Manager, Research Scientist

Scale AI accelerates the development of AI systems by providing the data, infrastructure, and tooling that power the most advanced models in the world. Our teams operate at the intersection of cutting-edge research, large-scale engineering, and real-world deployment, partnering with leading frontier labs, enterprises, and government agencies to push Generative AI into new capabilities and applications. As AI rapidly evolves from static models to dynamic, agentic systems, Scale is building the foundational research, evaluation methodologies, and agent/RL infrastructure that will define this next era. You’ll join a high-impact research organization driving advances in large-language models, post-training, evaluation, and agentic/RL environments, helping shape how next-generation AI is built, measured, and deployed. As a Research Scientist Manager, you will lead a world-class team of research scientists and engineers, define the research roadmap, and drive execution from early prototyping to deployment. You’ll thrive in a fast-moving environment, balancing deep technical leadership with people management, vision setting, and delivery. You will: Lead, mentor and grow a team of research scientists and engineers working on GenAI research initiatives (e.g., evaluation, post-training, agents, RL environments). Define and drive a multi-year research roadmap: identify key scientific questions, set milestones, allocate resources, and ensure rigorous execution. Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, product, client-facing teams and external academic or industry partners to translate research into components, insights, and actionable outcomes. Communicate compellingly: publish research, present at conferences, engage in open-source contributions, and represent the team externally. Drive an inclusive, high-performing culture: help your team through technical challenges, provide growth opportunities, and attract top talent. Stay deeply connected to the research community, understanding major trends, and helping set them. Thrive in a high-energy, fast-paced startup environment and are ready to dedicate the time and effort needed to drive impactful results. Ideally you'd have: 5+ years of hands-on research experience (PhD or equivalent preferred) in machine learning, deep learning, generative models, agent/rl systems or related domains. A strong track record of research excellence, including publications in top-tier ML/AI venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, etc.). Experience and track of recording in landing major research impacts in a fast-paced environment Experience leading or managing research teams. You’re excited to mentor, coach and develop talent. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. You are able to articulate research ideas and outcomes to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Compensation packages at Scale for eligible roles include base salary, equity, and benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position and may be inclusive of several career levels at Scale; it will be determined during the interview process based on work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, interview performance, and relevant education or training. Scale employees in eligible roles are also granted equity based compensation, subject to Board of Director approval. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process, and confirm whether the hired role will be eligible for equity grant. You'll also receive benefits including, but not limited to: comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, a learning and development stipend, and generous PTO. Additionally, this role may be eligible for additional benefits such as a commuter stipend. Please reference the job posting's subtitle for where this position will be located.…