Research Systems EngineerAs a research systems engineer, you'll train frontier-scale models and develop the methods that make continual learning work inside enterprise environments. You'll design and run experiments at scale, explore cutting-edge RL techniques, and build the tools that let us understand what's actually happening during training. This role sits at the intersection of research and systems. You'll invent new algorithms alongside researchers, then work with infrastructure engineers to run them on GPUs.What you'll doPost-train frontier-scale language models on enterprise tasks and environmentsExplore and develop RL techniques, co-designing algorithms and systemsContribute to Alchemy, our data research program for generating signal-rich training environments from production dataBuild high-performance internal tools for probing, debugging, and analyzing training runsPartner with infrastructure engineers to scale training and inference efficientlyWhat we're looking forExperience training or serving large language modelsExperience building RL environments and evaluations for language modelsProficiency in PyTorch, JAX, or similar ML frameworks, with experience in distributed trainingStrong experimental design skills — you know how to set up experiments that actually answer questionsStrong candidates also haveBackground in pre-training or post-training researchPrevious experience in high-performance computing environments or large-scale clustersContributions to open-source ML research or infrastructureDemonstrated technical creativity through published research, OSS contributions, or side projectsAbout usApplied Compute builds Specific Intelligence for the enterprise. We provide the continual learning infrastructure for companies to build agent workforces trained on proprietary data and institutional expertise.
Our researchers and platform embed directly within customer environments to build custom evals, train models, and deploy agents that get better with use.Why we're excited: We get to work at a rare intersection. Our product team builds the platform powering a new generation of digital coworkers. Our research team pushes the frontier of post-training and reinforcement learning. Our applied AI team sits side-by-side with customers as they ship agents into production. This combination of strong product, deep research, and boots on the ground is what we believe it takes to bring AI to the enterprise.
We are product-led, research-enabled, and forward-deployed.Who we are: We're a team of engineers, researchers, and operators. Many of us are former founders. We've built RL infrastructure at OpenAI, data foundations at Scale AI, and systems at Together, Two Sigma, Watershed, and others. We work with F50 customers and are fortunate to be backed by partners like Kleiner Perkins, Benchmark, Sequoia, Lux, and Greenoaks.Who Thrives Here: We're looking for people who are excited about applying novel research and complex systems to real-world problems. Our team genuinely enjoys working with customers: listening, empathizing, and understanding how work actually gets done in their organizations.
Former founders, people who've built a lot of side projects, or anyone who's shown they can own something end-to-end, tend to do well here.Benefits & LogisticsCompetitive compensation and equityGenerous health benefitsUnlimited PTOPaid parental leaveDaily lunches and dinnersTransportation and relocation supportRetirement plansWe sponsor visas. While we can't guarantee success for every candidate or role, if you're the right fit, we're committed to working through the process with you. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification. As set forth in Applied Compute's Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.