Job Title: Senior Machine Learning Research Scientist / Research Engineer
Type: Full-Time – Direct Hire
Start: Targeting October 2025
Location: Remote (U.S.-based)
Compensation: Up to $180K + Benefits
IMPORTANT — READ FIRST
THIS IS NOT AN APPLIED ML ENGINEERING ROLE.
THIS IS A RESEARCH-DRIVEN, INVENTION-FOCUSED POSITION. ONLY APPLY IF YOU HAVE A PHD — MANDATORY
We’re seeking a Senior Machine Learning Research Engineer who operates at a research-grade level — someone whose primary work is inventing new machine learning methods, advancing the field through original research, and selectively translating that work into production systems. This role sits within a deeply technical innovation lab focused on unstructured data, advanced modeling, and defensible intellectual property. If you’ve authored peer-reviewed ML research, contributed to patented ML methods, or created novel learning approaches that others have built upon, this role is aligned. This is not a general applied ML or product engineering role.
What You’ll Be Doing:
- Invent and evaluate novel machine learning methods
- Architectures, learning paradigms, optimization strategies, or representation frameworks
- Conduct first-principles research on unstructured and multimodal data
- Design rigorous experiments to validate novel ML ideas, including failure analysis and ablation studies
- Translate a subset of validated research into production-grade systems when appropriate
- Collaborate with senior researchers and engineers to develop defensible IP, including patents and internal research artifacts
- Author or co-author research papers, technical reports, and internal whitepapers
- Influence long-term R&D direction through original thinking and experimentation
This role emphasizes research depth and invention first — production work is secondary and selective.
Must-Haves (Non-Negotiable):
- PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related field
- 5+ years of experience post-PhD working on research-level or research-driven ML problems
- Demonstrated proof of original ML innovation, such as:
- Peer-reviewed publications with meaningful citations
- Patents or patent-pending ML methods
- Novel architectures, algorithms, or learning frameworks
- Deep experience with modern ML architectures (e.g., Transformers, generative models, representation learning)
- Strong proficiency in Python and at least one systems language (C++ or Java)
- Ability to take ideas from theory → experimentation → defensible implementation
- U.S.-based professional experience strongly preferred
You’ll Stand Out If You…
- Have authored or co-authored highly cited machine learning research
- Have contributed to patents or protected intellectual property in ML
- Have experience in research labs or innovation-driven R&D teams (academic or industrial)
- Have created new datasets, benchmarks, or evaluation methodologies used by others
- Can clearly articulate what is novel about your work — and why it matters
- Have demonstrated long-term ownership of complex research efforts
- Thrive in ambiguous problem spaces where solutions must be invented, not assembled
This is a full-time role with competitive compensation and benefits.