Job Specifications
About X
X is Alphabet’s moonshot factory with a mission of inventing and launching “moonshot” technologies that could someday make the world a radically better place. We are a diverse group of inventors and entrepreneurs who build and launch technologies that aim to improve the lives of millions, even billions, of people. Our goal: 10x impact on the world’s most intractable problems, not just 10% improvement. We approach projects that have the aspiration and riskiness of research with the speed and ambition of a startup. As an innovation engine, X focuses on repeatedly turning breakthrough-technology ideas into the foundations for large, sustainable businesses.
About The Team
We're a small, passionate and driven team of experienced ML researchers, software engineers and product managers on a mission to make the practice of law radically more efficient and accurate. Our legal moonshot is focusing on de-risking our technology quickly, refining our tech prototypes, running experiments with partners and developing a valuable product for our users. Our culture is one of mutual care and respect, individual competence and most important of all, fun!
About The Role
As an Applied Research Engineering Lead, you will be responsible for building AI systems that can perform previously impossible tasks or achieve unprecedented levels of performance. We're looking for people with solid engineering skills (e.g. designing, implementing, and improving models achieving specific tasks), writing bug-free machine learning code, and building the science behind the algorithms employed.
How You Will Make 10X Impact
Act like an owner; be fearless in diving deep, asking questions, proposing solutions, establishing consensus and then making things happen.
Work effectively with cross-functional teams of engineers, product managers, and domain experts
Provide direction and focus in areas of high ambiguity
Enjoy mentoring others and helping the team grow
Become familiar with the team’s technical stack enough to make targeted contributions and move fast in the work of experimentation
Manage day-to-day execution of our research strategies
Prioritize the team’s work and manage projects to support fast iteration on research projects and runs
What You Should Have
MSc or PhD degree in computer science, mathematics, applied stats, machine learning
10+ years experience in NLP applied research and high-performance implementations of machine learning algorithms and productionization
4+ years of management experience in a research or technical environment, setting the pace of development
Track record in developing team culture, growing people and conducting applied research in NLP/LLMs
Deeply interested in the potential transformative effects of advanced AI systems and committed to ensuring their safe development
Excel at building strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels
Demonstrated ability to write high-quality, maintainable code in Python (or equivalent languages) using sound software engineering principles
Achieved strong results with sophisticated model prompting, and with (at least one of) fine-tuning or applying RL to large language models
Independent, mission-driven, self-starter attitude
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, e.g. design docs, PR descriptions
Ability to work in the Mountain View office at least 3 days per week to interface with researchers and engineering
It’d Be Great If You Had These
Exposure to production systems that rely heavily on ML models, and/or experience with model deployment
Startup experience iterating fast and explore multiple strategies to optimize performance
Passion for delighting users, but also extracting energy from both good and difficult feedback
Significant success with building AI software and systems for specific industries, either as research publications at top PL or ML venues, or as open source artifact(s)
Consistent track record of delivering high quality solutions to large, complex software problems
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $248,000 - $330,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.
Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits.