Research Software Engineer, Post Training

Thinking Machines Lab Inc.; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 300,000 - 475,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision benefits

Unlimited PTO

Paid parental leave

Relocation support

Job summary

Thinking Machines Lab Inc. in San Francisco, CA, seeks an experienced engineer to build the engineering foundations for post-training research teams. You will embed within a research team and build or improve the systems required for the team to succeed.

Responsibilities include designing, building, and operating infrastructure such as RL training systems, sandboxing, data pipelines, and agent scaffolding with a high degree of autonomy and ownership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Physics, Mathematics, or a related discipline.
• Experience leading projects end to end in large fast-moving codebases.
• Strong proficiency in Python and engineering fundamentals with debugging scalable systems.
• Clear communication and ability to explain complex technical concepts in writing.
• Strong autonomous drive with an ownership mindset.

Responsibilities

• Embed within a research team to build, harden, and improve the systems and infrastructure for success.
• Design, build, and operate infrastructure for RL training systems, sandboxing, data pipelines, and agent scaffolding.

Skills

Python proficiency

Engineering fundamentals

Communication skills

Ownership mindset

PyTorch

TensorFlow

JAX

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/ML/Physics/Math

Tools

Sandboxed environments

PyTorch

TensorFlow

JAX

Job description

About Thinking Machines

The mission of Thinking Machines is to build AI that extends human will and judgment. We are training frontier models with Inkling, developing Tinker to let people make models their own, and crafting interfaces that broaden human-AI communication. We believe the future worth building is human, and we're hiring people who want to build it.

About the Role

This role is responsible for building and strengthening the engineering foundations that our post-training research teams depend on. You'll embed within a research team, and build or improve the systems required for the team to succeed. Our research teams are small, and the role carries a corresponding degree of autonomy and responsibility.

What You’ll Do

• Embed within a research team to build, harden, and improve the systems and infrastructure required for the team to succeed.

• Design, build, and operate infrastructure research teams depend on, including RL training systems, sandboxing, data pipelines, and agent scaffolding.

Skills and Qualifications

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Physics, Mathematics, or a related discipline with strong theoretical and empirical grounding.

• Experience leading projects end to end, working in large fast-moving codebases, and writing code others have depended and built on.

• Strong proficiency in Python and strong engineering fundamentals, with experience debugging systems that fail intermittently and at scale.

• Clarity in communication, an ability to explain complex technical concepts in writing.

• Strong autonomous drive to progress towards the team’s goals with an ownership mindset.

Preferred qualifications — we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all preferred qualifications, but preferably some:

• Experience building or iterating with sandboxed or containerized execution environments at a large scale.

• Experience in a role where the team's priorities set yours, and a track record of success in such a role.

• Familiarity with at least one deep learning framework (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, or JAX).

Logistics

• Location: This role is based in San Francisco, California.

• Compensation: Depending on background, skills and experience, the expected annual salary range for this position is $300,000 - $475,000 USD.

• Visa sponsorship: We sponsor visas. While we can't guarantee success for every candidate or role, if you're the right fit, we're committed to working through the visa process together.

• Benefits: Thinking Machines offers generous health, dental, and vision benefits, unlimited PTO, paid parental leave, and relocation support as needed.

As set forth in Thinking Machines' Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.