# Staff Research Engineer

**Company:** [Decagon](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/decagon)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA, New York, NY
**Role:** ML Engineering
**Salary:** $325k – $425k/yr
**Experience:** 8+ years
**Skills:** Python, LLMs, Machine Learning, PyTorch, Transformers, Prompt Engineering, Retrieval Augmented Generation, Model Training, Model Evaluation, Data Pipelines
**Posted:** 2026-04-23

> Staff Research Engineer leads development of conversational AI models for enterprise support agents, owning multi-quarter initiatives from research to production deployment. Requires 8+ years in AI/ML with experience deploying LLMs, Python fluency, and cross-functional leadership.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Lead research and engineering efforts to improve core conversational capabilities in production, including instruction following, retrieval, memory, and long-horizon task completion.
- Build and iterate on end-to-end models and pipelines that optimize for quality, efficiency, and user experience.
- Partner with platform and product engineers to integrate new models into production systems.
- Break down ambiguous research ideas into clear, iterative milestones and roadmaps.
- Mentor other researchers/engineers, set technical direction, and establish best practices for applied research and engineering.

## Requirements
- 8+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering or research.
- Prior experience post-training and deploying LLMs in production environments.
- Fluency in Python and modern ML tooling (training, evaluation, data pipelines).
- Track record of taking research ideas from prototype → reliable, measurable production impact.
- Ability to define a roadmap, break ambiguity into milestones, and lead cross-functional execution.

## Compensation
$325K – $425K + equity

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