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  • Senior Machine Learning Scientist

    Expedia Group 4.7company rating

    Principal research scientist job in San Jose, CA

    Senior Machine Learning Scientist - Traveler Engagement & Loyalty team (San Jose) Introduction to the Team: Expedia Technology teams partner with our Product teams to create innovative products, services, and tools to deliver high-quality experiences for travelers, partners, and our employees. A singular technology platform powered by data and machine learning provides secure, differentiated, and personalized experiences that drive loyalty and traveler satisfaction. The Traveler Engagement & Loyalty team at Expedia is at the forefront of innovation in AI-driven recommendation systems. We're dedicated to enhancing customer experiences, increasing engagement, and strengthening traveler relationships through cutting-edge machine learning solutions. Our work directly impacts millions of travelers worldwide, shaping their journey from dreaming to booking and beyond. Join a newly formed Machine Learning Science team at Expedia Group focused on transforming Customer Relationship Management (CRM) through intelligent, personalized outbound communications. From crafting tailored travel recommendations to optimizing engagement strategies, your work will directly influence millions of travelers globally. This is a rare opportunity to build foundational systems in a high-impact domain, backed by Expedia's AI-first vision. In this role, you will: Build and optimize recommendation models for CRM use cases, including personalized email campaigns and retention strategies Apply deep learning and causal inference to sparse, noisy, and dynamic customer interaction data Design and analyze A/B experiments to validate model performance and drive product decisions Collaborate with ML Engineers to deploy models at scale, ensuring robustness and reliability in production environments Translate business objectives into measurable machine learning goals aligned with customer engagement outcomes Stay current with advancements in recommendation research, deep learning architectures, and personalization systems Mentor junior scientists and engineers, sharing best practices in ML modeling, experimentation, and deployment Minimum Qualifications: PhD, MS, or BS in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Engineering, or a related field; or equivalent professional experience 8+ years of related industry experience Experience building production-grade recommendation or personalization systems Strong understanding of collaborative filtering, deep learning for recommendations, reinforcement learning, and causal inference Proficiency in Python and ML frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch Experience with distributed systems like Apache Spark Familiarity with A/B testing and experimentation methodologies Ability to work with large-scale, real-world data with attention to bias, fairness, and privacy Excellent communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences Preferred Qualifications: Experience in the travel or e-commerce industry Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) Publications in top-tier ML conferences or journals Contributions to open-source ML projects Experience in personalization systems or CRM-focused ML applications Experience taking models from prototype to production in collaboration with Machine Learning Engineering teams
    $153k-209k yearly est. 1d ago
  • Research Scientist

    Kadence

    Principal research scientist job in San Francisco, CA

    About the Company We are a seed-stage AI company building the industry standard for evaluating and benchmarking large language models on real enterprise tasks. About the Role As a Research Scientist, you will develop new benchmarks, methodologies, and evaluation pipelines that shape how cutting-edge models are assessed, compared, and deployed in production environments. Your work will directly influence model selection and safety decisions across foundation model labs, high-growth AI product companies, and Fortune-scale enterprises. Responsibilities Benchmarking & Model Analysis Evaluate newly released models as they launch (e.g., Gemini, DeepSeek, etc.) Run large-scale assessment workflows using internal evaluation infrastructure Compare model performance across enterprise-grade task categories Design New Benchmarks from Scratch Identify high-value model application domains through research exploration Construct datasets, including labeling strategy and workforce coordination Write short “white-paper-style” summaries explaining benchmark purpose, method, and findings Advance Automated Evaluation Methodologies Improve systems for scoring generated text beyond standard metrics Explore research in reference-free, rubric-based, and human-aligned evaluation Develop new techniques for reliability, consistency, and repeatability Cross-functional Collaboration Work closely with engineering to scale evaluation infra Partner with customers to refine evaluation relevance and task fit Influence product direction through research insights Qualifications 0-3 years post-grad experience (Master's, PhD, or equivalent applied research) Publications, preprints, or demos showing cutting-edge work Experience with diffusion models, NLP, multimodal, or benchmarking work Ability to operate independently with ambiguity Clean, maintainable research codebases Candidates from: top engineering/research universities applied AI startups well-regarded research internships Required Skills Built or contributed to a benchmark or evaluation methodology Experience in enterprise task model evaluation Stanford / top lab adjacency (per their historical hiring success) Preferred Skills Wants to publish as primary motivation Purely academic with slow timelines Big-tech culture fit concerns (Meta / Google / Salesforce specifically noted-but case-by-case) Pay range and compensation package Base Salary: up to $250K depending on background Equity: typically 0.3% - 0.5%, flexibility for exceptional candidates Rapid equity refresh possible based on impact Equal Opportunity Statement Visa sponsorship available. Relocation support. Health & dental coverage. Lunch + dinner provided, snacks & coffee. Unlimited PTO. Weekly happy hours with community guests. Team events (bowling, hiking, rock climbing, etc.). Swag program (hats, etc.). Work Environment & Culture In-person, San Francisco HQ (required). Core hours: 9-5, some teammates extend voluntarily. Most team members work 1 weekend day per week (flexible). High-ownership, low-ego, collaborative. Live demos Mondays, team lunch Thursdays, community Fridays. Early-stage pace, applied focus-not academic publishing. Tech Environment (while research-focused, exposure beneficial) Backend: Python / Django. Frontend: React + TypeScript. Infra: AWS. Evaluation frameworks + internal tooling. Why This Role Is Unique The company already collaborates with foundation model labs, high-growth AI vertical product companies, and Fortune 500 enterprises (not publicly facing). ChatGPT Vals AI $5M seed raised, runway of 2+ years at current burn. Only one research scientist is being hired-true founding impact. Opportunity to define industry standards for model trust, reliability, and certification. Positioned to become the rating agency for generative AI.
    $250k yearly 1d ago
  • research scientist - RL

