Applied Research Lead, Runway
Reinforcement Learning
$280-380k
AI-powered creativity tools
Open for applications
AI-powered creativity tools
101-200 employees
Open for applications
$280-380k
101-200 employees
Company mission
To ensure that anyone anywhere can tell their stories.
Role
Who you are
- 4+ years of relevant engineering or research experience in applying reinforcement learning to align language, image, and/or video generation models
- Very strong programming skills and ability to write clean and maintainable research code
- Deep interest in building human-in-the-loop systems for creativity
- Passion for seeing research through from initial conception to eventual application
- Experience mentoring and teaching other researchers
- Strong communication, collaboration, and documentation skills
What the job involves
- We’re looking for a Sr. Applied Research Scientist to lead efforts in applying reinforcement learning based techniques to improve the quality and controllability of the models that power Runway’s research and tools
- This role is for someone who has a strong background building impactful and novel machine learning projects, has strong software engineering skills, and is deeply interested in seeing their research materialize in novel user interfaces for creative tasks
Our take
Runway is revolutionizing content creation and video editing with machine learning, harnessing the expansive capabilities of web-based tools. At the forefront of this transformation, the startup offers a suite of AI-powered editing tools tailored for designers, artists, and creators, setting itself apart in an industry dominated by enterprise-focused software solutions.
The company has rapidly gained recognition among some of the world's largest brands, including R/GA, New Balance, Google, and IBM, by appealing directly to creative professionals. This approach has not only solidified Runway's position in the market but also facilitated its integration into the design curricula of esteemed institutions such as NYU, RISD< and MIT.
In a testament to its growing influence and success, Runway achieved unicorn status in 2023 following a landmark $100M funding round, which valued the company at $1.5BThis milestone not only reflects investor confidence but also positions Runway to expand its innovative tools and further democratize access to advanced video editing capabilities globally.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Apr 2025
$308m
SERIES D
Jun 2023
$141m
SERIES C
Total funding: $546.5m
Company benefits
- 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage: We cover 100% of medical, dental and vision for our US employees AND their dependents. Based on the plans selected, we have complimentary mental health benefits and a free One Medical membership
- Unlimited days of PTO: We have unlimited PTO with a minimum of 15 days a year. We also have a paid sabbatical program after employees have been with Runway for 3 years and again after 5 years. And of course, we can't forget about Summer Fridays
- 401k Matching, 3% matching: Plan for the future! We provide a 3% 401K match for our US based employees
- Remote $250 stipend: All of our employees outside of commuting distance to the office, can expense up to $250 per month on co-working spaces, lunch or groceries, and internet connection
- Donations supporting our community: Beyond our employees, we have a commitment to our communities. Every quarter, Runway employees choose an organization for the company to support through a donation
- Custom setup, tech setup stipend: In addition to the choice of laptop, all employees get a stipend to customize their tech set up as they want
- Parental leave for all parents: We offer 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave plus a gradual return to work plan. This coverage is for all parents, regardless of how a child is brought into the family
- L&D $600 stipend: We’re investing in our employees’ long term growth by giving every employee $600 per year to spend on their personal or professional development. That means conferences, courses, and books, oh my!
- Wellness $600 stipend: We set ambitious goals and work hard to achieve them, so we believe it’s important to invest in employees’ mental and physical health. The $600 annual wellness stipend can be used for anything from therapy sessions to gym memberships
Company HQ
Civic Center, New York, NY
Leadership
Anastasis Germanidis
(CTO)Trained as a Backend Engineer, they have held roles at Zocdoc, Chartbeat, and Quantcast as well as working as a Machine Learning Researcher in Computer Vision for IBM.
Previously co-founded Deenty, an online booking platform for dentist appointments.
Cristóbal Valenzuela
(CEO)Worked as a Researcher at New York University from 2018 to 2019. Also spent time as a Professor at the UAI School of Design.
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