Research Engineer / Scientist -AI for Databases Technology - Infrastructure Seattle Regular

ByteDance; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 129,960 - 246,240; Full time

Job summary

A leading global tech company is seeking a Research Engineer/Scientist specializing in AI for databases. The position involves designing intelligent systems for performance improvement and collaboration with engineering teams. Candidates should have a PhD and a strong publication record in databases or machine learning. The role offers a competitive salary of $129,960 - $246,240 annually.

Qualifications

• PhD focused on databases, systems, or machine learning.
• Strong publication record in top-tier venues related to AI4DB.
• Background in database internals or modern data platforms.

Responsibilities

• Conduct R&D applying AI/ML techniques to database management systems.
• Develop algorithms for query planning and storage management.
• Analyze datasets to uncover optimization opportunities.

Skills

Strong publication record

Hands-on experience with ML frameworks

Strong analytical skills

Proficiency in Python

Experience with cloud database platforms

Education

PhD in Computer Science, Data Science or related field

Tools

PostgreSQL

MySQL

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Job description

Research Engineer / Scientist - AI for Databases

Location: Seattle

Team: Infrastructure

Employment Type: Regular

Job Code: A19496

About the Team

The Infrastructure System Lab is a hybrid research and engineering team dedicated to building the next generation of AI-native data infrastructure. Operating at the crossroads of databases, large-scale systems, and AI, the team innovates across multiple domains, including advanced VectorDBs and multi-modal databases for large-scale retrieval and reasoning, intelligent infrastructure optimization using machine learning, LLM-based developer tools like NL2SQL and NL2Chart, and high-performance cache systems for distributed storage and LLM inference.

About the Role

We are looking for a passionate and skilled professional to join our AI4DB team, where artificial intelligence meets cutting-edge database technology. In this role, you will design and implement intelligent systems that improve the performance, scalability, and usability of modern databases. Your work will span query optimization, indexing strategies, workload forecasting, and the development of self-managing databases.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research and development in applying AI/ML techniques to database management systems.
• Develop intelligent algorithms for tasks such as query planning, indexing, storage management, and workload prediction/scheduling.
• Collaborate with data infrastructure and engineering teams to integrate AI models into production systems.
• Analyze large-scale datasets from database workloads to uncover optimization opportunities.
• Publish findings in top-tier conferences and journals (VLDB, SIGMOD, ICDE, NeurIPS, etc.).
• Contribute to open-source projects or internal tools supporting AI-enhanced databases.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• PhD in Computer Science, Data Science or a related field with a focus on databases, systems, or machine learning.
• Strong publication record in top-tier venues (e.g., SIGMOD, VLDB, ICDE, NeurIPS, etc.) related to the AI4DB area.
• Strong background in database internals (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, or any modern cloud-native databases or BigData platform).
• Hands-on experience with machine learning frameworks (e.g. XGBoost, LightGBM, TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficiency in Python, C++, or Java.
• Experience with cloud database platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) is a plus.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Familiarity with LLM, reinforcement learning, neural architecture search, or automated database tuning.

The base salary range for this position is $129,960 - $246,240 annually. Compensation may vary depending on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location.

ByteDance is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates. We are committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives.

We are an equal employment opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. ByteDance is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws.