Roles at frontier labs · Research specialties
AI for Science Researcher
23 recorded postings · Partial update · October 8, 2026
Recorded postings, not a live vacancy count. Partial update: some sources retain earlier observations; each listing has its own check date.
AI-for-science teams apply models to biology, chemistry, materials and other sciences, often next to wet labs or simulations.
- Evals and benchmarks 61%
- Python 61%
- How language models work 57%
- Publications 48%
- Agents and tool use 43%
- Inference and serving 43%
taught here course coming not taught
The numbers
- Recorded postings at 7 labs
- 23
- Median base pay middle half $300k to $425k, 15 U.S. bands
- $310k
- No degree requirement stated 39% require a PhD outright
- 26%
- Years asked, median of the 17 that state a minimum
- 5
The recorded snapshot
Postings from 7 labs
In the labs' own words
In the labs' own words
“Knowledge of GPU/TPU architectures and language model inference optimization”
“Strong track record of scientific achievements, evidenced by publications, patents, and presentations.”
“Strong Python and software-engineering skills, especially JAX, PyTorch, Julia, or C++.”
Your way in
Three doors to this role
- Door 1
Finishing a degree
48% mention publications
The way in is a program: 32 recorded in the snapshot
- Door 2
A software engineer
26% have no degree requirement stated
What to add
- Door 3
A PhD
9% ask for distributed training
Engineering at scale
Asked often
The short answers
How much does a ai for science researcher at a frontier lab make?
The median U.S. base salary across 15 recorded ai for science researcher postings that publish a band is $310k; the middle half runs from $300k to $425k. Equity and bonus are not included.
Do you need a PhD to be a ai for science researcher?
26% of the 23 recorded postings do not state a degree requirement, 74% mention a PhD or master's, and 39% require a PhD outright.
What skills do ai for science researcher postings ask for?
Most often: evals and benchmarks (61%), python (61%), how language models work (57%), publications (48%), agents and tool use (43%).
Which labs posted ai for science researcher roles in this recorded board?
Recorded board: Anthropic (9), Isomorphic Labs (4), Meta (Superintelligence Labs and FAIR) (3), Periodic Labs (3), Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) (2), Character.AI (1), and 1 more.
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The board
Recorded postings, newest first
Each title opens the lab's own posting. By family: research scientists and engineers · machine learning engineers · fellowships, residencies and internships
- Research Engineer, Climate Modeling ↗
Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) · Research scientists and engineers · PhD preferred · $147k to $220k base
- Research Scientist, Climate Modeling ↗
Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) · Research scientists and engineers · PhD required · $167k to $261k base
- Research Engineer, Discovery ↗
Anthropic · Research scientists and engineers · No degree stated · $350k to $850k base
- Research Engineer, Life Sciences ↗
Anthropic · Research in other fields · No degree stated · $350k to $500k base
- Research Manager, Biological Safety ↗
Anthropic · Research in other fields · No degree stated · $405k to $485k base
- Research Scientist, Life Sciences ↗
Anthropic · Research in other fields · PhD preferred · $300k to $320k base
- Research Scientist, Life Sciences (Chemistry) ↗
Anthropic · Research in other fields · PhD required · $300k to $320k base
- Research Scientist, Life Sciences (Computational) ↗
Anthropic · Research in other fields · PhD or equivalent experience · $300k to $320k base
- Research Scientist, Life Sciences (Experimental Biology) ↗
Anthropic · Research in other fields · PhD required · $300k to $320k base
- Research Scientist/Engineer, Biological Safety ↗
Anthropic · Research in other fields · No degree stated · $300k to $405k base
- Staff Research Engineer, Discovery Team ↗
Anthropic · Research scientists and engineers · No degree stated · $350k to $850k base
- Software Engineer, Applied ML (Discovery, Recommendation & Search) ↗
Character.AI · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $200k to $300k base
- Research Leader / Senior Scientist (Computational Drug Design), Cambridge, MA ↗
Isomorphic Labs · Research scientists and engineers · PhD or equivalent experience
- Research Leader / Senior Scientist (In vitro / Cellular Pharmacology), Cambridge, MA ↗
Isomorphic Labs · Research scientists and engineers · PhD required
- Research Leader / Senior Scientist (In vivo Pharmacology & Translational Sciences), Cambridge, MA ↗
Isomorphic Labs · Research scientists and engineers · PhD required
- Research Leader / Senior Scientist (Medicinal Drug Design), Cambridge, MA ↗
Isomorphic Labs · Research scientists and engineers · PhD or equivalent experience
- AI Research Scientist — Agentic AI for Materials Discovery ↗
Meta (Superintelligence Labs and FAIR) · Research scientists and engineers · PhD required
- AI Research Scientist —Generative AI for Materials Discovery ↗
Meta (Superintelligence Labs and FAIR) · Research scientists and engineers · PhD required
- Visiting Scholar — Post Training & Research (Discovery AI Lab) ↗
Meta (Superintelligence Labs and FAIR) · Fellowships, residencies and internships · PhD required
- AI Scientist - Physics Models ↗
Mistral AI · Research scientists and engineers · Master's or PhD required
- Computational Scientist, Differentiable Physics ↗
Periodic Labs · Research scientists and engineers · PhD or equivalent experience · $250k to $350k base
- Research Scientist, Materials Characterization ↗
Periodic Labs · Research scientists and engineers · PhD required · $250k to $350k base
- Research Scientist/Research Engineer, Materials Data ↗
Periodic Labs · Research scientists and engineers · PhD or equivalent experience · $250k to $350k base