    Cerebro 3.3company rating

    Principal research scientist job in San Jose, CA

    Join a Leading Applied Research Lab Pushing the Boundaries of Reinforcement Learning Are you passionate about advancing the frontiers of reinforcement learning (RL)? An innovative AI research lab is seeking talented and ambitious scientists to shape the next generation of RL techniques-especially where they intersect with large models and environment generation. About the Role As an AI Research Scientist focused on RL, you will: Develop novel optimization-based methods for automated RL environment generation Establish baselines for evaluating the quality and diversity of RL environments Design infrastructure to create dynamic environments from historical datasets and agent evaluations Drive your own research agenda, contributing directly to the progress of our platform and the broader AI community What We're Looking For PhD (or equivalent experience) in machine learning, computer science or a related field Strong publication record and/or evidence of research impact (open source, deployed systems, etc.) Deep expertise in reinforcement learning and machine learning fundamentals Proficient in Python and at least one modern ML framework (such as PyTorch or JAX) Bonus Points Experience with post-training large language models (LLMs) Demonstrated software engineering skills Ability to communicate research findings effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences
    $150k-251k yearly est. 5d ago
  • Research Scientist - Vision Data Infrastructure

    Storm3

    Principal research scientist job in San Francisco, CA

    Research Scientists/Engineers (all levels) 🔍 Focus on Vision Data Infrastructure 🤖 Fundamental AI Research Institute 🌎 San Francisco Bay Area, USA 💸 $250,000 - $600,000 salary + annual bonus Come join one of the only research institutions globally with resources to compete with top AI companies =>10s of 1000s of GPUs to explore state-of-the-art research in LLMs, Multimodal and Agentic AI. Currently seeking AI talent with expertise in building scalable pipelines for vision data to support both image/video generative training and multi-modal alignment. You'll design high-performance pipelines for large-scale image and video datasets, enabling efficient pretraining, alignment, and simulation-based data generation. Responsibilities: Vision Data Sourcing & Curation Collect and organize image and video data from open datasets and the web. Handle data cleaning, filtering, deduplication, and metadata generation. Ensure ethical and compliant data collection at scale. Processing & Augmentation Build high-throughput pipelines for vision data preprocessing (frame extraction, resolution normalization, format conversion, latent caching). Implement GPU-accelerated augmentation and distributed data loading (WebDataset, TFRecords, Parquet). Synthetic & Simulation-Based Data Generation Use simulation tools (e.g., Unreal Engine 5, Isaac Sim, Unity) to generate high-quality synthetic vision data. Create specialized datasets for VLM training, visual reasoning, and agent interaction. Requirements: Strong experience with data engineering, computer vision, or machine learning infrastructure. Expertise in building and scaling ETL/data pipelines for large unstructured datasets. Proficiency with Python, PyTorch, and distributed data frameworks (e.g., Ray, Spark, Dask). Experience with WebDataset, TFRecords, Parquet, or similar high-throughput data formats. Familiarity with GPU-accelerated preprocessing, NVIDIA DALI, or equivalent systems. Understanding of image/video codecs, data compression, and cloud storage optimization. Preferred Experience: Prior work with simulation-based or synthetic data generation using Unreal Engine, Isaac Sim, or Unity. Experience curating datasets for multimodal or vision-language model training. Knowledge of data ethics, privacy, and compliance frameworks for large-scale AI datasets. Experience contributing to open datasets or data-centric AI research. Why apply: Opportunity to join a fast-growing core team that are already pushing AI breakthroughs Highly competitive salary package Work alongside ambitious and bright superstars from tech and academia Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance Relocation package available 🌎 San Francisco Bay Area, USA 📧 Interested in applying? Please click on the ‘Easy Apply' button or alternatively email me your resume at ************************
    $95k-160k yearly est. 2d ago
  • Founding Applied Research Scientist (RL)

    Greylock Partners 4.5company rating

    Principal research scientist job in San Francisco, CA

    Early-stage (vertical RL) company looking to hire a Sr. Applied RS with a strong background in reinforcement learning. Qualifications: Applied Research with MS or PhD in a related field and 4 + years industry experience in deep learning and 2+ years with reinforcement learning Successful track record as a self-starter in 0->1 scenarios with a proven ability to take SOTA models into production Please note: Due to the selective nature of this service and the volume of applicants we typically receive from our job postings, a follow-up email will not be sent until a match is identified with one of the startup investments in our portfolio. About Us: Greylock is an early-stage investor in hundreds of remarkable companies including Airbnb, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Workday, Cloudera, Facebook, Instagram, Roblox, Coinbase, Palo Alto Networks, among others. More can be found about us here: ********************* We are full-time, salaried employees of Greylock who provide free candidate referrals/introductions to our active investments to help them grow/succeed (as one of the many services we provide). Please note: We are not recruiting for any roles within Greylock at this time. This job posting is for direct employment with a startup in our portfolio.
    $119k-187k yearly est. 4d ago
  • Senior RL Research Scientist

