Artificial Intelligence Research Director - Executive Director

Next Frontier Capital; New York (NY); On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

JPMorganChase AI Research seeks an Executive Director / Research Director to drive novel AI techniques and frameworks, delivering production-scale solutions in collaboration with engineering and product teams.

You will oversee a portfolio spanning multi-agent systems, reinforcement learning, and scalable AI, mentoring researchers and engaging with business stakeholders to drive strategic impact.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field with AI/ML research experience.
• Publications in top AI/ML venues or equivalent.
• Strong communication for technical and business audiences.
• Hands-on software development in Python with tests.

Responsibilities

• Lead research projects across AI/ML and production-scale delivery.
• Collaborate with engineers and product teams to translate research into deployed solutions.
• Own portfolio directions, strategy, and reusable capabilities.
• Mentor researchers and engage with stakeholders to drive impact.

Skills

PhD in CS/Engineering

AI/ML research

Strong publication record

Verbal and written communication

Software development in Python

Mentoring AI researchers

Multi-agent systems & RL

Production-ready solutions

Education

PhD in Computer Science/Engineering

Tools

Google ADK

LangGraph

A2A

Job description

JPMorganChase AI Research is a global team of research scientists, engineers and product managers that develops novel AI capabilities and partners across the firm to translate breakthrough AI/ML techniques into deployed solutions. The team brings together researchers across multi-agent systems, foundation model training, reinforcement and continual learning, multimodal document AI, formal reasoning, planning and verification, and synthetic data generation - alongside experts in trustworthy AI, privacy, and cryptography - to solve hard problems end-to-end in ways that are secure, reliable, and scalable in financial services.

AI Research sits within the Chief Data & Analytics Office (CDAO) at JPMorganChase which is responsible for accelerating the firm’s data and analytics journey. This includes ensuring the quality, integrity, and security of the firm's data, as well as leveraging this data to generate insights and drive decision-making. The CDAO is also responsible for developing and implementing solutions that support the firm’s commercial goals by harnessing artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to develop new products, improve productivity, and enhance risk management, effectively and responsibly.

As an Executive Director / Research Director in AI Research, you will work on developing novel techniques, tools, and frameworks to model and solve complex large-scale problems in the bank. You will develop a close understanding of the challenges in practical applications of AI and leverage that understanding to formulate new research directions and solutions that can shift the frontier. Your work will span from early-stage innovation and rigorous evaluation to production-scale delivery in close collaboration with engineering and product teams.

Job responsibilities

• Work on multiple commercially oriented research projects in collaboration with internal data scientists, applied engineering teams and stakeholders across businesses e.g. Commercial & Investment Banking (including Markets), Asset & Wealth Management, Consumer & Community Banking, etc.
• Formulate problems, generate hypotheses, develop new algorithms and models, conduct experiments and rigorous evaluations, synthesize and communicate results, and deliver well-tested, high-quality code.
• Contribute to high-impact business applications, reusable assets and products, and research initiatives.
• Provide thought leadership on internal and external forums through white papers, publications and presentations.
• Own a portfolio of capabilities, drive strategic directions and prioritization within the portfolio including business stakeholder engagement, development of relevant reusable capabilities or products, and initiation of new research initiatives that can drive business impact.

Required qualifications, capabilities, and skills

• PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or related fields with relevant research experience in AI/ML and 4+ years of relevant work experience
• Research publications in top-tier AI/ML venues (e.g., conferences, journals) – broad conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, etc., or highly regarded specialized conferences such as ICAPS, CRYPTO, etc.
• Deep understanding of fundamental AI/ML techniquesand a strong grasp of current state of the art in specific areas of expertise
• Effective verbal and written communication skills with the ability to address both technical and business audiences.
• Practical software development experience in collaborative project settings such as open-source projects or industry experience. Ability to deliver modular, optimized, high-quality Python code with tests.
• Experience leading and mentoring AI researchers, partnering with engineering and business stakeholders to drive execution and strategic planning across near-term deliveries and longer-horizon research initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to translate research into real-world impact e.g., production-ready solutions, prototypes/pilots, reusable components, reference architectures, or standards.
• Ideal candidate enjoys being hands-on and deeply involved with the team in vetting design, solution approaches, results and code.
• Deep research expertise in multi-agent systems and reinforcement learning including agent co-ordination, negotiation, communication, simulations and mechanism design.
• Hands-on experience building and deploying multi-agent solutions with frameworks such as Google ADK, LangGraph, A2A, etc. Strong understanding of technical architectures, design and tradeoffs.

Preferred qualifications, capabilities, and skills

• Practical experience with ML/RL libraries (e.g. PyTorch, TensorFlow/Keras, HuggingFace Transformers etc.), familiarity with common formal verification tools and languages (e.g., Coq/Isabelle/Lean, TLA+, Alloy, Z3, PDDL)

#AIR_jobs

JPMorganChase, one of the oldest financial institutions, offers innovative financial solutions to millions of consumers, small businesses and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Our history spans over 200 years and today we are a leader in investment banking, consumer and small business banking, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management.

We offer a competitive total rewards package including base salary determined based on the role, experience, skill set and location. Those in eligible roles may receive commission-based pay and/or discretionary incentive compensation, paid in the form of cash and/or forfeitable equity, awarded in recognition of individual achievements and contributions. We also offer a range of benefits and programs to meet employee needs, based on eligibility. These benefits include comprehensive health care coverage, on-site health and wellness centers, a retirement savings plan, backup childcare, tuition reimbursement, mental health support, financial coaching and more. Additional details about total compensation and benefits will be provided during the hiring process.

We recognize that our people are our strength and the diverse talents they bring to our global workforce are directly linked to our success. We are an equal opportunity employer and place a high value on diversity and inclusion at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute, including race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital or veteran status, pregnancy or disability, or any other basis protected under applicable law. We also make reasonable accommodations for applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as mental health or physical disability needs. Visit our FAQs for more information about requesting an accommodation.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including Disability/Veterans

Our professionals in our Corporate Functions cover a diverse range of areas from finance and risk to human resources and marketing. Our corporate teams are an essential part of our company, ensuring that we’re setting our businesses, clients, customers and employees up for success. The goal of JPMorgan AI Research is to explore and advance cutting-edge research in AI, including ML as well as related fields.