Senior Research Scientist, AI's Impact on the Software Development Life Cycle

Google Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 174,000 - 252,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) match

Paid time off

Sick time

Maternity leave

Baby bonding leave

Holidays

Job summary

Google is seeking a Senior Research Scientist to study AI's impact on the software development lifecycle. You will design large-scale experiments, translate complex AI questions into measurable strategies, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve product decisions.

You will publish findings with partners worldwide, mentor junior researchers, and contribute to a foundational intelligence layer across Google’s ecosystem.

Qualifications

• PhD in Economics, CS, ML or related field.
• 2 years leading a research agenda.
• At least one publication in economics or AI journal/conference (ICSE/FSE).

Responsibilities

• Take nebulous AI impact questions and turn into validated measurement strategies.
• Apply causal frameworks to understand AI impact from data.
• Advise Product teams on data-driven system improvements.
• Mentor junior quantitative researchers and data scientists.

Skills

NLP/LLM

Python

PyTorch/JAX

Econometrics

Causal inference

Research leadership

Publications

Education

PhD in Economics, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field

Tools

Pandas

NumPy

scikit-learn

PyTorch

JAX

Job description

Senior Research Scientist, AI's Impact on the Software Development Life Cycle

Share Senior Research Scientist, AI's Impact on the Software Development Life Cycle

corporate_fare Google place Kirkland, WA, USA ; New York, NY, USA ; +1 more

info_outline X In accordance with Washington state law, we are highlighting our comprehensive benefits package, which is available to all eligible US based employees. Benefits for this role include:

• Health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance
• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per year, accruing at a rate of 6.15 hours per pay period for the first five years of employment
• Sick Time: 40 hours/year (increased to 69 hours/year for Seattle) including 5 discretionary sick days per instance
• Maternity Leave (Short-Term Disability + Baby Bonding): 28-30 weeks
• Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks
• Holidays: 13 paid days per year

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Kirkland, WA, USA; New York, NY, USA; San Jose, CA, USA.

• PhD degree in Economics, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
• 2 years of experience leading a research agenda.
• One or more publications in an economics or AI journal or conference (such as the ICSE or FSE).

Preferred qualifications:

• Applied experience with NLP/LLM frameworks (e.g., embeddings, text classification, prompt engineering, fine-tuning/distillation) applied to quantitative research or social science problems.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Python and standard scientific computing/ML libraries (pandas, NumPy, PyTorch/JAX, scikit-learn, statsmodels).
• Deep theoretical and practical expertise in causal inference, experimental and quasi-experimental design, and econometrics.
• Track record of developing ML solutions for real world problems.

About the job

As an organization, Google maintains a portfolio of research projects driven by fundamental research, new product innovation, product contribution and infrastructure goals, while providing individuals and teams the freedom to emphasize specific types of work. As a Research Scientist, you'll setup large-scale tests and deploy promising ideas quickly and broadly, managing deadlines and deliverables while applying the latest theories to develop new and improved products, processes, or technologies. From creating experiments and prototyping implementations to designing new architectures, our research scientists work on real-world problems that span the breadth of computer science, such as machine (and deep) learning, data mining, natural language processing, hardware and software performance analysis, improving compilers for mobile platforms, as well as core search and much more.

As a Research Scientist, you'll also actively contribute to the wider research community by sharing and publishing your findings, with ideas inspired by internal projects as well as from collaborations with research programs at partner universities and technical institutes all over the world.

Our team works across all of Google to architect the foundational intelligence layer for Google's agentic ecosystem, engineering the data, insights, and feedback loops that empower developers and autonomous agents. Our work powers product decisions within our organization and helps Google to understand the impact of AI on the socio-technical systems that drive our business.
We value technical curiosity, collaborative visioning, and a bias toward action that celebrates fast failures that lead to clear learnings.

The Core team builds the technical foundation behind Google’s flagship products. We are owners and advocates for the underlying design elements, developer platforms, product components, and infrastructure at Google. These are the essential building blocks for excellent, safe, and coherent experiences for our users and drive the pace of innovation for every developer. We look across Google’s products to build central solutions, break down technical barriers and strengthen existing systems. As the Core team, we have a mandate and a unique opportunity to impact important technical decisions across the company.Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

About the job

As an organization, Google maintains a portfolio of research projects driven by fundamental research, new product innovation, product contribution and infrastructure goals, while providing individuals and teams the freedom to emphasize specific types of work. As a Research Scientist, you'll setup large-scale tests and deploy promising ideas quickly and broadly, managing deadlines and deliverables while applying the latest theories to develop new and improved products, processes, or technologies. From creating experiments and prototyping implementations to designing new architectures, our research scientists work on real-world problems that span the breadth of computer science, such as machine (and deep) learning, data mining, natural language processing, hardware and software performance analysis, improving compilers for mobile platforms, as well as core search and much more.

As a Research Scientist, you'll also actively contribute to the wider research community by sharing and publishing your findings, with ideas inspired by internal projects as well as from collaborations with research programs at partner universities and technical institutes all over the world.

Our team works across all of Google to architect the foundational intelligence layer for Google's agentic ecosystem, engineering the data, insights, and feedback loops that empower developers and autonomous agents. Our work powers product decisions within our organization and helps Google to understand the impact of AI on the socio-technical systems that drive our business.
We value technical curiosity, collaborative visioning, and a bias toward action that celebrates fast failures that lead to clear learnings.

The Core team builds the technical foundation behind Google’s flagship products. We are owners and advocates for the underlying design elements, developer platforms, product components, and infrastructure at Google. These are the essential building blocks for excellent, safe, and coherent experiences for our users and drive the pace of innovation for every developer. We look across Google’s products to build central solutions, break down technical barriers and strengthen existing systems. As the Core team, we have a mandate and a unique opportunity to impact important technical decisions across the company.Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
US: $174000 - $252000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google .

• Take nebulous socio-technical AI impact questions and turn them into concrete, validated, measurement strategies. Scale research strategies through Data Science and UXR partnerships.
  
• Apply causal frameworks (e.g., difference-in-differences, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, synthetic controls, quasi-experiments) to understand AI impact from observational and behavioral data.
• Advise Product areas and Product teams on data driven system improvements e.g., how to better utilize AI in the software development lifecycle, how to improve product strategy to meet new development approaches, etc.
• Mentor junior quantitative researchers and data scientists, establishing best practices for statistical inference, study design, and empirical reproducibility.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy , Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal , Belonging at Google , and How we hire .

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.

To all recruitment agencies: Google does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Google employees, or any other organization location. Google is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

Equity is granted exclusively and discretionally by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.