Research Engineer

SuperAnnotate AI; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Annual bonus

Job summary

SuperAnnotate AI in San Francisco is seeking a Research Engineer to lead frontier AI research initiatives. You will identify relevant papers and benchmarks, reimplement methods, and build end-to-end projects with autonomy and rigor.

You’ll own research plans, reproduce prior work, and turn directions into tangible outputs such as datasets, pilots, or papers. The role combines research depth with practical software engineering and clear technical writing.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in ML, CS, or related quantitative field or equivalent demonstrated research experience.
• Real ML depth: understanding model training and evaluation, ability to read and reimplement papers.
• Hands-on experience with RL/agentic systems, AI/ML evaluation/benchmarking, or multimodal ML.
• Strong Python and engineering ability to build and ship experiments (eval harnesses, environments, infrastructure).
• High autonomy to turn ambiguous directions into concrete research plans.
• Clear technical writing.

Responsibilities

• Identify supporting resources (papers, benchmarks) and implement relevant methods.
• Build and own processes to reproduce prior work and improve outcomes.
• Own end-to-end projects (RL/agentic envs, multimodal benchmarks) from scoping to validation.
• Translate requirements into a concrete, testable research plan.
• Validate ideas through hands-on implementation and data evaluation.
• Turn research directions into tangible outputs (datasets, pilots, papers).
• Contribute technical depth to new opportunities and proposals.

Skills

ML depth

Python

Autonomy

Technical writing

Education

MS/PhD in ML/CS

Tools

Eval harnesses

Environments

Infrastructure

Job description

About SuperAnnotate

SuperAnnotate helps the world’s leading AI teams build responsible, next-generation models powered by high-quality human data. We’re a fast-growing Series B startup bridging the gap between advanced AI innovation and the data that drives it. Our global network of expert specialists, scalable managed operations, precise talent matching, and full project transparency ensure unmatched data quality at scale. Trusted by innovators like Databricks and ServiceNow - and backed by NVIDIA, Dell Technologies Capital, Databricks Ventures, Cox Enterprises, and Lionel Messi’s Play Time VC - SuperAnnotate is proud to be the top‑ranked AI data company on G2 for multiple consecutive years, including 2025.

The Impact You’ll Make

Our research team is expanding to keep pace with a wave of frontier‑facing work: internal research streams, client engagements that require real ML depth, and emerging opportunities at the cutting edge of the field. As a Research Engineer, you’ll take a research direction and run with it – finding the right papers, benchmarks, and prior work, reimplementing what’s relevant, and building out the process to reproduce and improve on it internally.

You’ll own initiatives end to end: partnering with strategic project and technical leads to scope the work, building MVPs to validate ideas (including through human annotation and agents), and turning that work into something concrete – a customer dataset, a pilot, an internal dataset that becomes a paper or blog post, or a joint publication with a partner. You won’t be handed a fully specified task list; you’ll be given a direction and the autonomy to turn it into a research plan.

This is a full‑time, hybrid position based in San Francisco.

What You’ll Do

• Take a research direction and independently identify supporting resources – papers, benchmarks, blog posts – then implement or reimplement the relevant methods.
• Build and own the process to reproduce prior work internally and identify ways to improve on it.
• Own projects (for example, an RL/agentic environment build for a partner or a novel multimodal benchmark) end to end, including scoping, MVP implementation, and validation.
• Partner with strategic project leads and technical leads to translate ambiguous requirements into a concrete, testable research plan.
• Validate ideas through hands‑on implementation, including annotating, evaluating, or sourcing data.
• Turn research directions into tangible outputs – a paid customer dataset, a customer pilot, an internal dataset, or a paper/blog post for publication or conference presentation.
• Bring an ML perspective to new opportunities — assessing technical feasibility of incoming requests and helping shape proposals where research depth is needed.

What You’ll Bring

• MS or PhD in ML, CS, or a related quantitative field – or equivalent demonstrated research experience (publications, significant open‑source research work, industry research).
• Real ML depth: you understand how models are trained and evaluated, not just how to call an API. You can read a paper, judge whether its claims hold, and reimplement the method.
• Hands‑on experience with at least one of: RL/agentic systems, AI/ML evaluation and benchmarking, or multimodal ML.
• Strong Python and the engineering ability to build and ship your own experiments – eval harnesses, environments, infrastructure – without relying on a platform team.
• High autonomy: you can turn an ambiguous direction into a concrete research plan and notice when something’s off before being told.
• Clear technical writing

Nice To Have

• Publication track record (first‑author preferred).
• Experience with agent or multimodal benchmarks (OSWorld, MMMU, WebArena, SWE‑bench, or similar) or building RL environments/gyms.
• Familiarity with reward modeling, reward hacking, or verifier/judge reliability.
• Familiarity with synthetic data generation or human‑in‑the‑loop (HITL) workflows.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and containerized environments.
• A deep RL background specifically.

$180,000 - $280,000 a year

In addition to the annual base salary, employees are eligible for an annual bonus paid out quarterly.

Why SuperAnnotate

This is a rare opportunity to work at the intersection of frontier AI research and real production impact. You’ll work on projects with frontier labs that move the needle on model performance, with your work feeding directly into the next generation of agent capabilities. You’ll have the opportunity to implement projects that actually matter, publish research, and present at conferences – alongside a multidisciplinary, multinational team and collaborate with some of the most prominent labs and AI companies globally.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview!

Equal Opportunity

We are an equal‑opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. At SuperAnnotate diversity means to us making an effort to reflect the many experiences and identities of the outside world, and treating each other with fairness and without bias. Every day we foster an environment where people of all backgrounds not only belong, but excel to succeed as a company and grow together. We offer equal opportunity regardless of sex, sexual orientation, national origin, color, race, age, marital status, disability, gender identity, veterans and more.