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Member of Technical Staff - Research

valkaiSan FranciscoEngineering
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Salary
$200K – $350K
Job type
Full-time
Experience
Senior
Posted
10 Sept 2026
Status
Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

Based in San Francisco, the Member of Technical Staff - Research position at Valkai is a full-time role that suits a skilled researcher with strong engineering capabilities. This position involves solving complex workflow challenges and translating research into production systems.

Role Overview

The Member of Technical Staff - Research position requires an individual who can bridge the gap between theoretical experimentation and applied artificial intelligence. Practitioners in this position manage the entire lifecycle of research initiatives, from initial hypotheses to deployment in operational environments.

Key Responsibilities

Take ownership of applied research projects across all stages, including problem definition, experiment design, implementation, and production validation.
Train and adapt models specifically for reasoning, retrieval, and decision-making tasks.
Develop and test enhancements for agent systems, covering areas such as tool use, context management, memory, planning, and failure recovery.
Create datasets, evaluation environments, and grading methods tailored to real-world workflow difficulties.
Analyze model outputs and agent traces to identify recurring failure patterns and implement improvements in training, data, or system design.
Construct experimentation pipelines and tools required for efficient, reproducible research execution and comparison.
Collaborate with engineering, product, and AI Strategy teams to understand operational workflows and deploy enhancements into production.

Requirements

Possess deep machine learning foundations encompassing learning, optimization, probability, and statistics to evaluate model behavior and experimental results.
Demonstrate hands-on model experience through training, adapting, or improving models, with depth in areas such as reinforcement learning and post-training.
Exhibit research judgment by converting ambiguous problems into testable hypotheses and designing targeted experiments.
Display applied judgment regarding real workflows, balancing quality, reliability, latency, cost, and system-level modifications.
Show high agency and ownership by independently defining research directions, taking responsibility for outcomes, and moving from investigation to execution.
Communicate findings, uncertainty, and context clearly with domain experts and cross-functional teams.

Nice to Have

Experience carrying research ideas into production products or systems used in real workflows.
Track record of research publications, open-source contributions, or substantial industry work focusing on machine learning, large language models, agents, or evaluation.
Background in reward modeling, synthetic data generation, or learning from human feedback.
Familiarity with distributed training, inference optimization, or large-scale experimentation.
Prior work experience within high-growth, early-stage companies.

Skills and Tools

Machine Learning
Large Language Models (LLMs)
Reinforcement Learning
Agent Systems
Distributed Training
Inference Optimization

Salary and Benefits

Compensation ranges from $200K to $350K with offered equity.
Medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage for employees and dependents.
Generous paid time off (PTO) policy.
Paid parental leave.

About the Company

Valkai is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, providing equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply on the official company careers page.

Skills and tech stack

Machine LearningLLMsReinforcement Learning

Questions candidates ask

What is the location of the Member of Technical Staff - Research role?

The position is located in San Francisco.

What is the salary range for this position?

The salary ranges from $200K to $350K, alongside offered equity.

What benefits are provided with the job?

Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents, a generous PTO policy, paid parental leave, and equity.

What type of experience is required for this role?

The role requires deep machine learning foundations, hands-on model experience including reinforcement learning and post-training, research judgment, and strong applied judgment.

How should interested applicants apply?

Candidates should apply on the official company careers page.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official valkai careers page.

Apply on company site