    Deeprec.Ai

    Principal research scientist job in San Francisco, CA

    Senior RL Research Scientist / Reinforcement Learning Scientist Join a frontier AI team building systems that can act in the physical world, experimenting, optimizing, and controlling real processes through advanced ML, simulation, and automation. This group is pushing the boundaries of physical intelligence, backed by significant long-term funding and a mandate to invent from first principles. If you want to: Work on problems few teams in the world can touch Build RL systems that power real tools, workflows, and scientific processes Operate in a fast, high-ownership, deeply technical culture …this is the kind of role that defines a career. The Role You'll design and deploy reinforcement learning systems that control complex tools, optimize multi-step processes, and operate across high-fidelity simulations and digital twins. Expect hands-on research, real-world experimentation, and tight collaboration with teams across ML, simulation, and systems engineering. What You'll Do Build RL environments for tool control, workflow optimization, and long-horizon decision-making Develop safe and constrained RL methods, verifier-driven rewards, and offline to online training pipelines Create state/action representations and evaluation frameworks for reliable policy behavior Work with cross-functional researchers and engineers to deploy RL agents into real workflows What You Bring Strong background in RL, optimal control, or sequential decision-making Experience applying RL to complex simulated or physical systems Familiarity with safe/constrained RL, verifiers, or advanced evaluation pipelines Ability to design environments, rewards, and diagnostics at scale Comfort working across ML, simulation, and systems interfaces
    $118k-189k yearly est. 3d ago
  • Senior LLM Research scientist

    Acceler8 Talent

    Principal research scientist job in San Francisco, CA

    💡 What if your next role let you push the frontier of LLM planning and tool-use-building agents that don't just talk about the physical world, but act in it to engineer, experiment, and manufacture autonomously? 🚀 Our client - a hyper-talent-dense physical-AI startup backed by top-tier builders across frontier AI and deep tech - is hiring a Senior LLM Research Scientist (San Francisco / Redwood City, In-Person). They're building Physical Superintelligence: AI systems with general physical ability-the capacity to experiment, engineer, or manufacture anything. Instead of only learning from static data, their models generate new data through automated real-world experimentation at massive scale. The role: 🧠 Develop planning, reasoning, and structured tool-use models that power autonomous engineering agents 🧪 Lead SFT + preference optimization work (RLHF / DPO) to push capability and reliability 🛡️ Build verifier-guided RL + safety constraints for robust long-horizon agent behavior 🔧 Design tool-calling schemas, recovery logic, and policy constraints so agents can operate real toolchains 🤝 Partner across agent systems, data infra, simulation, and tooling teams to train and evaluate in production workflows ⚙️ High-ownership research + systems integration on core models and agent behavior Why join? 🌍 Real-world impact at national scale-accelerating physical discovery, not just model training 🏭 A uniquely scaled platform for learning with automated experimental facilities generating new feedback loops 💰 Competitive salary + meaningful equity 🚀 Tiny, elite team with extremely high technical bar and low ego 🏢 In-person, high-velocity environment split across SF + Redwood City 📩 Interested? Apply now!
    $118k-189k yearly est. 1d ago
  • AI/ML Scientist

    Saragossa

    Principal research scientist job in San Mateo, CA

    AI/ML Scientist - Build the Future of Physics AI- $250,000 to $275,000 Salary You will be part researcher, part builder, part pioneer, someone who thrives at the intersection of machine learning and physics based simulation. The platform is built on massively scalable, cloud native simulation technology that makes it possible to run thousands of high fidelity simulations quickly and easily. This foundation unlocks something big, enabling the generation of large scale datasets that power the next generation of ML models across industries. You will be on the front lines of building and productizing new machine learning approaches for physics based problems, from CFD to thermal simulation. Your work will not just live in a paper, it will deliver measurable value to customers, shape new product capabilities, and push the boundaries of what is possible in Physics AI. You know that rush when your work goes from experiment to production, when the models perform, the results hold up, and you can see the impact firsthand? That is what this role is about. Ready to shape the future of Physics AI? Let's talk. No up to date resume required.
    $250k-275k yearly 2d ago
  • Scientist/Sr. Scientist-Stem Cell Biology/Embryology

    Commonwealth Sciences, Inc.

    Principal research scientist job in San Jose, CA

    located in San Francisco, CA Responsibilities of the Scientist/Sr. Scientist-Stem Cell Biology/Embryology: Design and execute experiments in stem cell differentiation, organoid generation, and tissue engineering. Innovate then execute experiments to generate and differentiate human stem cells, develop functional assays, assess and interpret experimental workflows Perform mammalian embryo dissections, tissue isolations, and culture experiments to study and model developmental processes. Apply principles of developmental biology and embryology to guide tissue maturation and patterning. Collaborate with biomaterials and engineering teams to integrate cells and tissues. Develop and optimize protocols for reproducible tissue generation and maintenance. Test novel stem cell culture conditions, sort, screen, expand and differentiate hi PSCs according to latest protocols and newly developed approaches. Requirements of the Scientist/Sr. Scientist-Stem Cell Biology/Embryology: PhD in biological sciences, stem cell biology, genetics or related field. 2+ years hands-on expertise in stem cell culture (iPSCs/ESCs). Hands-on experience with mammalian embryos, including dissections and culture. Experience in molecular biology and strong problem solving skills.
    $92k-151k yearly est. 5d ago
  • Scientist: In Vivo Pharmacology

