Lead Research Scientist, Faculty

• A proven track record of high-impact AI research, evidenced by top-tier academic publications (ideally in top machine learning or NLP conferences ACL/Neurips, ICML, ICLR, AAAI) or equivalent experience (e.g. within model providers labs)
• Deep domain knowledge in language models and AI safety, with the ability to contribute well-informed views about the differential value, and tractability, of different parts of the traditional AI Safety research agenda, or other areas of machine learning (e.g. explainability)
• Practical experience of machine learning, with a focus on areas such as robustness, explainability, or uncertainty estimation
• Advanced programming and mathematical skills with Python and an experience with the standard Python data science stack (NumPy, pandas, Scikit-learn etc.)
• The ability to conduct and oversee complex technical research projects
• A passion for leading and developing technical teams; adopting a caring attitude towards the personal and professional development of others
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Desirable

• As a Lead Research Scientist at Faculty, you will be leading scientific research, and other researchers, in the area of AI safety that progresses scientific understanding
• You will contribute to both external publications, and Faculty’s commercial ambition to build safe AI systems
• This is a great opportunity to join a small, high agency team of machine learning researchers and practitioners applying data science and machine learning to business problems in the real world
• Lead the AI safety team’s research agenda, setting priorities and ensuring alignment with Faculty’s long-term goals
• Conduct and oversee the development of cutting-edge AI safety research, with a focus on large language models and other safety-critical AI systems
• Publish high-impact research in leading conferences and journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ACL, ICML, ICLR, AAAI)
• Support Faculty’s positioning as a leader in AI safety through thought leadership and stakeholder engagement
• Shape our research agenda by identifying impactful research opportunities and balancing scientific and practical priorities
• Interface with the wider business to ensure alignment between the R&D team’s research efforts and the company's long term goals with a specific focus in the AI safety and commercial projects in the space
• Build and lead a growing team of researchers, fostering a collaborative and innovative culture across a wide-range of AI Safety-relevant research topics
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to researchers across diverse AI safety topics
• Lead hands-on contributions to technical research
• Collaborate on delivery of evaluations and red-teaming projects in high-risk domains, such as CBRN and cybersecurity, with a focus on government and commercial partners

• Hybrid working: We believe people have needs, responsibilities and interests that require something different to a strict working day. We trust people to organise and take accountability for their own work and do our best to support their lives outside Faculty. We provide you with all you need to work from home, including a laptop, keyboard, chair…even Sony headphones!
• Equity, we want you to benefit from Faculty’s growth and success
• Unlimited holidays: We encourage each other to use this time to take a break, work on personal projects, or to spend time with their friends and family
• Fantastic private health, optical and dental cover, for you & your family - including 24/7 unlimited virtual private GP appointments and covering pre-existing medical conditions
• Access to mental health coaching with Sanctus
• Lunch weekly, and more fruit, drinks and snacks than you could ever eat (for office-based employees)
• We work hard and make sure we enjoy what we do. So we have frequent socials and informal get-togethers to help make sure you enjoy your time with us. You’ll make friends and professional connections that will last a lifetime

Total funding: $49.9m

Faculty work with companies such as Samsung, the BBC, and Just Eat to figure out what they could do with AI, and then help them to do it through implementing the right skills, strategy and software.