AI Research Lead

Location

San Francisco

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

Hybrid

Department

AI

Perplexity is seeking an exceptional AI Research Tech Lead to drive our research strategy and lead the development of our in-house Online LLMs, the Sonar models. In this leadership role, you will set the macro research direction across different modalities, mentor a team of researchers, and take advantage of our rich query / answer dataset to continue scaling our Sonar model performance and deliver the SOTA Online LLM experience to our users.

Responsibilities

Research Leadership & Strategy

Define and execute the macro research direction across multiple modalities, including post-training LLMs for agent trajectories and future mid-training initiatives

Lead strategic research planning and roadmap development to advance Sonar model capabilities

Drive innovation in supervised and reinforcement learning techniques for query answering

Collaborate with leadership to align research priorities with product and business objectives

Team Development & Mentorship

Coach and mentor a team of AI research scientists and engineers, fostering their technical and professional growth

Establish the long-term macro research direction across the team, including our direction across different modalities

Lead hiring and onboarding of new research talent

Create a collaborative environment that encourages knowledge sharing and innovation

Technical Excellence

Post-train SOTA LLMs on query answering using cutting-edge supervised and reinforcement learning techniques

Own and optimize the full stack data, training, and evaluation pipelines required for LLM post-training

Deliver Sonar models that provide SOTA query answering performance

Drive research into agent trajectories and multi-modal capabilities

Lead the technical roadmap for eventual mid-training investments

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work closely with engineering teams to integrate Sonar models into our product

Partner with product teams to understand user needs and translate them into research priorities

Collaborate with data teams to leverage our unique query / answer dataset effectively

Communicate research progress and findings to stakeholders across the organization

Qualifications

Required

Minimum of 5 years

of experience working on relevant AI / ML projects with 3

• years in a technical leadership role

Proven track record of leading and mentoring technical and research teams

A Computer Science graduate degree at a premier academic intitution

Deep expertise with large-scale LLMs and Deep Learning systems

Strong programming skills with versatility across multiple languages and frameworks

Demonstrated ability to set technical vision and drive execution

Experience with pre-training and post-training techniques (self-supervised learning along with SFT / DPO / GRPO / PPO)

Self-starter with exceptional ownership mentality and ability to work in ambiguous environments

Passion for solving challenging problems and pushing the boundaries of AI research

Nice-to-have

PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, or related areas

Experience with agent-based AI systems and multi-modal model development

Background in mid-training or pre-training of large language models

Publications in top-tier AI / ML conferences

Experience in fast-paced startup environments

Track record of translating research into production systems

Compensation & Benefits

Our cash compensation range for this role is $370,000 - $460,000.

Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Equity : In addition to the base salary, equity may be part of the total compensation package.

Benefits : Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents. Includes a 401(k) plan.

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