientist jobs in Petaluma, CA - 746 jobs

### As a research scientist with Martian, you will develop new techniques to understand how AI models work. This work will focus on exploring and improving a technique we call “model mapping”: converting transformers into more interpretable representations (such as programs). We are looking for people who can develop and scale up methods for making transformers more interpretable through model mapping and then understanding the transformers in the new domain we map to. Full details can be found here. #J-18808-Ljbffr

Nimble is an AI robotics company building the autonomous supply chain to enable fast, efficient, and sustainable commerce. We're developing a general-purpose robot AI and a warehouse generalist superhumanoid robot, the first robot in the world capable of performing all core warehouse functions. We recently closed a $106M Series C at a $1B valuation, and we are continuing to grow our world‑class team. Mission: to empower and inspire mankind to accomplish legendary feats by inventing robots that liberate us from the menial. Vision: invent the Autonomous Supply Chain - everything from the inside of factories and warehouses to your front door - powered by industry‑generalist superhumanoids to deliver faster, more efficient, and more sustainable commerce. Our founding team comes from the AI labs at Stanford and Carnegie Mellon and our board of directors include famed robotics and AI legends including Marc Raibert (founder of Boston Dynamics), Sebastian Thrun (founder of GoogleX, Waymo; Stanford Professor and considered the father of autonomous vehicles) and Fei‑Fei Li (Chief Scientist of AI at Google and Director of Stanford's AI Lab). Join us and leave your mark on the future of robotics, AI, and global commerce. Why Join Nimble? At Nimble, we are committed to building legendary products, a legendary team, and a legendary legacy. Join us and become part of an ambitious, humble, and resourceful culture where your work will leave a lasting impact on the future of robotics and commerce. Nimble's Core Values: Be relentlessly resourceful - Challenge conventions and overcome obstacles. Be legendary - Be the very best and do work that inspires. Be humble - Prioritize growth, learning, and doing whatever is needed to further the mission. Be dependable - Take ownership and deliver with high agency. The Role Nimble is looking for an AI Robotics Research Scientist to help us advance our robotics moonshot by designing, developing, training, and implementing robotic foundation models, Vision‑Language‑Action Models, general‑purpose robotic AI models, and reinforcement learning algorithms controlling multi‑agent robot fleets. You will play a critical role in working with our all‑star cross‑functional team to build models with immediate applications for the world's biggest robotics opportunity. Responsibilities Develop and train diffusion policies, VLMs, multi‑agent deep RL policies and more Develop data collection pipelines Design data annotation and labeling Support implementation of models into production systems Qualifications P.h.D in Robotics or Computer Science Experience training deep learning models for robotic manipulation or mobility Experience working with real robotic hardware Experience training models in simulation and developing simulation environments Experience collecting custom datasets Experience training on open‑source datasets Strong track record of publishing papers and/or deploying real‑world applications Experience with system architecture, design and development Additional Requirements Must be able to work extended hours and weekends as needed Must be able to work in San Francisco $180,000 - $250,000 a year The above range is the salary range. This position will also receive generous equity for this position. Culture We embrace challenges and strive to make the impossible possible each day. We're not in this to do what's easy or to be mediocre. We want to create something legendary and leave our mark on the world. We're ambitious, we're gritty, we're humble and we're relentlessly resourceful in pursuit of our goals. If this sounds like you then you might be a great fit! Nimble Robotics, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We make all employment decisions based solely on merit. We provide equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable state, federal or local laws. Nimble's Benefits Paid Time Off Enjoy the time you need to travel, rejuvenate, and connect with friends and family. Health Insurance Nimble provides medical, dental, and vision insurance through several premier plans and options to support you and your family. Paid Parental Leave Enjoy paid bonding time following a birth. Commuter Benefits Take the stress out of commuting with access to fully-paid parking spots. Referral Bonus Get a cash bonus for any friend or colleague that you refer to us that we end up hiring. 401k Contribute towards a 401k for retirement planning. Equity Be an owner in Nimble through our equity program. #J-18808-Ljbffr

A cutting-edge robotics startup is looking for a Research Scientist to enhance their robotic manipulation systems. This role entails advancing research, collaborating on publications, and prototyping solutions within a multi-disciplinary team. The ideal candidate has a strong grasp of modern robotic methods and 5+ years of relevant experience, alongside a solid publication record in prestigious conferences. Compensation ranges from $160,000 to $210,000 annually, with equity options available. #J-18808-Ljbffr