    Proclinical Staffing

    Principal research scientist job in Palo Alto, CA

    Scientist, In Vivo Pharmacology - Permanent - Palo Alto, CA Where curiosity meets purpose-join us in shaping the future of science. Primary Responsibilities: Proclinical is seeking a highly motivated, dynamic Scientist to support in vivo research on our cutting-edge pipeline and discovery programs. You will be involved in the preparation and execution of murine animal experiments and the collation of data. The Scientist of In Vivo Pharmacology will: Preparation for and execution of translational experiments such as in vivo pharmacology and disease model experiments, including experiments in knockout and transgenic mice Animal handling during murine experiments, and handling of murine tissues resulting from animal experiments Management of relationships with third-party vendors on mouse breeding and shipping Identification, ordering, organization, storage, and proper disposal of laboratory reagents required for studies In collaboration with the Laboratory Biology team, aid in maintaining laboratory space and inventory Recording and filing data, preparing technical reports, and study summaries Report progress of projects in a timely and concise manner to supervisor May independently lead the development and implementation of new assays to support research projects; may independently execute experiments and perform data analyses of moderate complexity; may have responsibility for specific method or study. Occasionally provides assistance to and/or mentoring other technical staff, new research staff or interns Manages personal experimental timelines to meet project and personal goals Presents findings at the scientist, department, and site-level. Function as part of a collaborative team to support research needs Contribute to the optimal functioning of the research team, including implementation of new tools and technologies. Skills & Requirements: S. and 7+ years of laboratory experience (academic and/or industry) or M.S. with 5+ years of laboratory experience (academic and/or industry) Degree must be in a life sciences discipline, preferably cellular and/or molecular biology, biochemistry, and/or microbiology/immunology 3+ years of hands-on experience with in vivo murine research required, with mouse pharmacology and inflammation disease model experiments highly desired Experience in experimental techniques such as handling of animal tissue, cell culture, qRT-PCR, flow cytometry, and ELISAs/MSDs is required Experience in immunology research, including research with primary immune cells, would be valuable Must be highly organized, punctual, and precise both in regards to performing laboratory experiments as well as maintenance of the laboratory space. Ability to work independently and occasionally during non-traditional work hours as may be required by some experiments and will need to be comfortable in a laboratory and animal facility setting. Possesses effective problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills Experience with Microsoft software suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and other commonly used computer applications (Zoom, MS Teams, Box, etc.) Clear and effective communicator across verbal, written, and interpersonal settings If you are interested in applying to this exciting opportunity, then please click 'Apply' or to speak to one of our specialists please request a call back at the top of this page. Proclinical is a leading life sciences recruiter focused on finding exceptional people and matching them with the finest positions across the globe. Proclinical is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy. By submitting this application, you confirm that you've read and understood our privacy policy, which informs you how we process and safeguard your data - https://www.proclinical.com/privacy-policy
    $104k-165k yearly est. 5d ago
  • Decision Scientist

    Fractal 4.2company rating

    Principal research scientist job in Sunnyvale, CA

    Senior Decision Scientist Fractal is a strategic AI partner to Fortune 500 companies with a vision to power every human decision in the enterprise. Fractal is building a world where individual choices, freedom, and diversity are the greatest assets. An ecosystem where human imagination is at the heart of every decision. Where no possibility is written off, only challenged to get better. We believe that a true Fractalite is the one who empowers imagination with intelligence. Fractal has been featured as a Great Place to Work by The Economic Times in partnership with the Great Place to Work Institute and recognized as a ‘Cool Vendor' and a ‘Vendor to Watch' by Gartner. Please visit Fractal | Intelligence for Imagination for more information about Fractal Position Overview: Fractal is looking for a proactive and driven Senior Decision Scientist to join our Decision Science Consulting team in the San Francisco, CA area. In this role, you will help power measurable outcomes for leading technology organizations, leveraging cutting edge GenAI, Data Science, Engineering and Behavioral Science capabilities This is a perfect opportunity for someone, who is looking to combine best-in-class data science and analytics skills, strong problem-solving, effective communication and thought leadership to help our clients solve their most strategic business problems Responsibilities: Drive business decision making by deeply analyzing clickstream and other structured data, building machine learning/ statistical models to uncover actionable insights, and developing presentations to communicate the findings and recommendations Manage project roadmap by discussing potential analytics ideas, prioritizing based on estimated benefit vs. effort, documenting and planning for risks and blockers and periodically sharing status updates Contribute to the analytical foundations by documenting data and business understanding, sharing knowledge with broader team and coming up with new opportunities such as automating repetitive tasks, researching and applying new approaches/ techniques and bringing in ideas from other disciplines such as consumer psychology, brand, economics, competitive analysis, etc. Qualifications: Bachelors or equivalent experience in statistics, computer science, engineering, informatics, data science, or related field; additional business degree is a plus 8+ years of data science/ analytics experience with demonstrable hands-on expertise 3+ years of leading complex projects working with (or supervising) analysts, data scientists, AI engineers, designers, etc. Familiarity or natural interest towards management activities (project management, product management, team management) is strongly preferred Excellent communication and presentation skills are a must Strong proficiency with data manipulation is required (SQL + Python) Strong familiarity with ML development and testing in Python is required Must display strong learning agility to know the latest and greatest techniques across Statistics, ML and GenAI (Preferred) Demonstrated experience working with digital marketing functions e.g. purchase funnel optimization, digital product enhancement, email/ push marketing, etc. Hands-on experience in one, or more of the following is strongly preferred: regression, classification, clustering, time series forecasting, NLP Familairity with Adobe Analytics and Snowflake is a plus Salary Range: $130,000 - $155,000 (bonus and benefit eligible) Fractal provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
    $104k-149k yearly est. 4d ago
  • Product Development Scientist

