Jobs · Research · California

Research Lead / Principal Scientist & Manager Post-Training · Alignment · Reinforcement Learning Autodesk AI Lab: London · San Francisco · Toronto · Remote (US/CA/EU)

Autodesk · San Francisco, CA · 2 wk ago
HybridResearch$193k–$345k/yrFull-time

Research & Technical Leadership

Own post-training strategy for model development — from RLHF and preference optimization to agentic systems and long-horizon reasoning
Develop novel algorithms that improve model reliability, controllability, and alignment
Make principled architectural decisions about when to address challenges at the pre-training, post-training, or system level
Design and run experiments that shape model behavior, robustness, and reasoning quality
Partner with infrastructure teams to build scalable, reproducible post-training workflows

Team & Organizational Leadership

Manage, mentor, and grow a team of AI scientists
Set technical direction and research priorities across post-training and alignment initiatives
Foster a research culture grounded in scientific rigor, reproducibility, and fast iteration
Partner closely with pre-training teams, infrastructure, product organizations, and other stakeholders
Translate research trade-offs into clear, decision-ready guidance for leadership

What You Will Do

Research & Technical Leadership
Own post-training strategy for model development — from RLHF and preference optimization to agentic systems and long-horizon reasoning
Develop novel algorithms that improve model reliability, controllability, and alignment
Make principled architectural decisions about when to address challenges at the pre-training, post-training, or system level
Design and run experiments that shape model behavior, robustness, and reasoning quality
Partner with infrastructure teams to build scalable, reproducible post-training workflows
Contribute to publications, patents, and Autodesk's external research visibility

Evaluation & Model Quality

Design evaluation frameworks for long-horizon reasoning, tool use, agentic behavior, safety, and real-world workflow completion
Lead rigorous model analysis and interpretability efforts
Drive human-in-the-loop evaluation with high annotation quality and sound scientific methodology
Establish model readiness criteria and provide go/no-go recommendations for releases
Communicate technical risks, limitations, and trade-offs clearly to leadership

Success

In the first year, success means:
Post-trained models show measurable improvements in reliability, alignment, reasoning quality, and domain usefulness
Evaluation metrics and release criteria are trusted and adopted across teams
The team delivers high-quality research with practical impact — and team members are growing into stronger, more independent researchers
Leadership relies on your judgment for model readiness, technical direction, and risk assessment
Autodesk AI Lab advances its reputation as a serious contributor to frontier AI research

About Autodesk AI Lab

Advances state-of-the-art research across generative AI, multimodal foundation models, reasoning systems, and human-AI collaboration.
Direct impact across the industries that shape the physical world.
Active contributor to the global research community and collaborates closely with leading academic and industry labs.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits package including health and financial benefits, time away, and everyday wellness.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Proud to be an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected characteristic.

Diversity & Belonging

Cultivate a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive.

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