Researcher, Synthetic RL

OpenAI; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI research organization is seeking a Research Scientist for its Synthetic RL team in Los Angeles. In this role, you will develop advanced reinforcement learning techniques utilizing synthetic environments. Candidates should have a strong background in reinforcement learning, enjoy tackling open-ended problems, and have robust engineering and analysis skills. The position adopts a hybrid work model and includes relocation assistance. Join us in shaping the future of technology and AI.

Qualifications

• Strong background in reinforcement learning and machine learning research.
• Strong engineering and statistical analysis skills.
• Enjoy exploring evolving problem spaces.

Responsibilities

• Research and develop reinforcement learning algorithms.
• Design and run experiments to study training dynamics.
• Collaborate with engineers to integrate approaches into training.

Skills

Reinforcement learning

Machine learning research

Statistical analysis

Engineering skills

Job description

The Synthetic RL team develops reinforcement learning methods that leverage synthetic data, environments, and feedback to train and evaluate frontier AI models. The team explores approaches such as self-play, simulators, and other synthetic evaluations to push model capability, generalization, and alignment beyond what is possible with the current prevailing methodology.

About the Role

As a Research Scientist on the Synthetic RL team, you will develop novel reinforcement learning techniques that use synthetic environments and feedback to improve large-scale models. You’ll work closely with other researchers to design experiments, analyze learning dynamics, and translate research insights into training approaches used in production systems.

We’re looking for researchers who enjoy working on open-ended problems, value fast iteration, and want their work to directly shape how frontier models are trained.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:

• Research and develop reinforcement learning algorithms
• Design and run experiments to study training dynamics and model behavior at scale
• Collaborate with engineers and researchers to integrate successful approaches into model training pipelines

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Have a strong background in reinforcement learning, machine learning research, or related fields
• Have strong engineering and statistical analysis skills
• Enjoy exploring new problem spaces where data, objectives, and evaluation are imperfect or evolving
• Are motivated by seeing research ideas influence real-world AI systems

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

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We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this .

At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.