Machine Learning Research Scientist Job Description Template

The machine learning research scientist develops new methods rather than applying existing ones, working on problems where the current state of the art is insufficient. The role involves literature review, hypothesis, careful experimentation and publication or internal transfer of results. It requires the discipline to design experiments that could disprove your own idea.

Typical Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct original research on machine learning methods
• Design and run experiments with rigorous baselines and controls
• Review and build on the relevant academic literature
• Implement and validate methods from published work
• Publish results or transfer them into internal application
• Collaborate with engineers on making methods practical
• Present research internally and at conferences
• Mentor junior researchers and interns
• Maintain reproducible research code and documented experiments
• Identify research directions with realistic prospects of impact

Education

• PhD in machine learning, computer science, statistics or a closely related field

Required Skills and Experience

• PhD level research training with a publication record
• Deep theoretical understanding of machine learning methods
• Strong experimental design including appropriate baselines
• Proficiency with Python and a modern deep learning framework
• Ability to implement methods correctly from papers
• Clear scientific writing
• Intellectual honesty about negative results
• Judgment about which research directions are worth pursuing

Preferred Qualifications

• Publications at major machine learning venues
• Experience transferring research into production