A leading AI research company in San Francisco is seeking a Research Scientist in mathematical sciences to design and build AI models that tackle complex scientific problems. The ideal candidate will have strong communication skills and experience with frontier models. This position operates on a hybrid work model, valuing rigor and reproducibility in scientific research. Competitive compensation is offered. #J-18808-Ljbffr

A fast-growing AI research startup in San Francisco seeks a Machine Learning Research Scientist to develop next-generation AI models. The role involves designing innovative architectures, validating model performance, and collaborating with engineers. Candidates should have a PhD or equivalent experience in a related field, a strong publication record, and proficiency in deep learning frameworks. This position offers a unique chance to impact core products and work with leading researchers in the industry. #J-18808-Ljbffr

A leading AI company in San Francisco seeks an AI Research Scientist who will blend cutting-edge AI research with practical engineering. This role requires developing advanced systems that solve real-world engineering problems, demanding expertise in AI research and strong programming skills in Python. If you're ready to thrive in a fast-paced environment and contribute significantly to innovative projects, apply now. #J-18808-Ljbffr

About Nudge At Nudge, our mission is to develop the best technology for interfacing with the brain to improve people's lives. We're starting with an approach that we believe can help the most people the fastest, and also allow us to learn as much about the brain as possible: developing a non‑invasive, ultrasound‑based device that can stimulate and image the brain at high resolution and depth. This is a vertically integrated effort building cutting‑edge hardware, software, and research capabilities to create products that can benefit millions - and eventually billions - of people. We've brought together a team of the best, who believe hard things are worth doing. To succeed, we need to assemble world‑class teams across everything we do. We hire people who are exceptional at their craft, do the real work, and execute relentlessly - people who expect the highest levels of both rigor and integrity from each other. About the role As a research scientist focused on rodent behavior and neural imaging at Nudge, you will: Design and execute experiments in rodents to characterize the effects of ultrasound neuromodulation on brain circuits and behavior Collect and analyze behavioral and neural data, with techniques such as electrophysiology, calcium imaging and/or fiber photometry Develop and validate experimental paradigms linking neural activity changes to behavioral and physiological responses with clinical relevance Optimize ultrasound stimulation parameters for specific brain circuits and cell types to achieve targeted neuromodulation Translate preclinical findings to inform human neuromodulation studies About you PhD or postdoc in neuroscience, biomedical engineering or similar engineering discipline Exceptional proficiency in ultrasound neuromodulation, functional ultrasound neuroimaging, optogenetics, electrophysiology, two‑photon microscopy, or fiber phototometry in animal models Experience with automated behavioral tracking and analysis or computational analysis of neural + behavioral data Experience designing experiments informed by ultrasound physics and acoustic field modeling is preferred Demonstrated history of exceptional technical contribution #J-18808-Ljbffr

Virtue AI is at the forefront of AI security & compliance. Our mission is to build the essential AI security platform with advanced and comprehensive guardrails and red‑teaming tools that enable organizations to deploy different AI applications confidently and responsibly in different sectors, such as finance, healthcare, telecom, retail, and government. Just as Palo Alto Networks redefined network security, our mission is to define and lead the new category of AI Security. We are a well‑funded, early‑stage startup founded by industry veterans, and we're looking for passionate builders to join our core team. Are you a high‑performing, motivated machine learning engineer ready to make a significant impact in the AI security space? We are looking for talented engineers to develop cutting‑edge products on agent and LLM securities. What You'll Do As a Research Scientist, you will play a key role in developing production‑ready and cutting‑edge agent and ML security techniques. Your work will directly contribute to advancing our products and services and driving innovation within the industry. You will: Develop our core techniques for agent and model red‑teaming, including discovering novel testing paths, designing novel testing techniques, and developing automatic testing platforms Develop and train our core guardrail models for different input modalities and defense targets and goals Apply efficiency inference methods to reduce model latency Work with the research engineers to integrate our developed techniques into products What Makes You a Great Fit You'll thrive in this role if you're excited by new technology, love solving customer problems, and can comfortably bridge the business and technical worlds. Required qualifications: Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, along with expertise in LLM libraries like PyTorch, DeepSpeed, OpenRLHF, vLLM, verl, etc Experience in LLM finetuning for different modalities Experience in building LLM‑based agents for various applications Experience in conducting large‑scale red‑teaming for LLMs and agents Preferred qualifications: Hands‑on experience with Docker for containerization and deployment Hands‑on experience in backend engineering (Go, C/C++) and front‑end development (Node.js, Typescript) Enthusiasm for thriving in a fast‑paced startup environment Strong problem‑solving skills and effective communication abilities Why Join Virtue AI Competitive base salary compensation + equity commensurate with skills and experience. Impact at scale - Help define the category AI security and partner with Fortune 500 enterprises on their most strategic AI initiatives. Work on the frontier - Engage with bleeding‑edge AI/ML and deploy AI security solutions for use cases that don't yet exist anywhere else yet. Collaborative culture - Join a team of builders, problem‑solvers, and innovators who are mission‑driven and collaborative. Opportunity for growth - Shape not only our customer engagements, but also the processes and culture of an early lean team with plans for scale. Equal Opportunity Employment Virtue AI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome and celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all employees. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, medical condition, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. We also provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs, consistent with legal requirements. #J-18808-Ljbffr

