AI Research Scientist, Applied AI

About the role

Meet Slingshot At Slingshot Aerospace, we’re on a mission to make space safer and more secure for everyone. Our work directly impacts global security, disaster response, climate monitoring, and the critical infrastructure that connects our world. We’re a team of builders, thinkers, and problem-solvers who believe that the next generation of space operations will be powered by better data and smarter software.

Responsibilities

• Engage in relevant research and development (R&D) of AI systems, models, and advanced machine learning algorithms that augment physics-driven modeling and simulation systems
• Explore and implement AI-powered simulation tooling in support of AI workflows through reinforcement learning, multi-agent systems, and hybrid modeling approaches
• Collaborate with research, engineering, and product teams to build AI-powered solutions that meet mission-critical modeling and decision-support needs
• Engage in and support the drafting and review of conference and journal articles and presentations, sharing advances with both internal stakeholders and the wider research community
• Contribute content to technical invention disclosures, including associated narrative, graphics, and engagements in support of patent development
• Perform additional responsibilities (no more than 10% of duties) in support of the company’s technology and product development initiatives

Requirements

• Masters in related field + Minimum of 2 years' experience in similar role (or PhD with relevant research projects)
• AI/ML expertise: Demonstrable experience in the application of AI/ML methodologies including, but not limited to, deep learning, generative models (e.g. LLMs, diffusion models), agentic systems, reinforcement learning, computer vision, or other emerging areas of AI research
• Software development experience: Familiarity with object-oriented paradigms and functional programming principles
• Expertise in at least one modern high-level programming language (e.g. Python, R, C++, Java)
• Collaborative source code management and maintenance processes (e.g. Github, code reviews, CI/CD)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Qualifications

• Must have an Active US Security Clearance (Secret Minimum, Top Secret Preferred)
• Passion for Space and AI/ML applications

Skills

• Experience with fine-tuning LLMs, prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and domain adaptation for scientific/engineering datasets using modern ML frameworks and model hubs
• Familiarity with Reinforcement Learning (RL) and multi-agent reinforcement learning to enable training agents that learn strategies in simulation and real-world contexts
• Practical understanding of neural networks, transformer architectures, attention mechanisms, and optimization methods to extend or fine-tune transformer-based models
• Hands-on experience supporting the development and deployment of supervised and/or unsupervised learning models
• One or more peer reviewed articles, conference papers, and/or presentations in a science or engineering discipline
• Experience with space and astrodynamics is valuable but not required

Benefits

• Salary Range: $120,000 - $170,000 + Equity and Benefits
• Classification: Full-time Exempt (computer professional exemption)
• US-based Candidates: we are currently only able to hire residents of the following U.S. states: AL, AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV