Skip to content
Distyl AIDistyl AISan Francisco, CA

Applied AI Researcher, System Self-Construction

Designs self-constructing AI systems that autonomously generate, assemble, and refine subsystems using meta-learning, program synthesis, and evolutionary methods. Requires proven research in modular AI architectures, daily AI tool usage, and strong prototyping skills.

150k – 250k/yr
HybridAI Research

About the role

Key Responsibilities

  • Design architectures capable of autonomously generating, assembling, and refining sub-systems.
  • Develop meta-learning loops, automated pipeline generation, and self-architecting frameworks that reduce the human bottleneck in complex system creation.
  • Study recursive design principles: how systems represent their own construction processes, evaluate them, and evolve.
  • Draw from meta-learning, program synthesis, and evolutionary computation to explore self-referential, generative system architectures.

Requirements

  • Experience building modular and composable systems (e.g., graph-based planners, agent orchestration frameworks, workflow engines, automated pipeline builders).
  • Experience building with models, not just building models: expertise in compound AI systems, agentic collaboration, ensembling, ReAct, graph-of-thoughts.
  • Proven track record of research results (publications, public work).
  • Uses AI tools daily (e.g., ChatGPT, Cursor, Perplexity).
  • Strong programming and data analysis skills for building prototypes and running experiments.

What We Offer

  • Base salary: $150K – $250K, depending on experience, location, and level.
  • Meaningful equity.
  • 100% covered medical, dental, vision; 401(k); commuter benefits, in-office lunch.
  • Access to state-of-the-art models and AI tools.

Skills

Meta-LearningProgram SynthesisEvolutionary ComputationReactGraph-Of-ThoughtsAgentic CollaborationCompound Ai SystemsGraph-Based PlannersAgent OrchestrationWorkflow Engines

Similar roles

AI Research jobs
Distyl AI

Applied AI Researcher, Multi-Agent Systems

Distyl AISan Francisco, CA +1

Develop multi-agent AI architectures for enterprise coordination and collaborative reasoning. Requires research experience in MARL/GNNs, strong prototyping skills, and daily AI tool usage.

150k – 250k/yr
HybridAI Research
Basis

Intelligence Architect

BasisNew York, NY

Designs and authors context, procedures, skills, and system prompts for AI agents performing autonomous accounting tasks. Ensures consistency, monitors performance, and shapes future capabilities through precise language and systems thinking.

150k – 225k/yr
On-siteAI Research
AfterQuery

Research Scientist - Frontier Data

AfterQuerySan Francisco, CA

Designs datasets and evaluation frameworks for frontier AI models, collaborating with top labs to expose failure modes, refine RLHF/RLVR pipelines, and measure data impact on capabilities. Requires strong quantitative skills, familiarity with LLM training, and research experience up to master's level.

150k – 250k/yr
On-siteAI Research
AfterQuery

Research Scientist - Post Training

AfterQuerySan Francisco, CA

Design and run SFT/RL experiments to measure dataset impact on LLM performance, capabilities, and alignment. Collaborate with labs to provide evidence of improvements; requires strong LLM training knowledge and fast experimentation, ideally undergrad/master's research background.

150k – 250k/yr
On-siteAI Research
Astera

Machine Learning Researcher - Springtail

AsteraEmeryville, CA

Conducts fundamental research on data-efficient ML architectures, including bootstrapped program synthesis and self-synthesizing learning systems. Requires Master's in ML/math, PyTorch fluency, and research experience.

150k – 300k/yr
HybridAI Research