Lead AI Research Scientist

Role Overview

Workato's AI Research Lab is seeking an exceptional Lead AI Research Scientist to define the next generation of enterprise AI systems. This is a research-first role focused on redefining and advancing enterprise AI with real-world impact. The chosen candidate will set and execute a 24-month research vision, build a team of applied researchers, and bridge the gap between cutting-edge innovation and production-ready solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and execute a 24-month research roadmap focused on automated agent building and optimization, including goal-based agent design, synthetic data, automated post-training, RL, eval techniques, and model optimization.
• Hire, coach, and inspire a team of 10+ applied researchers and interns while fostering a culture of publication-quality research and open science.
• Publish peer-reviewed papers and secure patents to differentiate Workato in enterprise AI.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to productionize prototypes within six months of proof of concept.
• Engage lighthouse customers to validate research and convert learnings into scalable reference architectures.

Requirements

• Education & Experience
• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience leading applied research teams.
• Proven track record of transitioning research into production within large-scale systems.
• Strong publication record in top-tier ML venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR).
• Technical Skills
• Hands-on experience with PyTorch or JAX and modern LLM frameworks.
• Expertise in large-scale model training, transformer architectures, and reinforcement learning techniques.
• Proficiency with CUDA.
• Deep expertise across structured and unstructured enterprise data modalities.
• Soft Skills
• Clear communicator capable of translating complex research into business value for non-experts.
• Inspirational leader with experience in high-growth startup environments.
• Comfortable making fast-paced decisions in an on-site lab environment.
• Collaborative mindset thriving at the intersection of research and product.

Job Details

Location: San Francisco, CA
Job Type: hybrid or office
Posted: May 17, 2026