AI Research & Product Strategy Lead
Everyone is welcome at Handshake. We know diverse teams build better products and we are committed to creating an inclusive culture built on a foundation of respect for all individuals. We strongly encourage candidates from non-traditional backgrounds, historically marginalized or underrepresented groups to apply.
Your impact
We’re seeking a hybrid researcher and product strategist—someone who speaks the language of cutting-edge AI labs and advanced research teams yet can translate their needs into actionable product roadmaps. Your mission: build deep relationships with technical buyers at top research labs and guide Handshake’s most ambitious AI-driven product initiatives.
This will be at our San Francisco location and this team is traditionally in the office five days a week.
Your role
- Own Relationships with Top AI Researchers & Technical Buyers: Serve as Handshake’s primary liaison to leaders at frontier AI labs. Maintain active communication channels—so that when they face a critical AI talent challenge, you’re their first call.
- Be Our Research & Customer Whisperer: Dig beyond the surface of customer requests to uncover unarticulated needs. Bridge the gap between technical buyers and our product team, ensuring we solve the right problems before customers even realize they have them.
- Solve the Hardest Product Challenges in AI Talent: Define and prioritize roadmaps addressing tough questions like “How do we QA superhuman-level reasoning?” Collaborate with engineering and operations to scope, prototype, and launch solutions that push the boundaries of AI evaluation and deployment.
Key Responsibilities
- Customer-Centric Product Strategy: Translate AI research challenges into clear product objectives, ensuring we target high-impact areas.
- Technical Research & Prototyping: Stay current with the AI/ML research landscape—particularly large language models (LLMs) and agent-based systems—and turn cutting-edge ideas into proof-of-concepts.
- Cross-Functional Leadership: Work with engineering, operations, and business teams to deliver end-to-end solutions, from concept through production.
Your experience
- AI/ML Expertise: Advanced degree (PhD preferred) or equivalent experience in Machine Learning, Computer Science, or related fields. Hands-on experience with LLMs and proficiency in frameworks like PyTorch, JAX, or TensorFlow—so you can meaningfully scope and evaluate technical approaches. Track record of publishing in top ML venues (ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, COLM, etc.) or equivalent real-world research impact.
- Customer-Facing & Strategic Mindset: Exceptional communication skills, comfortable presenting complex technical topics to audiences ranging from C-suite to PhD-level researchers. Ability to empathize with customer needs, influence decision-makers, and drive internal alignment on strategic priorities.
- Problem-Solving in Ambiguous Environments: Proven capacity to define problems, propose solutions, and execute effectively in fast-moving, high-stakes contexts. Strong bias toward action and a willingness to innovate beyond traditional product playbooks.
- Technical Chops: Comfort debugging ML models and iterating on experiments at scale. Familiarity with cloud technology stacks (AWS, GCP, or similar) and ability to handle data workflows or ML pipelines in a production environment.
Why Join Us
- At Handshake, you’ll be at the forefront of shaping how the world’s leading AI labs discover and leverage top talent. This is more than just a product role—it’s a chance to define entire categories of AI-driven solutions in a rapidly evolving market. If you’re passionate about bridging advanced research with real-world impact, we’d love to talk.
Compensation range
- $200,000-$300,000
For cash compensation, we set standard ranges for all U.S.-based roles based on function, level, and geographic location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. In order to be compliant with local legislation, as well as to provide greater transparency to candidates, we share salary ranges on all job postings regardless of desired hiring location. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including geographic location as well as candidate experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.
About us
Handshake is the career platform for Gen Z. With a community of over 17 million students, alumni, employers, and career educators, Handshake’s network is where career advice and discovery turn into first, second, and third jobs. Nearly 1 million companies use Handshake to build their future workforce—from Fortune 500 to federal agencies, school districts to startups, healthcare systems to small businesses. Handshake is built for where you’re going, not where you’ve been.
When it comes to our workforce strategy, we’ve thought deeply about how work-life should look at Handshake. With our hybrid-work model, employees benefit from collaboration and shared team experiences three days per week in our vibrant offices, and enjoy the flexibility of remote work two days per week (unless noted in the specific job posting). Handshake is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, London, and Berlin.
