Join Goodfire as a Research Scientist to develop techniques for understanding and steering large AI models with a mission-driven team.
Posted by employer 1 year ago
First seen on Joblaze 1 week ago
Last verified on the company career page 1 day ago
Role intensity
70% hands-on coding
AI in the day-to-day
Goodfire is advancing the science of AI interpretability and developing tools for understanding AI models.
Requirements
- Experience
- 3+ years
- Education
- PhD
Not disclosed in this posting: visa sponsorship.
Benefits
Joblaze summary
In the role of Research Scientist at Goodfire, the individual will focus on developing innovative techniques to enhance the interpretability of large AI models. Key skills include a PhD in a relevant field, proficiency in Python and ML frameworks like PyTorch, and a strong understanding of model dynamics. This position is ideal for experienced researchers who thrive in fast-paced environments and are passionate about advancing AI safety and usability. Goodfire's mission-driven team emphasizes collaboration and rapid progress in the evolving landscape of AI research.
Joblaze insights
- Listed 9 days ago on Joblaze — tracked directly from Goodfire's career page.
- Goodfire has 27 other open roles including Senior Counsel, Director of People, Forward Deployed Research Scientist.
- 6517 active Python roles on Joblaze right now.
- 480 active PyTorch roles on Joblaze right now.
- Salary band is in line with the typical range for AI/ML roles (median ~$188,000).
- Pays more than 79% of the 3224 salaried Python roles we track (median $160,000). See Python salary trends
Quick facts
- Is the Research Scientist role remote?
- No — this is an on-site role in San Francisco, CA.
- What's the salary range?
- Goodfire lists $200,000–$400,000 for this role.
- How much experience is required?
- At least 3 years of relevant experience for this Research Scientist role.
- Where is the role based?
- Goodfire is hiring for this position in San Francisco, CA.
- What's the tech stack?
- Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: PyTorch, Python.
- What seniority level is this role?
- Goodfire targets senior candidates for this position.
- Is this full-time or contract?
- Full-time for this Research Scientist role at Goodfire.
From the original posting
About Goodfire
Goodfire is a research company using interpretability to understand, learn from, and design AI systems. Our mission is to build the next generation of safe and powerful AI—not by scaling alone, but by understanding the intelligence we're building.
Scaling has proven powerful, but today's approach is fundamentally limited: we can't meaningfully understand, debug, or shape what models learn. Every engineering discipline has been gated by fundamental science and AI is at that inflection point now.
We're advancing the science of how AI systems actually work. Treating models as black boxes is an unnecessary handicap—we have access to the structures inside them, and understanding those structures lets us steer what models learn, make them safer and more useful, and extract the vast knowledge they contain. Our goal is to make AI that can be understood, debugged, and shaped like software.
Goodfire is a public benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco with a team of the world’s top interpretability researchers and engineers from organizations like OpenAI and DeepMind. We're backed by over $200M from B Capital, Menlo Ventures, Lightspeed, Eric Schmidt, and others.
About the role
We’re looking for a Research Scientist to join our team and develop new techniques for understanding and steering large AI models. You’ll work closely with a small, mission-driven team of scientists and engineers to conduct novel research, build practical tools, and push the field forward.
Where you might contribute:
- Interpretability mechanisms – Foundational research on how models represent and process information.
- Moonshots – High-upside bets on novel techniques that could unlock breakthroughs in model understanding.
- Applied research & usability – Translating research into tools for real-world users and enterprise applications.
We’ll determine your pod placement during the interview process based on your background and interests.
Key responsibilities:
- Conduct original research in interpretability and related fields.
- Prototype techniques to visualize and manipulate internal model structures.
- Collaborate with engineering to turn research into production-ready tools.
- Share your work through publications, demos, and open-source contributions.
- Help define and evolve our research direction.
What you’ll bring
Required experience
- PhD or equivalent experience in ML, computer science, or a quantitative science.
- Deep familiarity with large models and a passion for understanding how they work.
- Fluency in Python and ML frameworks such as PyTorch.
- Strong writing and communication skills for explaining complex ideas.
- Drive to move quickly and take ownership.
Preferred qualifications
- Experience leading research or contributing to open-source codebases.
- Familiarity with interpretability, alignment, or safe model development.
- Experience in startup or fast-paced lab environments.
Our values
Goodfire is looking for individuals who embody our values and share our deep commitment to making interpretability accessible. We are building a team first and foremost.
Put mission and team first
All we do is in service of our mission. We trust each other, deeply care about the success of the organization, and choose to put our team above ourselves.
Improve constantly
We are constantly looking to improve every piece of the business. We proactively critique ourselves and others in a kind and thoughtful way that translates to practical improvements in the organization. We are pragmatic and consistently implement the obvious fixes that work.
Take ownership and initiative
There are no bystanders here. We proactively identify problems and take full responsibility over getting a strong result. We are self-driven, own our mistakes, and feel deep responsibility over what we’re building.
Action today
We have a small amount of time to do something incredibly hard and meaningful. The pace and intensity of the organization is high. If we can take action today or tomorrow, we will choose to do it today.
Where we work
We are hiring for this position in our San Francisco HQ. We are in person 5 days a week, with one company-wide remote week per month.
What we offer
This role offers market competitive salary, equity, and competitive benefits.
The expected salary range for this position is $200,000 - $400,000 USD
Most importantly, you'll have the opportunity to join a vital mission at an important point in its trajectory — we are developing groundbreaking technology with a world-class team on the critical path to ensuring a safe and beneficial future for humanity. If you want to do your life’s work with us, even if you believe you do not meet every single requirement, apply now.