    Notco

    Principal research scientist job in San Jose, CA

    We are a group of people united by a strong purpose. We want you to get to know us, and Giuseppe, our very own artificial intelligence. We love good food, but above all, we love the planet, and that's why, to protect it, we reinvent the food industry, one delicious bite at a time, elevating what we eat, through our technology and based on plants. Our recipe has three mega-important components: science, technology, and of course, disruptive talents who work daily to create a better future. At NotCo we are not and do not seek to be the perfect company, but rather the right one. We are here to produce changes, and that is why we dare, fail, and sometimes achieve incredible successes. We are currently looking for a Product Development Scientist for our NotCo B2B Research & Development located in San Francisco, California, requiring an active on-site presence. This position will report to our R&D Sr. Team Lead and the incumbent will work cross-functionally to ensure R&D activities are successfully deployed locally. Responsible for the: Independently conducts day-to-day product development activities as directed by the manager across multiple projects. This includes supporting activities related to the full product lifecycle process (from product concept to successful commercial launch as needed)and supporting process development, scale-up and technology transfer Supports the design and execution of bench-top tests, pilot-plant trials and full-scale formulations to deliver high-quality food products that meet and exceed the sensory, cost, and other performance targets Proactively proposes and uses sensory and analytical analysis to guide and validate the development process Maintains detailed documentation, experiment tracking and outcomes, and documents finished goods and ingredient specifications Provides feedback to project lead regarding relevant technical and process information Communicates proactively and effectively with cross-functional teams, clearly articulating perspectives and trade-offs related to new product development goals Utilizes NotCo's proprietary AI technology to develop and improve food products Supports formula validation activities as well as process development, scale-up and technology transfer Engages in client communications and workshops, bringing technical Maintains detailed documentation across all R&D activities in a timely manner Qualifications / Requirements: Bachelor's degree in Food Engineering, Food Science, Engineering in Biotechnology or a similar discipline. 2 + years of Food R&D experience is desired, preferably across both food and beverage categories. Be agile, adaptable, and thrive in a dynamic and changing culture; works relentlessly to overachieve, anticipate obstacles, and create plans to overcome them. Adapts easily to changing priorities and direction based on new project learnings and team priorities. Demonstrated competency to effectively communicate (oral & written) cross-functionally with solid collaboration skills. Comfortable in client-facing situations and able to communicate complex topics clearly and simply. Excel in a startup environment, is excited to create new procedures and processes from scratch and has a strong entrepreneurial mindset. Be a problem solver, have a general manager mindset, and take the initiative to get the job done Possess strong planning, project management, and execution skills, and the ability to articulate where and how you have used them. Rigorous data-driven/analytical capability and ability and presence to present data effectively to a leadership team Work well in teams and cross-functional groups in a matrixed environment, both regionally and globally Possesses strong computer skills, including a high level of proficiency in MS Office, specifically Excel Authorization to work in the U.S. is required Ability to travel up to 50% of the time, including international travel and extended trips. NotCo is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range for this role is $65,000 - $75,000. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor. We are an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
    $65k-75k yearly 2d ago
  • Research Scientist

    Kadence

    Principal research scientist job in Sunnyvale, CA

    About the Company We are a seed-stage AI company building the industry standard for evaluating and benchmarking large language models on real enterprise tasks. About the Role As a Research Scientist, you will develop new benchmarks, methodologies, and evaluation pipelines that shape how cutting-edge models are assessed, compared, and deployed in production environments. Your work will directly influence model selection and safety decisions across foundation model labs, high-growth AI product companies, and Fortune-scale enterprises. Responsibilities Benchmarking & Model Analysis Evaluate newly released models as they launch (e.g., Gemini, DeepSeek, etc.) Run large-scale assessment workflows using internal evaluation infrastructure Compare model performance across enterprise-grade task categories Design New Benchmarks from Scratch Identify high-value model application domains through research exploration Construct datasets, including labeling strategy and workforce coordination Write short “white-paper-style” summaries explaining benchmark purpose, method, and findings Advance Automated Evaluation Methodologies Improve systems for scoring generated text beyond standard metrics Explore research in reference-free, rubric-based, and human-aligned evaluation Develop new techniques for reliability, consistency, and repeatability Cross-functional Collaboration Work closely with engineering to scale evaluation infra Partner with customers to refine evaluation relevance and task fit Influence product direction through research insights Qualifications 0-3 years post-grad experience (Master's, PhD, or equivalent applied research) Publications, preprints, or demos showing cutting-edge work Experience with diffusion models, NLP, multimodal, or benchmarking work Ability to operate independently with ambiguity Clean, maintainable research codebases Candidates from: top engineering/research universities applied AI startups well-regarded research internships Required Skills Built or contributed to a benchmark or evaluation methodology Experience in enterprise task model evaluation Stanford / top lab adjacency (per their historical hiring success) Preferred Skills Wants to publish as primary motivation Purely academic with slow timelines Big-tech culture fit concerns (Meta / Google / Salesforce specifically noted-but case-by-case) Pay range and compensation package Base Salary: up to $250K depending on background Equity: typically 0.3% - 0.5%, flexibility for exceptional candidates Rapid equity refresh possible based on impact Equal Opportunity Statement Visa sponsorship available. Relocation support. Health & dental coverage. Lunch + dinner provided, snacks & coffee. Unlimited PTO. Weekly happy hours with community guests. Team events (bowling, hiking, rock climbing, etc.). Swag program (hats, etc.). Work Environment & Culture In-person, San Francisco HQ (required). Core hours: 9-5, some teammates extend voluntarily. Most team members work 1 weekend day per week (flexible). High-ownership, low-ego, collaborative. Live demos Mondays, team lunch Thursdays, community Fridays. Early-stage pace, applied focus-not academic publishing. Tech Environment (while research-focused, exposure beneficial) Backend: Python / Django. Frontend: React + TypeScript. Infra: AWS. Evaluation frameworks + internal tooling. Why This Role Is Unique The company already collaborates with foundation model labs, high-growth AI vertical product companies, and Fortune 500 enterprises (not publicly facing). ChatGPT Vals AI $5M seed raised, runway of 2+ years at current burn. Only one research scientist is being hired-true founding impact. Opportunity to define industry standards for model trust, reliability, and certification. Positioned to become the rating agency for generative AI.
    $250k yearly 1d ago
  • Research Scientist - AI for Chip Design

