Senior Research Scientist, Open Ecosystem

Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401k plan

Commuting stipend

Wellbeing stipend

Paid time off

Bonus program

Holidays

Job summary

Allen Institute for AI seeks a Senior Research Scientist to lead research on open foundation models and high-quality data curation. The role emphasizes training pipelines, agentic training, and cross-domain collaboration to accelerate scientific discovery.

You will help drive the Open Ecosystem agenda, publish in top venues, and mentor researchers while advancing scalable, open AI research initiatives at Ai2. Seattle-based, with on-site expectations.

Qualifications

• PhD in AI/ML or closely related field.
• Significant publication record and demonstrated application of research.
• Experience building and training modern foundation models, including data curation and training pipelines.
• Preference for candidates with agentic training and multimodal data experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific leadership and define ground-breaking research in foundation models.
• Lead small teams and guide research direction within Ai2’s Open Ecosystem.
• Oversee software systems supporting research and publish in peer-reviewed venues.
• Develop collaborations with academia, industry, government and standards bodies.

Skills

Foundation models

Training pipelines

Multimodal data

Agentic training

Open research

Education

PhD

Job description

Persons in these roles are expected to work from our offices in Seattle. On-site requirements vary based on position and team. If you have questions about on-site work arrangements for this role, please ask your recruiter.

Our base salary range is $170,000 - $270,000, and in addition we have generous bonus plans to provide a competitive compensation package.

Who You Are:

We are hiring for a Senior Research Scientist to join us in training fully open foundation models with a focus on accelerating scientific discovery. The ideal candidate will have significant experience building and training modern foundation models, including developing training pipelines and curating high-quality training data. We are particularly interested in candidates with expertise in agentic training, passion for applying AI to accelerate scientific discovery, and experience with multimodal data.

Who We Are:

The Open Ecosystem team, responsible for the Olmo and Molmo model series, develops and releases truly open AI research and best-in-class artifacts that transform the way researchers, scientists, and practitioners think about and participate in AI research, development, and societal impact. We are hiring in particular for a subteam of the Open Ecosystem focused on centering the needs of scientists within our foundation model development.

Your Next Challenge:

The Open Ecosystem group currently has projects in the following areas:

• Foundation models for scientific use cases
• Fundamental investigations in foundation model training
• Agentic training
• Multimodal foundation models
• And more…

We are seeking Senior Research Scientists who are creative, visionary thinkers and passionate about making major impacts in their field. Senior Research Scientists at Ai2 provide scientific leadership, define and conduct ground-breaking research, have the opportunity to lead small teams, and help drive and refine Ai2's mission in an exciting, fast-paced research environment. They also have the opportunity to take a leading role in overseeing and implementing software systems supporting Ai2’s research, author and present scientific papers and presentations for peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and help develop collaborative and strategic relationships with relevant academic, industrial, government, and standards organizations.

What You’ll Need:

Applicants for Senior Research Scientist at Ai2 should have a strong foundation (PhD level) in areas of artificial intelligence, machine learning, or related domains. We look favorably upon extensive work experience and publishing demonstrating application of your research. Applicants for this particular position should have significant experience building and training modern foundation models, including developing training pipelines and curating high-quality training data, with particular preference for candidates with expertise in agentic training, passion for applying AI to accelerate scientific discovery, and experience with multimodal data.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a team member to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for long periods of time.
• The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
• The ability to observe details at close range.
• Can work under deadlines.

A Little More About Ai2:

Ai2 is a Seattle based non-profit AI research institute founded in 2014 by the late Paul Allen. Our mission is building breakthrough AI to solve the world’s biggest problems. We develop foundational AI research and innovation to deliver real-world impact through large-scale open models, data, robotics, conservation, and beyond.

In addition to Ai2’s core mission, we also aim to contribute to humanity through our treatment of each member of the Ai2 Team. Some highlights are:

• We are a learning organization – because everything Ai2 does is ground-breaking, we are learning every day. Similarly, through weekly Ai2 Academy lectures, a wide variety of world-class AI experts as guest speakers, and our commitment to your personal on-going education, Ai2 is a place where you will have opportunities to continue learning alongside your coworkers.
• We value diversity - We seek to hire, support, and promote people from all genders, ethnicities, and all levels of experience regardless of age. We particularly encourage applications from women, non-binary individuals, people of color, members of the LGBTQA+ community, and people with disabilities of any kind.
• We value inclusion - We understand the value that people's individual experiences and perspectives can bring to an organization, and we are building a culture in which all voices are heard, respected and considered.
• We emphasize a healthy work/life balance – we believe our team members are happiest and most productive when their work/life balance is optimized. While we value powerful research results which drive our mission forward, we also value dinner with family, weekend time, and vacation time. We offer generous paid vacation and sick leave as well as family leave.
• We are collaborative and transparent – we consider ourselves a team, all moving with a common purpose. We are quick to cheer our successes, and even quicker to share and jointly problem solve our failures.
• We are in Seattle – and our office is on the water! We have mountains, we have lakes, we have four seasons, we bike to work, we have a vibrant theater scene, and we have so much else. We even have kayaks for you to paddle right outside our front door. We welcome interest from applicants from outside of the United States.
• We are friendly– chances are you will like every one of the 200+ (and growing) people who work here. We do.

Ai2 is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. You may view the related Know Your Rights compliance poster and the Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision by clicking on their corresponding links.

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with disabilities to the full extent required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you feel you need a reasonable accommodation pursuant to the ADA, you are encouraged to contact us at [e-mail].

Benefits:

• Team members and their families are covered by medical, dental, vision, and an employee assistance program.
• Team members are able to enroll in our health savings account plan, our healthcare reimbursement arrangement plan, and our health care and dependent care flexible spending account plans.
• Team members are able to enroll in our company’s 401k plan.
• Team members will receive $125 per month to assist with commuting or internet expenses and will also receive $200 per month for fitness and wellbeing expenses.
• Team members will also receive up to ten sick days per year, up to seven personal days per year, up to 20 vacation days per year and twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year.
• Team members will be able to receive annual bonuses and can participate in the long‑term incentive plan.

Note: This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the team members(s) of this position. Team members will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the team member(s) will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an at will relationship.