2026 PhD Residency - ML / SWE, Orchestration of Agentic Systems, Early Stage Project
How you will make 10x impact:
- Collaborate with X project team to experiment and build novel insights to business process optimization and ML-accelerated data ingestion
- Rapidly develop prototypes of artificial intelligence, machine learning models applied to business process workflows
- Apply the latest in data science techniques to build and deploy data pipelines and exploratory data analysis on large-scale datasets
- Develop value chain maps, evaluate costs and revenues to assess and recommend areas in which to de-risk the project
- Work cross-functionally with experts across, X, Alphabet, and academia
- Engage with the intern community during the program (attending tech talks, colloquium, and learning moonshot thinking), and most importantly HAVE FUN!
This project aims to push the limits of science and modeling as we know them and to prove how ML can radically accelerate our understanding of the world
- Location: X's headquarters in Mountain View, CA
- Start Date(s): Early 2026
- Duration: a flexible 4 mo. to 1 year program based on project team needs and your availability
Throughout your AI Residency you can expect:
- To be embedded into one of our confidential or public X projects
- To get paid competitively and receive benefits
- To be a part of a lively community of AI and ML Residents
- To attend tech-talks with AI leaders from across X
What you should have:
- Active PhD program in Computer Science
- Working experience with LLMs, Transformer architectures and data pipelines.
- Fluent in Python, ML APIs (Tensorflow, Pytorch or JAX)
- Very strong analytical skills. Ability to gather and analyze large quantities of information, and turn them into insightful business recommendations
- Good at problem stating and problem solving, and turning ambiguous problem spaces into radical solutions. Must be able to break down problems independently
- Can do attitude, willing to learn new tools and content to become an effective thought partner with project teams
- Excellent communication skills i.e experience writing strategy docs, experience delivering presentations, and a general openness to liaise with senior external partners
- Motivated by making the world a better place through technology, and wanting to be part of a team that makes this happen
It’d be great if you also had these:
- An ability to thrive on ambiguity, setting own goals and effectively delivering them in a fast-changing environment
- Adept at influencing without authority, working cross-functionally with different teams in order to drive decision making
- Experience in using distributed computing resources, such as GCP, AWS, Azure or HPC clusters
Additional public information:
https://www.wired.com/video/watch/astro-teller-captain-of-moonshots-at-x-speaks-at-wired25
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-10-10/alphabet-x-s-astro-teller-on-bloomberg-studio-1-0-video
The US base salary range for this position is $109,000 - $157,000 + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.
Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include benefits.
Skills Required
- Active PhD program in Computer Science
- Working experience with LLMs, Transformer architectures and data pipelines
- Fluent in Python and ML APIs (TensorFlow, PyTorch or JAX)
- Very strong analytical skills; ability to gather and analyze large quantities of information and make business recommendations
- Strong problem formulation and problem-solving skills; able to break down ambiguous problems independently
- Can-do attitude and willingness to learn new tools and content
- Excellent communication skills, including writing strategy documents and delivering presentations
- Motivated to improve the world through technology and collaborate with teams
- Ability to thrive on ambiguity and set/deliver own goals
- Adept at influencing without authority and working cross-functionally
- Experience using distributed computing resources (GCP, AWS, Azure or HPC clusters)
X, The Moonshot Factory Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about X, The Moonshot Factory and has not been reviewed or approved by X, The Moonshot Factory.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive for core technical and senior roles, with employer-posted ranges and clear statements that total compensation includes base, bonus, equity, and benefits. Feedback suggests posted bands and explicit structure provide clarity on how pay is constructed.
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Parental & Family Support — Family support is described as generous, including paid parental leave, baby bonding, and transitional support for parents returning to work. Fertility treatments and maternity care are also covered, indicating depth in family-focused provisions.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs include a 401(k) with a notable company match and immediate vesting of matched funds. Additional financial supports such as student loan reimbursement and coaching strengthen long-term financial security.
X, The Moonshot Factory Insights
What We Do
We create breakthrough technologies to help solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Born at Google, we got our start creating self-driving cars and smart glasses. Since then, we’ve continued to bring sci-fi ideas into reality.
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