Research Scientist, Machine Learning

San Francisco, California, United States

About the team

The Policy Research team at OpenAI is responsible for understanding our company’s current and potential impact on the world, and using that understanding to recommend the best possible policies at OpenAI and elsewhere (“policies” are defined broadly to include laws, safety requirements, industry norms, etc.). Team members have backgrounds in a wide variety of disciplines, including computer science and engineering, law, philosophy, economics, political science, and more, and we use a wide variety of quantitative and qualitative methods to measure, forecast, and analyze OpenAI’s impacts.

About the role

We’re seeking an experienced machine learning researcher to shape and lead the ML research agenda for trustworthy AI. 

This is an opportunity to pioneer and prototype new approaches for testing and evaluating the most advanced AI systems – and to harness the most advanced AI systems to do so. The role will include research on the development of novel evaluation methods and interventions for things like dangerous model capabilities and existential risks, fairness and representation, as well as untruthful, hallucinatory, or otherwise undesired model behavior. 

If you enjoy tackling deep questions in ML research, thrive in roles where ambitious entrepreneurial pursuit of open-ended goals is rewarded, and are strongly motivated to contribute to the roll-out of advanced general AI systems going well, you will find our work here uniquely challenging and rewarding. This role reports to our Trustworthy AI lead.

This role is based in our San Francisco HQ. We offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In addition, you’ll:

• Research upstream interventions at the level of training data, pre-training, and training
• Research and prototype novel evaluation methods in areas such as dangerous model capabilities and existential risks, fairness and representation, as well as untruthful, hallucinatory, or otherwise undesired model behavior. 
• Work with downstream product and infrastructure teams to build and scale effective tools for responsible deployment
• Develop and mentor ML Researchers on the Deployment Planning team
• Architect and develop interventions that improve real world impact

We Expect You To:

• Have a track record of coming up with new ideas or improving upon existing ideas in machine learning, demonstrated by accomplishments such as first author publications or projects
• Possess the ability to own and pursue a research agenda, including choosing impactful research problems and autonomously carrying out long-running projects
• Have experience developing novel techniques for ML model measurement and mitigation
• Have experience in research mentorship, leading project teams, and setting technical direction
• Be comfortable working cross functionally across both research and product teams

Nice to Haves:

• Past experience in interdisciplinary research collaborations
• Past experience in creating high-performance implementations of deep learning algorithms

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. 

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.

Compensation, Benefits and Perks

The annual salary range for this role is $200,000 – $370,000. Total compensation also includes generous equity and benefits.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family
• Mental health and wellness support
• 401(k) plan with 4% matching
• Unlimited time off and 18+ company holidays per year
• Paid parental leave (20 weeks) and family-planning support
• Annual learning & development stipend ($1,500 per year)

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or other legally protected statuses. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. 

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

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