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Staff/Senior Machine Learning Research Engineer, Intelligent Systems

Scale AISan Francisco, CA; New York, NYApplications Platform Engineering
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Salary
Not listed
Job type
Full-time
Posted
14 Jul 2026
Status
Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

Role Overview

The Staff/Senior Machine Learning Research Engineer position at Scale AI is based in San Francisco, CA, or New York, NY, focusing on advancing agentic AI systems for enterprise and government use cases. This hands-on role suits an experienced engineer who thrives on solving complex machine learning challenges across multiple workstreams without being tied to a single product roadmap.

Key Responsibilities

Navigate core problem areas within the Applied Intelligence Systems team, focusing on training, inference, evaluation, and agent orchestration where technical leverage is highest.
Research, prototype, and rigorously test novel methods for improving agent performance, such as continuous learning loops and reinforcement learning, for production-ready settings.
Build intelligent agents and internal tooling to minimize bottlenecks in data, evaluation, and experimentation.
Partner closely with software engineers, product managers, forward-deployed engineers, and data annotators to transition ideas into robust production capabilities.
Set the technical direction for artificial intelligence and machine learning, mentoring senior and staff-track team members while raising the experimental rigor across the organization.

Requirements

Minimum of five years of experience working as a machine learning engineer or applied and research scientist, with direct background in training or fine-tuning models within production systems.
Holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field.
Broad and hands-on fluency across the agentic machine learning stack, covering model training, alignment, evaluation infrastructure, and multi-agent orchestration, with deep expertise in at least one domain.
Demonstrated ability to adapt across various problem areas, write production-ready code, and tackle zero-to-one pathfinding challenges where solutions are not yet defined.
Proven track record of guiding technical direction, collaborating across cross-functional teams, and mentoring engineers by providing substantive technical feedback.

Nice to Have

Published research, patents, or contributions to open-source projects related to LLM alignment, agent training methods, or applied machine learning.
Background in online learning, continuous fine-tuning, or automated curriculum generation from production traces.
Experience optimizing models or systems for scale, cost, training efficiency, or inference latency.
Prior history working in regulated, government, or enterprise environments.
Experience taking experimental agent architectures or training methods reliably into production.
Background acting as a technical lead guiding direction across multiple problem spaces or teams.

Skills and Tools

Large Language Models (LLM)
Model training and fine-tuning (SFT, RLHF/RLAIF, reward modeling)
Evaluation and observability infrastructure
Agent architecture including tool use, memory, planning, and multi-agent orchestration

Salary and Benefits

Base salary range of $250,000 to $350,000 USD for eligible full-time positions in locations like San Francisco and New York, determined by experience, qualifications, and work location.
Equity-based compensation subject to board approval.
Comprehensive vision, dental, and health coverage.
Retirement benefits and generous paid time off.
Learning and development stipend along with potential commuter stipends.

About the Company

Scale AI operates as an AI data foundry delivering high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power advanced models across autonomous vehicles, defense, and generative artificial intelligence. The organization partners with leading enterprises, global governments, and industry giants to bring dependable and evaluated AI solutions into production. Scale AI is an equal opportunity workplace that embraces diversity and provides reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should visit the official Scale AI careers page to submit an application and review further details regarding the hiring process.

Skills and tech stack

LLM

Questions candidates ask

What locations is this role available in?

This position is located in San Francisco, CA, and New York, NY.

What is the education requirement for this job?

Candidates must hold a PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.

How many years of experience are required?

Applicants need 5+ years of experience as an ML engineer or applied/research scientist, including direct experience training or fine-tuning models in production systems.

What is the salary range for this position?

The base salary range for this full-time position in San Francisco and New York is $250,000 to $350,000 USD, with exact compensation determined by qualifications, location, and other factors.

What benefits are provided with this role?

Eligible employees receive comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage, retirement benefits, learning and development stipends, generous PTO, equity-based compensation, and potential commuter stipends.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official Scale AI careers page.

Apply on company site