Talent.com
Research Scientist (Sonoma)
Research Scientist (Sonoma)kadence • Sonoma, CA, US
Research Scientist (Sonoma)

Research Scientist (Sonoma)

kadence • Sonoma, CA, US
[job_card.variable_days_ago]
[job_preview.job_type]
  • [job_card.part_time]
[job_card.job_description]

About the Company

We are a seed-stage AI company building the industry standard for evaluating and benchmarking large language models on real enterprise tasks.

About the Role

As a Research Scientist, you will develop new benchmarks, methodologies, and evaluation pipelines that shape how cutting-edge models are assessed, compared, and deployed in production environments. Your work will directly influence model selection and safety decisions across foundation model labs, high-growth AI product companies, and Fortune-scale enterprises.

Responsibilities

Benchmarking & Model Analysis

  • Evaluate newly released models as they launch (e.g., Gemini, DeepSeek, etc.)
  • Run large-scale assessment workflows using internal evaluation infrastructure
  • Compare model performance across enterprise-grade task categories

Design New Benchmarks from Scratch

  • Identify high-value model application domains through research exploration
  • Construct datasets, including labeling strategy and workforce coordination
  • Write short white-paper-style summaries explaining benchmark purpose, method, and findings

    • Advance Automated Evaluation Methodologies

  • Improve systems for scoring generated text beyond standard metrics
  • Explore research in reference-free, rubric-based, and human-aligned evaluation
  • Develop new techniques for reliability, consistency, and repeatability

    • Cross-functional Collaboration

  • Work closely with engineering to scale evaluation infra
  • Partner with customers to refine evaluation relevance and task fit
  • Influence product direction through research insights

    • Qualifications

  • 03 years post-grad experience (Masters, PhD, or equivalent applied research)
  • Publications, preprints, or demos showing cutting-edge work
  • Experience with diffusion models, NLP, multimodal, or benchmarking work
  • Ability to operate independently with ambiguity
  • Clean, maintainable research codebases
  • Candidates from :
  • top engineering / research universities
  • applied AI startups
  • well-regarded research internships

    • Required Skills

  • Built or contributed to a benchmark or evaluation methodology
  • Experience in enterprise task model evaluation
  • Stanford / top lab adjacency (per their historical hiring success)

    • Preferred Skills

  • Wants to publish as primary motivation
  • Purely academic with slow timelines
  • Big-tech culture fit concerns (Meta / Google / Salesforce specifically notedbut case-by-case)

    • Pay range and compensation package

  • Base Salary : up to $250K depending on background
  • Equity : typically 0.3% 0.5%, flexibility for exceptional candidates
  • Rapid equity refresh possible based on impact

    • Equal Opportunity Statement

    Visa sponsorship available. Relocation support. Health & dental coverage. Lunch + dinner provided, snacks & coffee. Unlimited PTO. Weekly happy hours with community guests. Team events (bowling, hiking, rock climbing, etc.). Swag program (hats, etc.).

    Work Environment & Culture

    In-person, San Francisco HQ (required). Core hours : 95, some teammates extend voluntarily. Most team members work 1 weekend day per week (flexible). High-ownership, low-ego, collaborative. Live demos Mondays, team lunch Thursdays, community Fridays. Early-stage pace, applied focusnot academic publishing.

    Tech Environment

    (while research-focused, exposure beneficial) Backend : Python / Django. Frontend : React + TypeScript. Infra : AWS. Evaluation frameworks + internal tooling.

    Why This Role Is Unique

    The company already collaborates with foundation model labs, high-growth AI vertical product companies, and Fortune 500 enterprises (not publicly facing). ChatGPT Vals AI $5M seed raised, runway of 2+ years at current burn. Only one research scientist is being hiredtrue founding impact. Opportunity to define industry standards for model trust, reliability, and certification. Positioned to become the rating agency for generative AI.

    [job_alerts.create_a_job]

    Research Scientist • Sonoma, CA, US

    [internal_linking.related_jobs]
    Applied Research Engineer (Sonoma)

    Applied Research Engineer (Sonoma)

    Confidential • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    About the Company (Confidential).Our client is a cutting-edge AI research company specializing exclusively in.Series A from top-tier investors. Matrix Partners, Swift Ventures, Y Combinator, and AI ...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_hours] • [promoted] • [new]
    Senior AI Research Engineer (Sonoma)

    Senior AI Research Engineer (Sonoma)

    Deep Abacus • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    VC-backed Series B startup on a high-growth trajectory.Revolutionizing commerce through direct engagement with powerful conversation AI. Join a world-class team with opportunity for rapid career adv...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_hours] • [promoted] • [new]
    research scientist - RL (Sonoma)

    research scientist - RL (Sonoma)

    Cerebro • Sonoma, CA, US
    [job_card.part_time]
    Join a Leading Applied Research Lab Pushing the Boundaries of Reinforcement Learning.Are you passionate about advancing the frontiers of. Develop novel optimization-based methods.Drive your own rese...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Research Scientist (Sonoma)

