Applied AI Researcher, AI Systems

Distyl; New York, San Francisco (NY, CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Full benefits package

Flexible time off

401(k) retirement plan

Wellness benefits

Job summary

Distyl AI seeks researchers to push the envelope of enterprise AI, designing compound AI systems and agentic collaboration. Teams integrate LLMs, retrievers, evaluators, memory, and execution agents into scalable systems for dynamic workflows.

Ideal candidates have a track record in AI-native research and practical experience using tools like ChatGPT, Cursor, and Perplexity to accelerate real work. The role is hybrid with offices in SF and NY, including 3+ days in-office.

Qualifications

• We build intelligent systems using models rather than just training them.
• Strong research track record with publications or notable work.
• Active use of AI tools to accelerate workflows.
• Proficiency in prototyping ideas and running experiments to prove results.
• Bias toward demonstrating system capabilities over theoretical discussions.

Responsibilities

• Design end-to-end AI systems that orchestrate perception, reasoning, planning, and execution across enterprise workflows.
• Investigate principles of coordination, information flow, and emergent behavior to establish robust design language for intelligent systems.

Skills

Experience Building with Models

Research results

Practical AI usage

Programming & data analysis

Show vs tell bias

Tools

ChatGPT

Cursor

Perplexity

Job description

About Distyl AI

Distyl is an applied AI technology company partnering with the world’s most ambitious institutions to rearchitect critical operations for the frontier of AI. Our customers include the largest companies in telecom, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, consumer goods, and global social organizations.

We research and deploy technologies that power AI-native operations — both for our partners and for Distyl itself. Our work spans research into self-constructing systems, the development of the most reliable execution of AI systems, and products that transform mission-critical workflows. As a result, Distyl's technologies affect some of the world's largest operations — from hundreds of millions of consumer interactions to tens of millions of supply chain transactions and millions of patient journeys.

Distyl is backed by leading investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Coatue, DST Global, and the board-members of 20+ F500s. The results reflect this approach: a 100% production deployment success rate for our customers and one of the few enterprise AI companies to run a profitable business.

What We Are Looking For

At Distyl we’re pushing the envelope of AI utilization in enterprise. This requires creative researchers who don’t just want to drive incremental improvements on benchmarks or optimize an existing process but instead are looking to creatively redefine how software is used.

Our researchers come from many academic backgrounds but have strong research track records, operate in an AI-native way, and would be bored staying on the rails of a traditional research org.

Key Responsibilities

• The AI Systems team focuses on designing compound, end-to-end architectures that orchestrate perception, reasoning, planning, and execution. Researchers integrate diverse components (LLMs, retrievers, evaluators, memory systems, and execution agents) into robust, scalable systems that perform reliably across dynamic enterprise workflows.

• Researchers in AI Systems investigate the governing principles behind complex system interactions. They study coordination, information flow, and emergent behavior across multiple agents and models. Their work identifies the underlying mechanics of robustness, composability, and alignment, in effect establishing the design language for how intelligent systems should be built.

Who You Are

• Experience Building with Models, Not Just Building Models: We develop intelligent systems using models rather than training or fine-tuning them. Ideal candidates have expertise in compound AI systems, agentic collaboration, and associated techniques (ensembling, ReAct, graph-of-thoughts, etc.).

• Proven Track Record of Research Results: Whether you’ve published in top journals, posted amazing work on twitter, or somewhere else we want to see what you've done.

• Uses AI Every Day: Before you can revolutionize someone else’s workflow, you need to revolutionize yours. You should be using tools like ChatGPT, Cursor, and Perplexity to accelerate your workflow.

• Strong Programming and Data Analysis Skills: While you might not consider yourself a software engineer you need to be able to build prototypes of your ideas and then perform the experiments to prove the effectiveness to a F500 Head of AI.

• Biases Towards Showing vs Telling: Our customers want to see the power of AI today vs discuss the most elegant idea that will take 5 years to realize.

What We Offer

• The base salary range for this role is $150K – $250K, depending on experience, location, and level. In addition to base compensation, this role is eligible for meaningful equity, along with a comprehensive benefits package

• 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance for employee and dependents

• Flexible time off

• Retirement and financial planning benefits, including access to pre-tax HSA, FSA, and commuter accounts, 401(k), and financial coaching resources

• Comprehensive wellness benefits, including physical fitness, mental well-being, and fertility and family-building benefits through Carrot

• Complimentary in-office lunches and snacks provided

• Access to state-of-the-art AI models, generous usage of modern AI tools, and real-world business problems

• Ownership of high-impact projects across top enterprises

• A mission-driven, fast-moving culture that values curiosity, pragmatism, and excellence

Distyl has offices in San Francisco and New York. This role follows a hybrid collaboration model with 3+ days per week (Tuesday–Thursday) in‑office.

We believe diverse perspectives make our work stronger and more impactful. We are an equal opportunity employer and evaluate all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.