Research Engineer, Cybersecurity RL (Reinforcement Learning)
About this role
Designing and implementing reinforcement learning environments, running experiments and evaluations, and bringing those solutions into production training runs occupy the daily routine for this position. Operating within the security team, the person hired will help safeguard AI systems by working on incident response, security analysis, and vulnerability remediation through defensive cybersecurity applications. This position combines research and software engineering, requiring the creation of novel approaches and their practical implementation in code.
The security group protects company systems and maintains user trust while scaling advanced AI capabilities safely. Success in the role requires balancing research exploration with pragmatic engineering implementation, alongside effective collaboration with researchers, engineers, and cybersecurity specialists. Candidates often come from diverse backgrounds, blending machine learning research with domain expertise in security.
What you will do
- Partner with researchers and safety teams across Anthropic to understand analytical needs and build suitable solutions.
- Develop agentic integrations enabling AI systems to autonomously investigate and act on analytical findings.
- Contribute to the strategic direction of the team by helping decide what to build, what to partner on, and where to invest.
- Participate in an on-call rotation if required by operational needs.
What you need
- Possess experience with machine learning and cybersecurity research.
- Demonstrate strong software engineering skills alongside the ability to balance research exploration with code implementation.
- Hold a Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience in a relevant field.
- Fulfill the internal job level requirements that correlate with the required years of experience for the position.
Nice to have
- Professional experience in security engineering, fuzzing, detection and response, or applied defensive work
- Experience participating in or building CTF competitions and cyber ranges
- Academic research experience in cybersecurity or another experimental research background
- Familiarity with reinforcement learning techniques and environments
- Familiarity with LLM training methodologies
Benefits
- Competitive compensation and benefits
- Optional equity donation matching
- Generous vacation and parental leave
- Flexible working hours
- Office space for collaboration
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the remote work or office policy?
The position follows a location-based hybrid policy. Staff are expected to be in one of the offices at least 25% of the time, though some roles may require more time on-site.
Does the company offer visa sponsorship?
Visa sponsorship is available for candidates. If an offer is made, the team makes every reasonable effort to secure a visa and retains an immigration lawyer to help with the process.
What kind of background is needed for this role?
The role requires machine learning experience combined with domain expertise in cybersecurity. Candidates might be machine learning researchers with a history of cybersecurity work, or security professionals with a background in machine learning.