Research Engineer - Auto Research

Chai Discovery Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Chai Discovery Inc. in San Francisco builds agent-powered systems to accelerate AI-driven drug discovery. This role focuses on designing frameworks that speed up model training and inference, enabling the research team to move faster and explore new targets.

Ideal candidates have deep ML experience, strong system design skills, and fluency in Python with PyTorch or JAX. You will work with a rigorous, craft-obsessed team at the vanguard of AI and biology.

Qualifications

• Focus on building agent-powered software systems for AI research.
• Strong experience in Python-based ML frameworks and tooling.
• Proven ability to design robust, scalable software systems for research workflows.

Responsibilities

• Build agent-powered systems and frameworks to accelerate model training and inference.
• Collaborate with research teams to identify bottlenecks and propose scalable solutions.
• Contribute to tooling and datasets that enable rapid experimentation and iteration.

Skills

Python

Pytorch

JAX

System design

Job description

About Chai Discovery

Chai builds the design suite for molecules. We train frontier models that learn the underlying foundations of biochemical structure and interaction, so scientists can move faster and pursue targets that other methods cannot reach.

AI is reinventing life sciences the same way it reinvented software engineering, and Chai is at the forefront of this shift. Leading pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Novartis are adopting our platform to power their drug discovery programs.

We value diverse perspectives and are ready to find greatness in unexpected places.

About the role

Build agent-powered systems and frameworks to improve model training, accelerate inference, and help our research organization move faster. Automate the research loop itself rather than just the models it produces, including the tooling and datasets that allow agents to run experiments, evaluate results and propose next steps.

Chai's models are moving beyond protein structure prediction into real-world therapeutic engineering. This is a chance to push the frontier of AI drug design, working alongside a rigorous and craft-obsessed team.

About you

Ideal backgrounds include deep industry experience working with top AI/ML teams on agent-powered software—with strong system design skills, proficiency in Python, and Pytorch or JAX fluency. We look for technical spikes where you have gone deep and demonstrated exceptional impact on real-world problems and systems.

We offer

The opportunity to work at the vanguard of AI research and frontier biology, with world-class people, on a mission that matters. We protect & promote a culture of high velocity and ownership. We compensate our team accordingly.