A multi-modal foundational AI company is seeking a Foundational AI Research Scientist to lead research on large-language-model architectures. The role involves designing and validating new transformer variants and attention mechanisms for production systems. Ideal candidates will have a Ph.D. and 3+ years of industry experience in AI research, with deep knowledge of sequence modeling architectures and pre-training of large models. The position offers a competitive salary, flexible PTO, and comprehensive benefits. #J-18808-Ljbffr

A cutting-edge AI startup is seeking an experienced AI Researcher to drive innovative research in generative AI and build multimodal foundation models. Ideally located in San Francisco, the candidate will require a PhD and 5+ years in the field. Responsibilities include designing and implementing models, conducting independent research, and publishing findings. This role is central to advancing AI for earth observation and creating a positive impact. #J-18808-Ljbffr

The Center for Brain and Health (CBH) at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) is seeking a Research Scientist to explore scientific questions related to an in-progress normative brain database. The research scientist will be a key member of a multidisciplinary team responsible for collection of multimodal brain data, including MR imaging, MEG, EEG, and eye tracking. The tentpole of the CBH is the first normative brain database in the region, featuring structural, functional, diffusion MRI, behavioral and health measures, genetic information, and lifestyle questionnaires. The anticipated appointment start date is May 1, 2026, with a guaranteed term of 18 months and the possibility of renewal based on performance. Responsibilities Explore scientific questions related to the normative brain database. Conduct data collection and processing of multimodal MR imaging, MEG, EEG, and eye tracking. Apply big‑data analysis techniques and advanced computational methods to brain imaging data. Collaborate with the multidisciplinary research team. Contribute to peer‑reviewed publications and scientific communication. Qualifications Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Psychology, MR Physics, Data Science, Computer Science, or a related field. Postdoctoral experience or an equivalent level of experience preferred. Extensive experience with multimodal MRI, including functional, structural, and tractography methods. Proficiency in big‑data analysis techniques. Experience with other large brain databases preferred. Strong computational skills and a solid publication record. Benefits Competitive salary and benefits. Housing allowance. Other benefits as specified in the employment terms. Application Instructions Cover letter. Curriculum vitae with a full publication list. Transcript. Statement of research interests. Three representative publications. Three letters of reference. All materials must be submitted in PDF format. Applications are accepted immediately; please submit through the NYUAD careers page at ************************************************************* For questions, contact ************** or **************************. UAE nationals are encouraged to apply. Equal Employment Opportunity Statement NYU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its recruitment and hiring process without regard to age, alienage, caregiver status, childbirth, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, domestic violence victim status, ethnicity, familial status, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, partnership status, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy, race, religion, reproductive health decision making, sex, sexual orientation, unemployment status, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis. All interested persons are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels. Sustainability Statement NYU aims to be among the greenest urban campuses in the country and achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. Learn more at nyu.edu/sustainability. #J-18808-Ljbffr