    Cerebro 3.3company rating

    Principal research scientist job in Palo Alto, CA

    Join the Frontier of AI-Driven Hardware Design Are you passionate about pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence and eager to see your research power the next generation of computational hardware? We're a stealth-mode AI research and product lab on a mission to revolutionize chip design. Our team is reimagining how custom silicon is created-using advanced AI to dramatically accelerate and optimize the process, making ultra-efficient, domain-specific chips a reality. About Us Founded by leading minds from top universities and industry labs, our team brings together AI researchers and engineers from organizations like DeepMind, Meta, Apple, and Intel. We're backed by world-class investors, including renowned scientists, professors, and founders in the hardware and AI space. Here, you'll work alongside pioneers at the intersection of machine learning and hardware, building the intelligence layer for tomorrow's computing revolution. Your Role: Founding AI Researcher (ML) As a founding member of our technical team, you'll be at the heart of developing and deploying AI models that transform chip design. You'll tackle challenges like code generation, verification, architectural exploration, and multimodal reasoning-building multi-agent systems that can design, optimize, and verify real silicon. This is a hands-on, 0→1 opportunity: you'll own the full ML lifecycle, from data pipelines and model training to deployment and iteration, collaborating closely with hardware and product experts.You'll experiment at the bleeding edge of LLMs, reinforcement learning, and graph-based methods for EDA, defining how AI will shape the future of hardware What We're Looking For Academic Background: PhD in Computer Science, EECS, Mathematics, or a related field (or BS/MS with strong research engineering experience at leading labs or startups). AI/ML Expertise: Deep experience building end-to-end ML pipelines, including data curation, model training, and post-training using RL. Proven ability to take models from research to real-world deployment. Technical Skills: Hands-on with LLM/VLM deployment (vLLM, sg Lang, LM Studio, Ollama, etc.) and distributed training (QLoRA, ZeRO, CUDA, PyTorch Parallelism). Experience with RL post-training workflows, reward modeling, and environment design. Track record in code generation, reasoning, and tool use-especially in structured domains. Builder Mindset: Fast-moving, able to prototype, benchmark, and productionize ML pipelines with tight feedback loops. Passion: Excited to push the state-of-the-art in AI for real-world engineering challenges. Bonus Points: Experience at leading AI labs (OpenAI, DeepMind, Anthropic, etc.). Publications in top ML or EDA conferences. Background in hardware design or verification (not required). Why Join Us? Impact: Shape the future of AI-driven chip design from the ground up. Ownership: Significant autonomy and a meaningful equity stake. Growth: Work with a world-class team on cutting-edge challenges. Culture: Fast-paced, collaborative, and mission-driven environment. Ready to help define how AI will design the hardware of tomorrow? Apply now and join us at the frontier of AI and hardware innovation!
    $150k-251k yearly est. 2d ago
  • Founding Research Scientist (MARL)

    Greylock Partners 4.5company rating

    Principal research scientist job in San Francisco, CA

    Series A company looking to hire a Sr. Applied RS with a good background in multi-agent reinforcement learning. The related challenge is figuring out how to use feedback from an objective function on (consumer) pricing to reinforce a multi-agent enterprise system (many components). Qualifications: Applied Research with MS or PhD in a technical field and 4 + years relevant industry experience Successful track record as a self-starter in 0->1 scenarios with a proven ability to take SOTA models into production Please note: Due to the selective nature of this service and the volume of applicants we typically receive from our job postings, a follow-up email will not be sent until a match is identified with one of the startup investments in our portfolio. About Us: Greylock is an early-stage investor in hundreds of remarkable companies including Airbnb, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Workday, Cloudera, Facebook, Instagram, Roblox, Coinbase, Palo Alto Networks, among others. More can be found about us here: ********************* We are full-time, salaried employees of Greylock who provide free candidate referrals/introductions to our active investments to help them grow/succeed (as one of the many services we provide).
    $119k-187k yearly est. 1d ago
  • Senior RL Research Scientist

