Research Engineer, Pretraining

Responsibilities

We are representing a confidential AI research organization seeking a Research Engineer for their Pretraining team in London. In this role, you will work at the intersection of cutting-edge research and practical engineering to develop next-generation large language models.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Conducting research and implementing solutions in model architecture, algorithms, data processing, and optimizer development
• Leading small research projects independently while collaborating on larger team initiatives
• Designing, running, and analyzing scientific experiments to advance understanding of large language models
• Optimizing and scaling training infrastructure to improve efficiency and reliability
• Developing and improving development tooling to enhance team productivity
• Contributing across the entire stack, from low-level optimizations to high-level model design

Sample projects include optimizing throughput of novel attention mechanisms, comparing compute efficiency of different Transformer variants, preparing large-scale datasets for efficient model consumption, scaling distributed training jobs to thousands of GPUs, designing fault tolerance strategies for training infrastructure, and creating interactive visualizations of model internals.

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications:

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field
• Strong software engineering skills with a proven track record of building complex systems
• Expertise in Python and experience with deep learning frameworks (PyTorch preferred)
• Familiarity with large-scale machine learning, particularly in the context of language models
• Ability to balance research goals with practical engineering constraints
• Strong problem-solving skills and a results-oriented mindset
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a collaborative environment
• Care about the societal impacts of your work

Preferred Experience:

• Work on high-performance, large-scale ML systems
• Familiarity with GPUs, Kubernetes, and OS internals
• Experience with language modeling using transformer architectures
• Knowledge of reinforcement learning techniques
• Background in large-scale ETL processes

You'll thrive in this role if you:

• Are results-oriented with a bias towards flexibility and impact
• Willingly take on tasks outside your job description to support the team
• Enjoy pair programming and collaborative work
• Are eager to learn more about machine learning research
• View research and engineering as two sides of the same coin
• Have ambitious goals for AI safety and general progress

How We Work With You

When you apply through Get A Job.ai, our talent team will review your profile and conduct an initial screening to ensure strong alignment with this opportunity. We will then submit qualified candidates to our client for consideration. Please do not attempt to contact the client directly, as all applications must come through our recruiting process.

The role is based in London with a hybrid policy requiring office presence at least 25% of the time. Visa sponsorship may be available for qualified candidates.

Pay

This is a full-time position. The client has indicated an annual salary range of £260,000–£630,000 GBP for this role. Compensation will be determined based on experience and qualifications.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Get A Job.ai is committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.