What we offer
At Handshake, we'll give you the tools to feel healthy, happy and secure.
Benefits below apply to employees in full-time positions.
- 💰 Equity and ownership in a fast-growing company.
- 🍼 16 Weeks of paid parental leave for birth giving parents & 10 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birth giving parents.
- 💝 Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision policies including LGTBQ+ Coverage. We also provide resources for Mental Health Assistance, Employee Assistance Programs and counseling support.
- 💻 Handshake offers $500/£360 home office stipend for you to spend during your first 3 months to create a productive and comfortable workspace at home.
- 📚 Generous learning & development opportunities and an annual $2,000/£1,500/€1,850 stipend for you to grow your skills and career.
- 💰 Financial coaching through Origin to help you through your financial journey.
- 🛜 Monthly internet stipend and a brand new MacBook to allow you to do your best work.
- 🚃 Monthly commuter stipend for you to expense your travel to the office (for office-based employees).
- 🥗 Free lunch provided 3x a week across all offices.
- 🤝 Referral bonus to reward you when you bring great talent to Handshake.
(US-specific benefits, in addition to the first section)
- 🏦 401k Match: Handshake offers a dollar-for-dollar match on 1% of deferred salary, up to a maximum of $1,200 per year.
- 🏝 All full-time US-based Handshakers are eligible for our flexible time off policy to get out and see the world. In addition, we offer 13 standardized holidays, and 2 additional days of flexible holiday time off. Lastly, we have a Winter #ShakeBreak, a one-week period of Collective Time Off.
- 🍼 Family support: Parental leave coaching and support provided by Parentaly. We partner with Maven Clinic to provide a lifetime coverage up to $15K for expenses related to fertility and family forming!
- 💰 Lifestyle Savings Account: We offer you an annual stipend of $500 to use for purchases such as fitness classes, gym memberships, work-from-home setup, and more.
(UK-specific benefits, in addition to the first section)
- 🏦 Pension Scheme: Handshake will provide you with a workplace pension, where you will make contributions based on 5% of your salary. Handshake will pay the equivalent of 3% towards your pension plan, subject to qualifying earnings limits.
- 🏝 Up to 25 days of vacation to encourage people to reset, recharge, and refresh, in addition to 8 bank holidays throughout the year.
- 🤝 Regular offsites each year to bring the team together + opportunity to travel to our HQ in San Francisco.
- 🛍️ Discounts across various high street retailers, cinemas and other social activities exclusively for Handshake UK employees.
(Germany-specific benefits, in addition to the first section)
- 🏝 25 days of annual leave + 5 days of a winter #ShakeBreak, a one-week period of Collective Time Off across the company.
- 🤝 Regular offsites each year to bring the team together + opportunity to travel to our HQ in San Francisco once a year.
- 🧘 Urban sports club membership offering access to a diverse network of fitness and wellness facilities.
- 🛍️ Discounts across various high street retailers, cinemas and other social activities exclusively for Handshake Germany employees.
Looking for more? Explore our mission, values and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.
Handshake is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or reasonable accommodation, please let your recruiter know during initial communications.
Average salary estimate
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At Handshake, everyone is welcome, and we believe that diverse teams create better products. We're on the lookout for an AI Research & Product Strategy Lead to join us in San Francisco, where collaboration and communication are key. In this role, you'll act as a liaison between cutting-edge AI labs and technical buyers, making sure to understand their deep-seated needs while translating these into actionable product objectives. Your mission is to establish strong relationships with leaders in frontier AI research, and you will be essential in guiding our ambitious AI-driven product initiatives. With a background in machine learning or computer science, preferably at the PhD level, you’ll dive into the world of AI research, translating complex challenges into customer-centric strategies. You will collaborate across teams, leveraging your expertise in large language models and advanced frameworks like PyTorch and TensorFlow to deliver innovative solutions. If you have a knack for identifying unexpressed requirements and enjoy solving high-stakes AI challenges, this role is perfect for you. Join us at Handshake, where you can shape how leading AI labs source talent and develop ground-breaking AI solutions while enjoying a vibrant, supportive work culture.
Our mission at Handshake is to give all students the chance to build the career they want, no matter where they’re from or what school they attend.
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