Research Scientist

Verdent AI; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Significant equity

Access to research resources

Job summary

A pioneering AI company in the United States is looking for a Founding Research Scientist to lead innovative research efforts in AI for Code. This role requires expertise in machine learning and deep learning, strong programming skills in Python, and experience with frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow. You will design impactful algorithms, evaluate model performance, and collaborate closely with product teams. Join us to influence the future of AI in software development, while enjoying significant autonomy and competitive benefits.

Qualifications

• Strong foundation in machine learning and deep learning.
• Strong programming skills in Python.
• Experience with ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement algorithms and model architectures for AI.
• Conduct empirical analysis of model behavior.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to translate research into production applications.

Skills

Machine Learning

Deep Learning

Python

Collaborative Problem-Solving

Education

MSc or PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

JAX

Job description

We are a forward-thinking AI team dedicated to advancing the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering. Our mission is to build the next generation of AI-native coding assistants — not just code completion tools, but reliable and steerable intelligent agents capable of understanding complex code structure, reasoning over entire repositories, and collaborating with developers to solve complex software problems.

About the Role

As a Founding Research Scientist, you will be at the heart of our research efforts, tackling the hardest problems in AI for Code. You will be responsible for designing and executing the research agenda that powers our core product. This is a high-impact, high-autonomy role for someone who wants to bridge the gap between fundamental research and a product developers will use daily. We value empirical rigor, collaborative problem-solving, and a bias for action.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and implement novel algorithms and model architectures to advance the state of the art in AI for Code.
• Design and run large-scale distributed training experiments and conduct rigorous, empirical analysis of model behavior.
• Develop robust evaluation metrics and frameworks to measure model capabilities in complex, real-world coding scenarios.
• Collaborate closely with our product and engineering teams to rapidly translate research breakthroughs into production applications.
• Publish research results at top-tier venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, ICSE, FSE) and contribute to the open-source community.
• Help shape a highly focused, research-driven, and high-autonomy team culture.

Nice to have

• Hold an MSc or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Program Analysis, or a related field, or possess equivalent practical experience.
• Have a strong foundation in machine learning, deep learning (especially Transformers, LLMs), and reinforcement learning.
• Possess strong programming skills in Python and deep experience with ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, JAX, or TensorFlow).
• Have a track record of impactful research demonstrated through top-tier publications, significant open-source projects, or industrial research deployments.
• Are enthusiastic about tackling ambiguous, high-risk research challenges in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
• Are a clear communicator and value giving and receiving empirical feedback.

Why Join Us?

• Founding Team Position: Your work will directly shape our product, research agenda, and company culture.
• Exceptional Autonomy: We provide the freedom to pursue high-risk, high-reward ideas.
• World-Class Team: Join a small, highly talented team with a culture of curiosity, rigor, and speed.
• Impact: Build a tool that will be in the hands of millions of developers, fundamentally changing how software is built.
• Resources: We offer competitive salary, significant equity, and access to world-class compute and research resources.