AI Research Engineer, Prolific
High-quality human-powered data at scale
Job no longer available
High-quality human-powered data at scale
201-500 employees
Job no longer available
201-500 employees
Company mission
To accelerate human understanding.
Role
Who you are
- 5+ years of engineering experience with significant AI/ML focus
- Demonstrated research experience through publications, open-source contributions, or impactful projects
- Strong engineering fundamentals and experience implementing AI systems in production environments
- Deep knowledge of LLM evaluation methodologies, alignment techniques, and model optimization approaches
- Experience with model fine-tuning, adapters, quantization, and distillation frameworks
- Self-motivation and ability to define and pursue research directions independently
- Excellent understanding of current challenges in AI safety, reliability, and alignment
- Strong communication skills and ability to explain complex research concepts clearly
- Passion for staying current with the rapidly evolving AI research landscape
What the job involves
- We're seeking a Research Engineer to conduct innovative research in key AI areas including evaluation methodologies (particularly those grounded in human data), alignment techniques, and synthetic data generation
- You'll bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI research and practical applications, helping to translate research insights into valuable products and services
- As part of our commitment to contribute to the wider AI community, you'll be involved in writing papers that advance the field
- Your work will directly impact how we understand, evaluate, and improve AI systems through high-quality human data
- Lead independent research projects in AI evaluation methodologies, alignment techniques, and synthetic data generation
- Design and implement novel evaluation frameworks for LLMs and agent systems that are grounded in human data
- Contribute to the academic AI community through publications and open-source contributions
- Stay at the forefront of AI research and pioneer innovative approaches to tackle pressing open challenges in the field
- Design and conduct rigorous experiments to study AI models and systems with sound methodological approaches
- Develop scalable frameworks for systematic evaluation of model behaviours and capabilities
- Create tools and frameworks that transform research insights into practical applications
- Build infrastructure to support large-scale research experiments when needed
- Apply knowledge of model fine-tuning, optimization techniques, distillation, and other ML engineering practices to support research goals
- Work closely with ML engineers, data scientists, and product teams to translate research insights into practical applications
- Mentor team members on advanced AI concepts and emerging research directions
- Communicate complex technical concepts to diverse stakeholders
Our take
Founded in 2014, Prolific is a marketplace and data analysis company that provides researchers with a network of test participants. From eye-tracking to human-facing AI applications, Prolific’s network acts as both a recruiter for test participants and as a marketplace for researchers scientists to hire said participants.
Founded in 2014, it’s already used by the likes of Google, Stanford, Oxford and Kings College London Universities to test new AI products, providing “stress tests” for its clients. Prolific’s user base now counts over 2000 potential test subjects, whilst researchers leverage its network to launch surveys, tests and evaluation tasks every 2 minutes.
An indicator of Prolific’s success is maintaining of profitability for years after its initial Y Combinator investment. In 2024, it raised $32 million in Series A to maintain its healthy position. This funding will allow it to expand its operations.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Glassdoor (4.2)
Company
Funding (1 round)
Jul 2023
$33.8m
Series A
Total funding: $33.8m
Company benefits
- Bank holiday swaps
- Enhanced sick pay
- L&D budget – £1000 per year
- 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
- Remote Work ( Within UK or US)
Company values
- We win together
- We care deeply about our customers
- We make every minute count
- We're optimistic and find a way
- We embrace change
- We aim high
Company HQ
Kings Cross, London, UK
Leadership
Phelim Bradley
(Co-Founder & CEO)Currently also Venture Partner at Pioneer Fund. Previously Dphil at Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Bioinformatics Intern at Illumina and MPhil of Computer Biology at University of Cambridge.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Prolific
- At Prolific, we want all of our employees, researchers, and participants to be included and so we commit to having ongoing discussions about diversity and inclusion and regularly look at areas where we can improve. This policy aims to: - treat all our employees fairly and respectfully, regardless of their job status, location, or work hours ⏰ - avoid any illegal discrimination based on age, disability, gender, gender identity, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, and traveler status. These are protected by the UK Equality Act (2010), Ireland Employment Equality Act (2004), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at the federal level and the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) at the state level. ⚖️ - refuse to tolerate any kind of illegal discrimination 🙅🏻♀️. This includes pay and benefits, work conditions, grievance and discipline handling, termination, redundancy, parental leave, flexible working requests, employment selection, promotion, training, and other opportunities for development.
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