    Acceler8 Talent

    Principal research scientist job in San Francisco, CA

    💡 What if your next role let you design reinforcement learning systems that directly control real-world science -training agents that run experiments, tune physical tools, and accelerate discovery from months to days? 🚀 Our client - a hyper-talent-dense physical-AI startup backed by top-tier builders across frontier AI and deep tech - is hiring a Senior RL Research Scientist (San Francisco / Redwood City, In-Person). They're building Physical Superintelligence: AI that can ask any scientific question about the physical world and get a real answer in days, not years-by pairing large models with massive automated “experiment factories.” The role: 🎯 Own RL for real-world tool control and long-horizon workflows across biology, chemistry, materials, and robotics 🧪 Build RL environments grounded in physics, simulation, and digital twins-not toy benchmarks 🛡️ Design safe / constrained RL + verifier-integrated rewards to keep agents reliable in high-stakes domains 📈 Drive offline → online transitions and evaluation pipelines as agents learn from and act on real telemetry 🤝 Partner across LLM, agent systems, simulation, and physical-tooling teams to deploy policies into production workflows ⚙️ High-ownership algorithm + systems work where you shape the foundations of physical-AI autonomy Why join? 🌍 Work at the frontier of real-world impact-from multi-cancer early detection to general scientific discovery 🏭 Operate on a uniquely scaled platform: 20k+ sq ft automated facilities producing real experimental feedback loops 💰 Competitive salary + meaningful equity 🚀 Tiny, world-class team with a “best-person-you've-worked-with” talent bar 🏢 In-person, high-velocity environment with deep collaboration across SF + Redwood City 📩 Interested? Apply now
    $118k-189k yearly est. 1d ago
  • Senior LLM Research Scientist

    Deeprec.Ai

    Principal research scientist job in San Francisco, CA

    A frontier-stage research group is building a new class of AI systems designed to reason, plan, and act across the physical world. Their mission is to create intelligent agents capable of experimenting, engineering, and constructing in ways that dramatically accelerate scientific and industrial progress. This team combines deep technical pedigree with real-world wins at scale, including major government-funded initiatives. They operate where advanced model research meets robotics, simulation, and automated engineering systems, offering the kind of impact only possible when first-principles science meets ambitious execution. Joining means stepping into a high-ownership environment where you shape core capabilities end-to-end, influence the direction of physical-world intelligence, and help build technology the world has never seen before. Why This Role Is Compelling Work on cutting-edge reasoning, planning, and tool-use models that directly control autonomous engineering systems. Push the limits of SFT, RLHF, DPO, verifier-guided RL, and long-horizon planning in a setting where your research immediately translates into real-world capability. Operate in a high-velocity research culture with exceptional peers across agent systems, simulation, data, and complex toolchains. Have outsized ownership in a small team tackling one of the most ambitious technical problems of this decade. Role Overview The team is looking for an LLM Research Scientist to pioneer next-generation reasoning and agent architectures. Your work will span model design, alignment strategies, structured tool orchestration, and experimentation with agents interacting across real engineering workflows. This position blends deep research with hands-on systems integration, offering both autonomy and scope to lead foundational progress. Key Responsibilities Develop advanced models and prompting systems for planning, multi-step reasoning, and structured tool use. Lead training initiatives across SFT, RLHF/DPO, verifier-guided RL, and modular expert architectures to strengthen robustness and controllability. Define schemas, tool-calling strategies, policy constraints, safety mechanisms, and recovery pathways for agent behavior. Partner closely with engineering, simulation, and data teams to test, train, and evaluate models embedded in real production-like toolchains. Qualifications Significant experience in LLM research, agent reasoning models, or structured tool-use frameworks. Strong background working with SFT, RLHF, DPO, or reinforcement-learning-from-verification methods. Demonstrated ability to design, analyze, and improve long-horizon behaviors and decomposition strategies. Comfortable working across ML research, systems engineering, and real-world experimentation in a fast-moving environment. A track record of excellence and ownership in technically demanding domains.
    $118k-189k yearly est. 3d ago
  • Scientist/Sr. Scientist-Stem Cell Biology/Embryology

    Commonwealth Sciences, Inc.

    Principal research scientist job in Fremont, CA

    located in San Francisco, CA Responsibilities of the Scientist/Sr. Scientist-Stem Cell Biology/Embryology: Design and execute experiments in stem cell differentiation, organoid generation, and tissue engineering. Innovate then execute experiments to generate and differentiate human stem cells, develop functional assays, assess and interpret experimental workflows Perform mammalian embryo dissections, tissue isolations, and culture experiments to study and model developmental processes. Apply principles of developmental biology and embryology to guide tissue maturation and patterning. Collaborate with biomaterials and engineering teams to integrate cells and tissues. Develop and optimize protocols for reproducible tissue generation and maintenance. Test novel stem cell culture conditions, sort, screen, expand and differentiate hi PSCs according to latest protocols and newly developed approaches. Requirements of the Scientist/Sr. Scientist-Stem Cell Biology/Embryology: PhD in biological sciences, stem cell biology, genetics or related field. 2+ years hands-on expertise in stem cell culture (iPSCs/ESCs). Hands-on experience with mammalian embryos, including dissections and culture. Experience in molecular biology and strong problem solving skills.
    $92k-151k yearly est. 5d ago
  • Product Development Scientist

