AI Learning Scientist

About the role

Kira Learning is a startup focused on using AI to enhance teaching and learning. The AI Learning Scientist will work with product and engineering teams to ensure AI features are pedagogically sound and improve student outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Partner with product and engineering teams to ensure student-facing AI features are pedagogically sound and genuinely improve learning outcomes.
• Ground AI features in evidence-based instructional strategies, including scaffolding, worked examples, retrieval practice, and adaptive feedback.
• Help shape how we measure student understanding and progress over time, working closely with the AI team on personalization and mastery.
• Partner with product and curriculum teams on standards alignment, skill progressions, and the cognitive demand of the work students do on Kira.
• Contribute to how we evaluate the quality of our AI systems, including automated evaluations and human review.
• Represent Kira's pedagogical approach to external audiences, including district administrators, researchers, and partners, through written materials, conference talks, and customer conversations.

Requirements

You have a strong working knowledge of K-12 instruction, including curriculum standards, assessment design, and the realities of classroom practice. You have experience designing and evaluating learning interventions, ideally with quantitative methods such as randomized studies, quasi-experiments, or rigorous observational designs. You are comfortable working with technical teams and can engage substantively with topics like machine learning evaluation, recommendation systems, or psychometrics. You communicate clearly in writing and verbally, and you can move between research-grade precision and product-friendly summaries. You are excited about applying AI to education and have a thoughtful, evidence-based view on what it can and cannot do well. You have a degree in learning sciences, educational psychology, cognitive science, or a closely related field.

Qualifications

• Preferred: Classroom teaching experience in a K-12 setting.
• Preferred: Worked in an edtech product environment or at a research-practice partnership.
• Preferred: Published research on AI tutors, intelligent tutoring systems, mastery learning, or adaptive assessment.
• Preferred: Experience with MTSS, response to intervention, or other tiered support frameworks.
• Preferred: Hands-on experience running pilots or efficacy studies with school districts.

Benefits

Competitive compensation and equity. Medical, dental, vision and life insurance, including a medical insurance plan with 100% coverage of employee. DoorDash credit for lunch daily. Wellhub Membership: 100% company-paid access to premium gym networks (Orangetheory, SoulCycle), 60+ wellness apps (Headspace, MyFitnessPal, Apple Fitness+), and 1:1 coaching sessions spanning fitness, mental health, nutrition, and sleep. Pet friendly office.

Pay

$130,000 - $180,000 depending on relevant considerations like professional experience and related skill sets.

Schedule

Fully remote, but comes into the office 4 days a week (Wednesdays WFH).