    Research Scientist (Sonoma)

    Goliath Partners • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    We're working with a San Francisco client that's got a research team of 50~ professionals and looking to further expand it. They are specifically looking to flesh out their Research Group by hiring ...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Research Associate III / Senior Research Associate (Biodesigner), Assay Development / Bioanalytical Development (Sonoma)

    Research Associate III / Senior Research Associate (Biodesigner), Assay Development / Bioanalytical Development (Sonoma)

    Amber Bio • Sonoma, CA, US
    [job_card.part_time]
    Amber Bio is a biotechnology company pioneering new gene editing modalities using multi-kilobase edits to reach previously undruggable patient populations. Founded by pioneers in the CRISPR field fr...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_30] • [promoted]
    Data Science AI Modeler (Life Sciences Biotech) (Sonoma)

    Data Science AI Modeler (Life Sciences Biotech) (Sonoma)

    Vida Group International • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    The heart of our Biotech client is at the forefront of biotechnology, leveraging cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to revolutionize drug discovery and developme...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Urologist (Sonoma)

    Urologist (Sonoma)

    The Permanente Medical Group, Inc. • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    Adult Urologist Opportunities - Northern and Central California.The Permanente Medical Group, Inc.Northern and Central California and an over 80-year tradition of providing quality medical care.Cur...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Research Scientist (Sonoma)

    Research Scientist (Sonoma)

    kadence • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    We are a seed-stage AI company building the industry standard for evaluating and benchmarking large language models on real enterprise tasks. As a Research Scientist, you will develop new benchmarks...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Founding Data Scientist (Sonoma)

    Founding Data Scientist (Sonoma)

    Intelletec • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    Fast-growing AI healthcare startup.Hands-on analytics and modeling : .Strong statistical modeling and ML knowledge (scikit-learn, StatsModels, PyTorch). Comfortable with ambiguity, able to own end-to-...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Medical Science Liaison (Sonoma)

    Medical Science Liaison (Sonoma)

    Aegis Worldwide • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    Medical Science Liaison (Remote - Pacific Northwest).Remote Must reside in either Washington, Oregon, or California.Across the Pacific Northwest Region. Were partnering with a global leader in the ...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    GenAI Lead (Sonoma)

    GenAI Lead (Sonoma)

    RandomTrees • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    Professional experience in an AI or Machine Learning engineering role at the capacity of Lead / Architect.Hands-on experience with LLM frameworks and tools like LangChain , Llama Index etc.Expertise...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_hours] • [promoted] • [new]
    Senior Research Engineer (Sonoma)

    Senior Research Engineer (Sonoma)

    Harrison Clarke • Sonoma, CA, US
    [job_card.part_time]
    A fast-growing, deeply technical AI company is looking for a.This is an opportunity to work at the frontier of AI, helping design and evaluate models that can understand, write, and reason about co...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Product Development Scientist (Sonoma)

    Product Development Scientist (Sonoma)

    NotCo • Sonoma, CA, US
    [job_card.part_time]
    We are a group of people united by a strong purpose.We want you to get to know us, and Giuseppe, our very own artificial intelligence. We love good food, but above all, we love the planet, and that'...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Staff Data Scientist (Sonoma)

    Staff Data Scientist (Sonoma)

    Quantix Search • Sonoma, CA, US
    [job_card.part_time]
    Staff Data Scientist | San Francisco | $250K$300K + Equity.Were partnering with one of the fastest-growing AI companies in the world to hire a Staff Data Scientist. Backed by over $230M from top-tie...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Sr ML / Deep Learning Architect (Sonoma)

    Sr ML / Deep Learning Architect (Sonoma)

    CitiusTech • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    Machine Learning / Deep Learning Architect (Dicpm / Medical Imaging).With over 8,500 healthcare technology professionals worldwide, CitiusTech powers healthcare digital innovation, business transform...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Quantitative Researcher (Sonoma)

    Quantitative Researcher (Sonoma)

    Evolve Group • Sonoma, CA, United States
    [job_card.full_time]
    We're working on behalf of a start-up who are looking for a Quantitative Researcher to lead their work around portfolio optimization, hedging, risk management, and alpha generation problems.Founded...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Engagement Manager - Biotech (Sonoma)

    Engagement Manager - Biotech (Sonoma)

    USA Tech Recruit • Sonoma, CA, US
    [job_card.full_time] +1
    We're supporting a fast-growing company developing advanced AI-driven laboratory automation systems who are looking for an Engagement Manager to bridge deep scientific expertise with strategic, exe...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]
    Lead AI Engineer (Sonoma)

    Lead AI Engineer (Sonoma)

    1Five • Sonoma, CA, US
    [job_card.part_time]
    This is a leadership role at the intersection of.AI, technical architecture, and company vision.ML engineering and model development. Backflips core model, including architecture, data, training, an...[show_more]
    [last_updated.last_updated_variable_days] • [promoted]