Research Scientist - Data

Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 450,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vis

Bonus

401K Plan

Generous paid time off

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Assistance Program

Life insurance and disability

Job summary

MBZUAI is seeking a Research Scientist in the Data team to curate high-quality web-scale data for next-generation foundation models. The role focuses on data collection, synthesis, and rigorous QA to enhance large-scale model training with cross-domain collaboration.

Ideal candidates will have strong Python skills, hands-on ML infrastructure experience, and a track record in data-driven research and publications. This position is based in Sunnyvale, CA, offering a competitive salary and benefits.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in CS, data science or a related field; equivalent practical experience accepted.
• PhD or equivalent research experience in ML/NLP/Data Science preferred.
• Experience with large language models, evaluation, fine-tuning, and prompts.

Responsibilities

• Pioneer web-scale data collection and curation for LLMs and multimodal models.
• Design data synthesis and preprocessing pipelines for code, math, and reasoning datasets.
• Assess data impact from pre-training to model capabilities with automated QA.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams on data-driven research questions.
• Publish research and present MBZUAI work at conferences and events.

Skills

LLM experience

Python development

Data pipelines

Communication skills

Education

Master's in CS/Data Science or related field

PhD preferred in ML/NLP/Data Science

Tools

ML infrastructure

Open-source data tools

Job description

About the Institute of Foundation Models

We are a dedicated research lab for building, understanding, using,and risk-managing foundation models. Our mandate is to advanceresearch, nurture the next generation of AI builders, and drivetransformative contributions to a knowledge-driven economy.

As part of our team, you’ll have the opportunity to work on thecore of cutting-edge foundation model training, alongsideworld-class researchers, data scientists, and engineers, tacklingthe most fundamental and impactful challenges in AIdevelopment. You will participate in the development ofgroundbreaking AI solutions that have the potential to reshapeentire industries. Strategic and innovative problem-solving skillswill be instrumental in establishing MBZUAI as a global hub forhigh-performance computing in deep learning, driving impactfuldiscoveries that inspire the next generation of AI pioneers.

The Role

As a Research Scientist in the Data team, your primaryresponsibility is to curate high quality data at the web-scale tofuel the development of next generation foundation models. You willwork on exploring andconsolidatingdata sources and collaborate withcross-functional teams to conduct in-depth data research,contributing to MBZUAI’s mission of driving impactful AIdiscoveries and positioning the institution as a leader in theglobal AI research community. Your expertise will be key inenhancing the performance of large-scale machine learning models,while supporting the development of transformative AI tools thatcan influence industries worldwide.

Key Responsibilities

• Pioneer web-scale data collection and curation methodologiesfor LLMs and multi-modal foundation models.
• Design and implement novel data synthesis pipelines for code,mathematics, and agentic reasoning datasets.
• Trace the impact of data from pre-training to final modelcapabilities and create automated quality assessment frameworks formassive datasets
• Design data recipes that maximize model capabilities acrossdiverse domains.
• Optimize data-model co-design for improved trainingdynamics.
• Contribute to research papers and represent MBZUAI at industryconferences and events, showcasing the institution’s AI researchand innovation.

Academic Qualifications

• Minimum: Master’s in Computer Science, Data Science, or arelated technical field, or equivalent practical experiencerequired.
• Preferred: PhD or equivalent research experience in MachineLearning, NLP, or Data Science with a focus on LLMs and data ispreferred.

Professional Experience

• Experience working with large language models, includingevaluation, fine-tuning, and prompt engineering.
• Strong Python development skills with a focus on research-gradecode and scalable data pipelines.
• Familiarity with collecting and processing large-scale datasetsfrom open-source and web resources.
• Demonstrated ability to work with ML infrastructure (e.g.,model evaluation, optimization, debugging).
• Proactive mindset with the ability to identify impactfulresearch questions and execute on them with minimalsupervision.
• Effective communication and collaboration skills for working incross-functional teams.

Preferred

• Prior research experience in areas such as web data curationand mixing, synthetizing complex datasets for training, LLMevaluation, post-training data, efficient inference,LLM-as-a-judge, tokenization.
• Strong publication record in leading AI conferences (e.g.,NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, EMNLP) and/or prior contributions toopen-source AI research or data tools.
• Hands‑on experience training language/mutli-modal models fromscratch.

$150,000 - $450,000 a year

Compensation

$150,000 – $450,000/year + discretionary performance bonus + benefits

The posted salary range represents the company’s good faithestimate of the base compensation for this position upon hire. Theactual base compensation offered may vary within this rangedepending on individual qualifications, including but not limitedto relevant skills, experience, education, certifications, andspecific business needs. In addition to base salary, totalcompensation includes an annual discretionary performance bonus andcomprehensive benefits.

Benefits Include

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Bonus
• 401K Plan
• Generous paid time off, sick leave and holidays
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program
• Life insurance and disability

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts ofthe hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzingresumes, or assessing responses and identifying potentialinconsistencies or verification signals in application materialsbased on available information. These tools assist our recruitmentteam but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions areultimately made by humans. If you would like more information abouthow your data is processed, please contact us.