A leading AI robotics firm based in San Francisco is seeking an AI Robotics Research Scientist. This role involves developing and training robotic AI models and working with an all-star team to tackle advanced robotics challenges. The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. in Robotics or Computer Science and experience in deep learning and robotic hardware. A competitive salary range of $180,000 - $250,000 plus equity is offered, along with strong benefits that include paid time off, health insurance, and 401k contributions. #J-18808-Ljbffr

An established industry player is seeking a passionate Research Scientist to innovate and advance machine learning techniques. This role offers the opportunity to develop impactful research while collaborating across teams to push the boundaries of AI. Ideal candidates will have a track record of innovation, a strong understanding of deep learning algorithms, and a commitment to the ethical implications of AI technology. Join a forward-thinking organization dedicated to ensuring AI benefits all of humanity and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of technology. #J-18808-Ljbffr

A leading data and AI platform in San Francisco is seeking a Research Scientist for the GenAI Team. This role involves advancing deep learning techniques and working with large-scale LLMs. The ideal candidate will have a passion for innovation, solid machine learning skills, and a commitment to improving user experiences. Competitive compensation ranges from $150,000 to $190,000 USD, reflecting the importance of this role within the company. #J-18808-Ljbffr

This is a job that we are recruiting for on behalf of one of our customers. To apply, speak to Jack. He's an AI agent that sends you unmissable jobs and then helps you ace the interview. He'll make sure you are considered for this role, and help you find others if you ask. Behavioral Research Scientist Salary: $140,000-$160,000 + Equity Company Description: VC-backed AI simulation platform Job Description: Shape the cognitive and behavioral foundations of AI agents for a cutting‑edge simulation engine. This role involves applying scientific depth to model decision‑making, attention, and heuristics, impacting how next‑generation digital products are designed. Join a team at the intersection of AI, behavioral science, and product experimentation, bringing real‑world impact to scalable systems. Location: San Francisco, USA Why this role is remarkable: Join a team creating category‑defining technology, building the simulation layer for adaptive software. Backed by top‑tier VCs and product/engineering leaders from leading tech companies. Apply deep behavioral science and cutting‑edge AI to solve complex product challenges with immediate impact. What you will do: Ground AI agents in validated behavioral and cognitive frameworks, modeling human decision‑making. Translate behavioral theories into practical agent architectures, defining user clusters and personas. Design and analyze in silico experiments to test agent responses and benchmark simulation realism. The ideal candidate: PhD or postdoc in Cognitive Science, Behavioral Economics, Psychology, or HCI. Proven experience conducting original research on decision‑making or behavioral modeling in digital contexts. Passionate about applying rigorous scientific research to real‑world, impactful AI systems. How to Apply: To apply for this job speak to Jack, our AI recruiter. Step 1. Visit our website Step 2. Click 'Speak with Jack'. Step 3. Login with your LinkedIn profile. Step 4. Talk to Jack for 20 minutes so he can understand your experience and ambitions Step 5. If the hiring manager would like to meet you, Jack will make the introduction #J-18808-Ljbffr

A pioneering AI security company located in San Francisco is seeking a Research Scientist to develop and enhance cutting-edge agent and machine learning security techniques. The ideal candidate will have expertise in Python and various LLM libraries, with a passion for innovation in a fast-paced startup environment. This role offers a competitive salary and the opportunity to work on groundbreaking AI solutions. #J-18808-Ljbffr

