Research Scientist, Compilers and Programming Languages

Basis Research Institute; Cambridge (MA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A nonprofit applied AI research organization is seeking a Research Scientist specializing in Compilers and Programming Languages to develop tools for core reasoning technology. Ideal candidates will have a PhD, strong research background, and a passion for solving real-world problems. This full-time role offers competitive salary and the opportunity to significantly impact society through innovative research. Flexible working hours are available in Cambridge, MA, or New York City.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent experience in relevant area.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct first-class scientific research.
• Excited about having a positive societal impact.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain programming languages tools.
• Develop computational theories of intelligence.
• Collaborate with domain experts on problems.
• Publish and present findings in journals.

Skills

PhD in a relevant area

Demonstrated ability to conduct scientific research

Ability to write excellent software

Excited about solving real-world problems

Significant technical achievements in PL research

Education

PhD in a relevant area

Job description

Research Scientist, Compilers and Programming Languages

Join to apply for the Research Scientist, Compilers and Programming Languages role at Basis Research Institute

Compensation

Base pay range: $120,000.00/yr - $180,000.00/yr. This range is provided by Basis Research Institute. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

About Basis

Basis is a nonprofit applied AI research organization with two mutually reinforcing goals. The first is to understand and build intelligence. This means to establish the mathematical principles of what it means to reason, to learn, to make decisions, to understand, and to explain; and to construct software that implements these principles.

The second is to advance society’s ability to solve intractable problems. This means expanding the scale, complexity, and breadth of problems that we can solve today, and even more importantly, accelerating our ability to solve problems in the future.

To achieve these goals, we’re building both a new technological foundation that draws inspiration from how humans reason, and a new kind of collaborative organization that puts human values first.

About The Role

Research scientists advance Basis’ efforts to develop a deeper understanding of the conceptual, mathematical, and computational principles of intelligence. Research scientists at Basis are distinguished by the following traits:

• Exceptional technical depth—solid mathematical and computational foundations.
• A builder's mindset—ability to design, construct, and refine complex systems from foundational principles.
• Scientific rigor—rigorous, high-quality, robust science, without fear of tinkering, making mistakes, and exploring radically different ideas in order to get there.

Programming Languages Research Scientist

This role targets experts in programming languages design, implementation, and analysis. Research scientists will help design and implement the core computational reasoning systems that Basis is developing.

The core areas of PL research encompass compiler design, partial evaluation, program analysis, abstract interpretation, and program transformation. These are developed within the context of building reasoning systems. Consequently, research scientists will also engage with topics such as probabilistic programming, automatic differentiation, and SAT/SMT solvers, among others.

Qualifications

• Have a PhD (or equivalent experience) in a relevant area.
• Have demonstrated an ability to conduct first‑class scientific research, published in venues such as PLDI, OOPSLA, and POPL, or in technical reports.
• Have demonstrated an ability to write excellent software.
• Be excited about solving real‑world problems and having a positive societal impact.
• Have demonstrated significant technical achievements within PL research and engineering. Examples include:
• You’ve designed the full stack of a novel programming language, all the way from a formalized semantics to an optimized compiler.
• You’ve contributed heavily to the compiler infrastructure of a machine learning or statistics framework, such as PyTorch, Stan, or Jax.
• You’ve built a program analysis technique that has helped identify bugs or inefficiencies in a real code base.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain programming languages tools for Basis' core reasoning technology.
• Develop and explore computational theories of intelligence, including reasoning, learning, and decision‑making.
• Collaborate with domain experts on Basis scientific and societal challenge problems.
• Publish and present findings in journals and conferences (optional).
• Contribute to the culture and direction of Basis.

Role Details

• FT/PT: This is a full‑time position.
• Hours: While we prioritize in‑person collaboration for its benefits to creative work, there is a degree of flexibility in your working hours. Be prepared to attend multi‑day Basis‑wide in‑person events.
• Location: In‑person in either New York City or Cambridge, MA.
• Salary range: Competitive salary and bonuses.

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Seniority Level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment Type

Full‑time

Location

In‑person in either New York City or Cambridge, MA.