Stealth Startup

Compensation

Full Description

About the Role We are seeking an exceptional Lead Researcher to lead and scale a world-class AI research organization focused on advancing the state of the art in machine learning, large language models, and applied AI systems. This role is both strategic and hands-on, responsible for defining long-term research vision while actively contributing to breakthrough innovations that directly impact product and business outcomes. As Head of Research, you will build, mentor, and manage a high-caliber team of researchers and research engineers, partner closely with executive leadership, and translate cutting-edge research into scalable, real-world systems. Key Responsibilities • Define and own the research vision and roadmap, aligned with company strategy and long-term goals • Lead and grow a team of AI Researchers, Applied Scientists, and Research Engineers • Drive innovation across areas such as: • Large Language Models (LLMs) • Reasoning and planning systems • Representation learning • Robustness, safety, and evaluation • Multimodal and agent-based systems • Balance long-horizon exploratory research with near-term applied research that powers products • Ensure research excellence through strong scientific rigor, reproducibility, and evaluation standards • Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Leadership to transition research into production • Represent the company externally through publications, conferences, and industry engagement • Establish best practices for research processes, tooling, and infrastructure • Mentor senior researchers and develop future research leaders Required Qualifications • PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI, or a closely related field (or equivalent research experience) • 0-7 years of experience in AI/ML research, with at least several years in a research role • Proven track record of high-impact research contributions (top-tier conferences, journals, or widely adopted systems) • Deep expertise in modern ML techniques, especially LLMs, deep learning, and foundation models • Experience leading and scaling research teams in industry or advanced research labs • Strong understanding of the tradeoffs between research innovation and production constraints • Ability to communicate complex technical ideas clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders Preferred Qualifications • Experience leading research at a top AI lab, FAANG company, or well-known AI startup • Publications at leading venues (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP) • Experience with model training at scale, including distributed systems and ML infrastructure • Background in deploying research models into real-world products • Prior experience influencing company-level technical strategy What We Offer • Base salary up to $500,000, plus competitive equity • Opportunity to shape the future direction of cutting-edge AI research • Access to significant compute and research resources • Collaboration with elite engineers, researchers, and product leaders • A culture that values deep thinking, experimentation, and long-term impact