Lead AI Research Scientist

Workato; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 321,300 - 392,700; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work environment

Benefits and equity

Dynamic work culture

Job summary

Workato is looking for a Lead AI Research Scientist to redefine AI with real-world impact. This role will involve leading research initiatives, mentoring a team of researchers, and collaborating closely with product and engineering teams. Candidates should have an MS/PhD in Computer Science and 5+ years of leadership experience in applied research. The position is based in San Francisco with a starting salary of $357,000 plus benefits and equity.

Qualifications

• 5+ years leading applied research teams.
• Proven track record of transitioning research into production.
• Deep expertise across structured and unstructured data modalities.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute a 24-month research vision.
• Build and mentor a team of applied researchers.
• Drive forward-looking research initiatives and productionize prototypes.

Skills

Research team leadership

Large-scale model training

PyTorch or JAX

Publication in top-tier ML venues

Reinforcement learning techniques

Strong communication skills

Ability to explain complex ideas

Collaborative mindset

Experience in high-growth startups

Education

MS/PhD in Computer Science or related

Tools

CUDA

Transformer architectures

Job description

Workato delivers enterprise infrastructure for the agentic era, redefining iPaaS and helping enterprises unify data, applications, processes, and AI into a single, governed platform. A leader in Enterprise MCP and trusted by 50% of the Fortune 500, Workato’s cloud‑native architecture connects every application, data source, and process to power real‑time orchestration at scale. With enterprise‑grade security and continuous innovation at its core, Workato provides the trusted foundation for organizations to automate with confidence and operationalize AI across the business. To learn more, visit www.workato.com

Workato believes in fostering a flexible, trust‑oriented culture that empowers everyone to take full ownership of their roles. We are driven by innovation and are looking for team players who want to actively build our company.

We also balance productivity with self‑care. That’s why we offer a vibrant and dynamic work environment with multifaceted benefits that can enhance life inside and outside of work.

Responsibilities

Lead AI Research Scientist in Workato’s AI Research Lab. This research‑first role focuses on redefining and advancing enterprise AI with real‑world impact for developers. Responsibilities include:

• Define and execute a 24‑month research vision spanning deterministic planners, self‑healing automations, retrieval‑augmented workflow graphs, agent evaluation frameworks, and more.
• Build, lead, and mentor a team of applied researchers and interns, fostering technical excellence, strong authorship, and open scientific contribution.
• Drive forward‑looking research initiatives while bridging the gap between cutting‑edge innovation and production‑ready enterprise solutions.
• Partner closely with Product and Engineering to productionize prototypes within six months of proof of concept.
• Engage lighthouse customers to validate ideas and convert insights into scalable reference architectures.
• Manage a 24‑month research roadmap focused on automated agent building and optimization, synthetic data, automated post‑training, RL, evaluation techniques, and model optimization.
• Hire, coach, and inspire a team of 10+ applied researchers and interns.
• Publish peer‑reviewed papers and secure patents that differentiate Workato in enterprise AI.

Requirements / Qualifications

• MS/PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
• 5+ years leading applied research teams.
• Hands‑on experience with PyTorch or JAX and modern LLM frameworks.
• Proven track record of transitioning research into production within large‑scale systems.
• Strong publication record in top‑tier ML venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR).
• Hands‑on experience with large‑scale model training, transformer architectures, reinforcement learning techniques, and CUDA.
• Deep expertise across structured and unstructured enterprise data modalities.
• Strong communication skills, able to translate complex research into business value.
• Ability to explain complex ideas to non‑experts.
• Inspirational leader who attracts, mentors, and retains top talent.
• Comfortable making decisions in a fast‑moving, on‑site lab environment.
• Collaborative mindset, thriving at the intersection of research and product.
• Experience operating in high‑growth startup environments.

Location and Compensation

This role is onsite in our San Francisco Office. For California applicants, the pay for this role begins at $357,000 plus variable compensation, benefits, perks, and equity.

Equal Employment Opportunity

As set forth in Workato’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.