Today’s List at a Glance
A hand-picked list of top-tier roles for ambitious professionals. Here’s the breakdown:
- 💰 Salary Range: $88,900 – $720,000 a year
- 🏢 Top Companies Hiring: Apple, OpenAI, Netflix
- 📍 Geographic Spread: 5 remote positions, with on-site roles in hubs like San Francisco, Cupertino, and New York.
- 🪜 Seniority Level: Focus on senior and research-focused roles like Principal, Lead, and PhD-level Research Scientist and Engineer.
Leading AI Research & Machine Learning Roles in Focus
AI Research Engineer at Handshake AI
📍 Location: Remote in San Francisco, CA | 💰 Salary: $180,000 – $300,000 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: This role is a breakthrough opportunity to shape the future of AI by working on cutting-edge post-training methodologies and real-world LLM benchmarks with a focus on human-centric data.
AI Research Scientist – Evaluation at Handshake AI
📍 Location: Remote in San Francisco, CA | 💰 Salary: $180,000 – $300,000 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: This unique position offers significant impact in AI research by focusing on AI evaluation and understanding, crucial for advancing responsible and reliable AI systems.
AI Research Scientist at Apple
📍 Location: Cupertino, CA | 💰 Salary: $143,100 – $264,200 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: Join a leading technology innovator, Apple, to leverage strong machine learning and deep learning expertise to contribute to groundbreaking AI research with broad impact.
Our AI Resume Optimizer can help you tailor your resume’s content, section by section, for each of these specific roles.
Principal AI Research Scientist (remote) at Claritev
📍 Location: Remote in Bedford, TX | 💰 Salary: $170,000 – $185,000 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: This principal-level remote position offers significant autonomy to research and implement new machine learning and optimization methodologies, driving innovation in AI.
AIML – Machine Learning Researcher, MLR at Apple
📍 Location: Cupertino, CA | 💰 Salary: $175,800 – $312,200 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: This top-tier role at Apple offers the chance to conduct foundational machine learning research that will directly influence the development of future Apple products.
Machine Learning Researcher – PhD Graduate at Citadel Securities
📍 Location: Miami, FL | 💰 Salary: $225,000 – $300,000 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: An exceptional opportunity for PhD graduates to apply advanced machine learning and AI techniques to solve complex, high-impact problems within a leading financial institution.
Applied AI Research Scientist Lead, Generative AI at Meta
📍 Location: Bellevue, WA | 💰 Salary: $177,000 – $251,000 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: Lead groundbreaking research in Generative AI at Meta, contributing to the next generation of AI models at the forefront of the field.
Machine Learning Researcher at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
📍 Location: Laurel, MD | 💰 Salary: $90,000 – $350,000 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: This broad-ranging role offers the chance to develop advanced AI/ML research prototypes in a renowned national laboratory setting, spanning a significant salary range.
Machine Learning Researcher – PhD: 2026 at Susquehanna International Group
📍 Location: New York, NY | 💰 Salary: $300,000 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: This highly compensated position is ideal for research scientists with a proven track record in applied deep learning seeking to tackle complex, high-impact problems in a leading quantitative trading firm.
Machine Learning Engineer (L5) – Ads at Netflix
📍 Location: Remote | 💰 Salary: $170,000 – $720,000 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: This Netflix role offers substantial compensation and the opportunity to operationalize machine learning research, integrating cutting-edge models into production for global impact.
Advanced AI Research Engineer (6257U), Haas School of Business – 76645 at University of California Berkeley
📍 Location: Berkeley, CA | 💰 Salary: $88,900 – $126,400 a year
Why it’s a great opportunity: Contribute to cutting-edge AI research within an esteemed academic environment, focusing on data compilation, interpretation, and presenting research findings.
Research Engineer / Research Scientist – Agent Robustness and Control at OpenAI
📍 Location: San Francisco, CA | 💰 Salary: $120,000 – $180,000
Why it’s a great opportunity: This unique OpenAI role focuses on advancing AI safety and security through agent research, critical for the ethical and robust development of artificial intelligence.
Research Engineer / Research Scientist – RE / RS – Model Behavior at OpenAI
📍 Location: San Francisco, CA | 💰 Salary: $120,000 – $180,000
Why it’s a great opportunity: An impactful position at OpenAI to create evaluations that directly influence the behavior of current and future AI models, guiding the entire research organization.
Lead Research Engineer – Applied AI at Level AI
📍 Location: Emeryville, CA | 💰 Salary: $150,000 – $200,000
Why it’s a great opportunity: Take a leadership role in driving advancements in agentic AI systems, focusing on intelligent, decision-making agents using reinforcement learning and LLMs.
Research Engineer / Scientist, Multimodal at OpenAI
📍 Location: San Francisco, CA | 💰 Salary: $120,000 – $180,000
Why it’s a great opportunity: This is a pioneering opportunity at OpenAI to advance artificial intelligence by developing multimodal models that integrate diverse perception capabilities.
Your Strategic Playbook for Landing These Roles
Profile of an Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate for these premier AI Research and Machine Learning roles is a highly accomplished professional with a robust background in cutting-edge AI methodologies. They possess deep expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and advanced AI systems, often demonstrated through a PhD or an impressive research track record. A strong emphasis is placed on individuals who can contribute to foundational research, develop and evaluate advanced AI models (including LLMs and generative AI), and operationalize these models for real-world impact. Experience with human-centric data, AI safety, robust control, and multimodal systems is highly valued, showcasing a well-rounded and forward-thinking approach to AI development.
The Resume Blueprint: Keywords & Metrics
- Keywords to Target: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Generative AI, LLMs, AI Evaluation, Multimodal Models, Reinforcement Learning, Agentic Systems, AI Safety, Optimization Methodologies.
- Metrics that Matter: “Developed and implemented novel AI algorithms, improving model accuracy by X%,” “Led research projects resulting in Y peer-reviewed publications/patents,” “Optimized Z machine learning pipelines, reducing inference time by W%,” “Contributed to X open-source AI frameworks with Y commits.”
Your Interview Strategy
Question 1: “Describe a complex AI research problem you’ve faced that required unconventional thinking. How did you approach it, what methodologies did you apply, and what was the ultimate impact of your solution?”
Advice: Focus on demonstrating your problem-solving process, your depth of technical knowledge, and your ability to innovate. Highlight quantifiable outcomes and the broader implications of your work.
Question 2: “Given the rapid advancements in AI, how do you ensure your research remains at the cutting edge, and what role do you believe AI ethics and safety play in your work?”
Advice: This question assesses your commitment to continuous learning and responsible AI development. Discuss your strategies for staying updated, your participation in the wider AI community, and how you integrate ethical considerations into your research design.
The journey to securing one of these highly competitive roles demands more than just skill; it requires strategic preparation. Is your resume ready to beat the bots? Before you apply, run it through our free ATS Resume Scanner to see your compatibility score. Try Our Free ATS Scanner