    Notco

    Principal research scientist job in San Francisco, CA

    We are a group of people united by a strong purpose. We want you to get to know us, and Giuseppe, our very own artificial intelligence. We love good food, but above all, we love the planet, and that's why, to protect it, we reinvent the food industry, one delicious bite at a time, elevating what we eat, through our technology and based on plants. Our recipe has three mega-important components: science, technology, and of course, disruptive talents who work daily to create a better future. At NotCo we are not and do not seek to be the perfect company, but rather the right one. We are here to produce changes, and that is why we dare, fail, and sometimes achieve incredible successes. We are currently looking for a Product Development Scientist for our NotCo B2B Research & Development located in San Francisco, California, requiring an active on-site presence. This position will report to our R&D Sr. Team Lead and the incumbent will work cross-functionally to ensure R&D activities are successfully deployed locally. Responsible for the: Independently conducts day-to-day product development activities as directed by the manager across multiple projects. This includes supporting activities related to the full product lifecycle process (from product concept to successful commercial launch as needed)and supporting process development, scale-up and technology transfer Supports the design and execution of bench-top tests, pilot-plant trials and full-scale formulations to deliver high-quality food products that meet and exceed the sensory, cost, and other performance targets Proactively proposes and uses sensory and analytical analysis to guide and validate the development process Maintains detailed documentation, experiment tracking and outcomes, and documents finished goods and ingredient specifications Provides feedback to project lead regarding relevant technical and process information Communicates proactively and effectively with cross-functional teams, clearly articulating perspectives and trade-offs related to new product development goals Utilizes NotCo's proprietary AI technology to develop and improve food products Supports formula validation activities as well as process development, scale-up and technology transfer Engages in client communications and workshops, bringing technical Maintains detailed documentation across all R&D activities in a timely manner Qualifications / Requirements: Bachelor's degree in Food Engineering, Food Science, Engineering in Biotechnology or a similar discipline. 2 + years of Food R&D experience is desired, preferably across both food and beverage categories. Be agile, adaptable, and thrive in a dynamic and changing culture; works relentlessly to overachieve, anticipate obstacles, and create plans to overcome them. Adapts easily to changing priorities and direction based on new project learnings and team priorities. Demonstrated competency to effectively communicate (oral & written) cross-functionally with solid collaboration skills. Comfortable in client-facing situations and able to communicate complex topics clearly and simply. Excel in a startup environment, is excited to create new procedures and processes from scratch and has a strong entrepreneurial mindset. Be a problem solver, have a general manager mindset, and take the initiative to get the job done Possess strong planning, project management, and execution skills, and the ability to articulate where and how you have used them. Rigorous data-driven/analytical capability and ability and presence to present data effectively to a leadership team Work well in teams and cross-functional groups in a matrixed environment, both regionally and globally Possesses strong computer skills, including a high level of proficiency in MS Office, specifically Excel Authorization to work in the U.S. is required Ability to travel up to 50% of the time, including international travel and extended trips. NotCo is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range for this role is $65,000 - $75,000. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor. We are an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
    $65k-75k yearly 2d ago
  • Product Development Scientist

    Notco

    Principal research scientist job in Fremont, CA

    We are a group of people united by a strong purpose. We want you to get to know us, and Giuseppe, our very own artificial intelligence. We love good food, but above all, we love the planet, and that's why, to protect it, we reinvent the food industry, one delicious bite at a time, elevating what we eat, through our technology and based on plants. Our recipe has three mega-important components: science, technology, and of course, disruptive talents who work daily to create a better future. At NotCo we are not and do not seek to be the perfect company, but rather the right one. We are here to produce changes, and that is why we dare, fail, and sometimes achieve incredible successes. We are currently looking for a Product Development Scientist for our NotCo B2B Research & Development located in San Francisco, California, requiring an active on-site presence. This position will report to our R&D Sr. Team Lead and the incumbent will work cross-functionally to ensure R&D activities are successfully deployed locally. Responsible for the: Independently conducts day-to-day product development activities as directed by the manager across multiple projects. This includes supporting activities related to the full product lifecycle process (from product concept to successful commercial launch as needed)and supporting process development, scale-up and technology transfer Supports the design and execution of bench-top tests, pilot-plant trials and full-scale formulations to deliver high-quality food products that meet and exceed the sensory, cost, and other performance targets Proactively proposes and uses sensory and analytical analysis to guide and validate the development process Maintains detailed documentation, experiment tracking and outcomes, and documents finished goods and ingredient specifications Provides feedback to project lead regarding relevant technical and process information Communicates proactively and effectively with cross-functional teams, clearly articulating perspectives and trade-offs related to new product development goals Utilizes NotCo's proprietary AI technology to develop and improve food products Supports formula validation activities as well as process development, scale-up and technology transfer Engages in client communications and workshops, bringing technical Maintains detailed documentation across all R&D activities in a timely manner Qualifications / Requirements: Bachelor's degree in Food Engineering, Food Science, Engineering in Biotechnology or a similar discipline. 2 + years of Food R&D experience is desired, preferably across both food and beverage categories. Be agile, adaptable, and thrive in a dynamic and changing culture; works relentlessly to overachieve, anticipate obstacles, and create plans to overcome them. Adapts easily to changing priorities and direction based on new project learnings and team priorities. Demonstrated competency to effectively communicate (oral & written) cross-functionally with solid collaboration skills. Comfortable in client-facing situations and able to communicate complex topics clearly and simply. Excel in a startup environment, is excited to create new procedures and processes from scratch and has a strong entrepreneurial mindset. Be a problem solver, have a general manager mindset, and take the initiative to get the job done Possess strong planning, project management, and execution skills, and the ability to articulate where and how you have used them. Rigorous data-driven/analytical capability and ability and presence to present data effectively to a leadership team Work well in teams and cross-functional groups in a matrixed environment, both regionally and globally Possesses strong computer skills, including a high level of proficiency in MS Office, specifically Excel Authorization to work in the U.S. is required Ability to travel up to 50% of the time, including international travel and extended trips. NotCo is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range for this role is $65,000 - $75,000. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor. We are an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
    $65k-75k yearly 2d ago

Learn more about principal research scientist jobs

How much does a principal research scientist earn in Walnut Creek, CA?

The average principal research scientist in Walnut Creek, CA earns between $110,000 and $249,000 annually. This compares to the national average principal research scientist range of $87,000 to $184,000.

Average principal research scientist salary in Walnut Creek, CA

$165,000
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