Research Scientist, Automated Sciences

About the Team

OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity. The Mission Alignment team works with leaders across OpenAI as thought partners and evangelists of the mission and stewards of the OpenAI charter. We think deeply about the future to form a grounded, holistic view of what kinds of benefits and disruptions AGI might bring, based on our own research and collaborations with colleagues in many fields (e.g. research, economics, policy, national and global security). We use this analysis to make recommendations about some of the most important problems facing the company, work on special projects on an as-needed basis, and periodically communicate to the company as a whole about the mission.

About the Role

We are seeking a Research Scientist with deep expertise in automated science, machine learning, and scientific discovery to join our team. In this role, you will focus on developing methods to systematically identify fields of science and engineering where AI models can have the greatest impact. You will design and implement scalable approaches to automate the discovery, curation, and prioritization of scientific domains for model training.

Beyond identifying key research areas, you will also play a critical role in ensuring that AI is applied responsibly in scientific domains. This includes assessing potential risks, promoting AI safety, and proactively considering the ethical, epistemological, and societal implications of integrating AI into scientific workflows. Your work will help shape our AI-driven research strategy, ensuring that models are not only trained on the most relevant scientific data but also deployed in a way that upholds the integrity and reliability of scientific inquiry.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:

• Develop frameworks to identify and prioritize scientific and engineering disciplines for AI model training, leveraging machine learning, data-driven analysis, and expert insights.

• Design automated methods for mapping emerging research areas, assessing knowledge gaps, and forecasting impactful scientific fields.

• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to curate high-quality training data and guide the development of models that advance scientific discovery.

• Build and refine tools to orchestrate large-scale literature analysis, data extraction, and research landscape mapping.

• Assess and mitigate potential risks associated with AI-driven scientific research, ensuring AI models are applied in a safe, transparent, and responsible manner.

• Work closely with researchers, engineers, and domain experts to translate findings into actionable recommendations for model development.

• Stay at the forefront of scientific trends, technological advancements, and AI applications in science and engineering.

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Are excited about making real-world impact through cutting edge agent research and deployment

• Are a team player, willing to do a variety of tasks that move the team forward.

• Excels in execution, consistently and completing tasks efficiently.

• Enjoy fast-paced, collaborative, and cutting-edge research environments.

• Have strong background in multimodal web agents, computer-using agents, relevant large-scale reinforcement learning or agentic safety research.

• Have strong engineering skills in designing and optimizing large-scale machine learning systems

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. 

OpenAI Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement

For US Based Candidates: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.

OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy

At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.