About P-1 AI: We are building an engineering AGI. We founded P-1 AI with the conviction that the greatest impact of artificial intelligence will be on the built world-helping mankind conquer nature and bend it to our will. Our first product is Archie, an AI engineer capable of quantitative and spatial reasoning over physical product domains that performs at the level of an entry‑level design engineer. We aim to put an Archie on every engineering team at every industrial company on earth. Our founding team includes the top minds in deep learning, model‑based engineering, and industries that are our customers. We just closed a $23 million seed round led by Radical Ventures that includes a number of other AI and industrial luminaries (from OpenAI, DeepMind, etc.). About the Role: We're seeking an exceptional AI Research Scientist to help us push the boundaries of AI applied to the physical world. This role blends cutting‑edge AI research with hands‑on engineering, and is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of ideas and implementation. You'll be leading projects that develop agentic AI systems designed to solve real‑world mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineering problems-systems that think, remember, act, and adapt. This is not a “pure research” position: we're looking for a hacker‑scientist hybrid-someone who's published in top venues but is not afraid of any layer in the tech stack. What You'll Do: Design and implement agentic systems that autonomously solve physical engineering tasks. Develop advanced memory, retrieval, and planning architectures for LLM‑based agents. Apply (or invent) reinforcement learning strategies for reasoning, planning, and online adaptation. Contribute to both research strategy and technical implementation-this is a hands‑on role. Collaborate with a small, elite team of researchers and engineers across domains. Stay on the edge of what's possible and bring promising ideas into reality. About you: Have experience at the frontier of AI research (e.g., LLMs, RL, memory systems, agent architectures). Are passionate about applied problems-especially in mechanical, aerospace, or electrical engineering domains. Are fluent in Python and major ML/AI frameworks (PyTorch, JAX, etc.). Thrive in fast‑moving environments and feel comfortable working towards underspecified goals. Have a “whatever it takes” mindset: you're the kind of person makes things work. Can go from whiteboard to working prototype without waiting for someone else to “engineer” it. Preferred Qualifications: PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering, Math, or a related technical field (or equivalent experience). Relevant publications in top‑tier venues of your field. Experience with physical engineering domains a plus. Familiarity with agent tool‑use, retrieval‑augmented generation, or long‑term memory systems. Deep knowledge of reinforcement learning algorithms and practical challenges. Interview process: Initial screening - Head of Talent (30 mins) Hiring manager interview - Head of AI (45 mins) Technical Interview - AI Chief Scientist (45 mins) Culture fit / Q&A (maybe in person) - with co‑founder & CEO (45 mins) #J-18808-Ljbffr

A pioneering AI company based in San Francisco seeks a Foundational AI Research Scientist (Speech) to drive advancements in speech understanding and generation. This role requires a Ph.D. and extensive experience in TTS and STT systems. Responsibilities include prototyping architectures, executing validation experiments, and collaborating with engineering teams. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in modern sequence modeling and a proven track record with large-scale datasets. A strong engineering intuition and the ability to translate complex ideas into maintainable code are essential. #J-18808-Ljbffr

About the Team The Strategic Deployment team makes frontier models more capable, reliable, and aligned to transform high-impact domains. On one hand, this involves deploying models in real-world, high-stakes settings to drive AI-driven transformation and elicit insights-training data, evaluation methods, and techniques-to shape our frontier model development. On the other hand, we leverage these learnings to build the science and engineering of impactful frontier model deployment. As a key element of this effort, OpenAI for Science aims to harness AI to accelerate the process of scientific research. This involves building models and an AI-powered platform that speeds up discovery and helps researchers everywhere do more, faster. About the Role As a Research Scientist focused on the mathematical sciences, you will help build models, tools, and workflows that move theoretical research-in fields such as mathematics, theoretical physics, and theoretical computer science-forward. You\'ll design domain-specific data and signals, shape training and evaluation, guide how to wire models to scientific tools, and work with the academic community to speed up adoption and impact. We\'re looking for people who... Hold a current or recent academic position in mathematical sciences (mathematics, theoretical physics, theoretical computer science) or a related field Regularly use frontier models in their own research Move easily between theory and code, and are eager to contribute technically as well as academically Either know or are eager to learn modern AI and run AI experiments end-to-end Are strong scientific communicators Care about rigor and reproducibility in scientific results This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees. In this role, you will Assist in designing and building frontier AI models that are great at solving frontier mathematical sciences problems Build high-quality scientific datasets and synthetic data pipelines (symbolic, numeric, and simulator-based) Design reinforcement and grading signals for physics and run reinforcement learning/optimization loops to improve model reasoning Define and run evals for scientific reasoning, derivations, simulations, and literature grounding; track progress over time Partner with research labs and the academic community Drive adoption of frontier AI within the scientific community Uphold high standards for safety, data governance, and reproducibility You might thrive in this role if you Are passionate about pushing the boundaries of your field using AI Have used ChatGPT to do calculations and prove or improve lemmas in your field of study Communicate clearly to both scientists and AI engineers; you like collaborating across teams and with academia Nice to have Open-source contributions to mathematical science or AI tooling Experience building or curating domain datasets and benchmarks Experience engaging a research community (teaching, workshops, tutorials, standards) About OpenAI OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. For additional information, please see OpenAI\'s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable law, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations. To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link. OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology. Compensation Range: $380K - $460K #J-18808-Ljbffr