Job Details

Machine Learning Research Scientist / Engineer, Reasoning

Join to apply for the Machine Learning Research Scientist / Engineer, Reasoning role at Scale AI.

About Scale

At Scale AI, our mission is to accelerate the development of AI applications. For 8 years, Scale has been the leading AI data foundry, fueling advancements in AI, including generative AI, defense applications, and autonomous vehicles. With our Series F round, we're expanding access to high-quality data to drive progress toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). We are expanding our capabilities to set new standards for both public and private evaluations.

About This Role

This role operates at the forefront of AI research and real-world implementation, with a strong focus on reasoning within large language models (LLMs). The ideal candidate will study data types critical for advancing LLM-based agents, including browser and software engineering (SWE) agents. You will help shape Scale's data strategy by identifying effective data sources and methodologies for improving LLM reasoning. Success requires a deep understanding of LLMs, planning algorithms, and novel approaches to agentic reasoning, as well as creativity in data generation, model interaction, and evaluation. You will contribute to research on language model reasoning, collaborate with external researchers, and work with engineering teams to bring state-of-the-art advancements into scalable, real-world solutions.

Responsibilities and Qualifications

• Practical experience with LLMs, with proficiency in frameworks like PyTorch, JAX, or TensorFlow, and the ability to rapidly interpret research literature and translate ideas into prototypes.
• A track record of published research in top ML/NLP venues (e.g., ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CoLLM, etc.).
• At least three years of experience solving complex ML challenges in research or product development, particularly in LLM capabilities and reasoning.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to work effectively across teams.

Nice to Have

• Hands-on experience fine-tuning open-source LLMs or leading bespoke LLM fine-tuning projects using PyTorch/JAX.
• Experience building applications and evaluations related to LLM-based agents (tool-use, text-to-SQL, browser agents, coding agents, GUI agents).
• Experience with agent frameworks such as OpenHands, Swarm, LangGraph, or similar.
• Familiarity with advanced agentic reasoning techniques such as STaR and PLANSEARCH.
• Proficiency in cloud-based ML development (AWS or GCP).

Interview and Selection

Our research interviews are designed to assess a candidate's ability to prototype and debug ML models, depth of understanding in research concepts, and alignment with Scale's culture. We do not conduct LeetCode-style problem-solving assessments.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation packages include base salary, equity, and benefits. The base salary range for this full-time position in San Francisco, New York, and Seattle is $220,000—$325,000 USD. Benefits include comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, a learning and development stipend, and generous PTO. The role may be eligible for additional benefits such as a commuter stipend. Equity-based compensation is available for eligible roles, subject to Board approval. Recruiters can share the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.

About Us and Equal Opportunity

At Scale, we believe that the transition from traditional software to AI is a major shift for the industry. We power the world's most advanced LLMs, generative models, and computer vision models, and we are trusted by OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, government agencies, and leading enterprises. We are an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace and do not discriminate based on race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or veteran status. We provide reasonable accommodations in the application process. For more information, please contact ...@scale.com. We comply with the U.S. Department of Labor's Pay Transparency and Know Your Rights posters and policies. Please note: we collect, retain and use personal data for hiring purposes in accordance with our privacy policy.

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Other

Industries

• Software Development