Research Scientist / Research Engineer, Pre-Training

Details

Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. The team is committed to building safe and beneficial AI for users and society.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research and implement solutions in model architecture, algorithms, data processing, and optimizer development
• Lead small research projects independently and collaborate on larger initiatives
• Design, run, and analyze scientific experiments to advance understanding of large language models
• Optimize and scale training infrastructure for efficiency and reliability
• Develop and improve development tooling to enhance team productivity
• Contribute across the stack from low-level optimizations to high-level model design

Requirements

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field
• Strong software engineering skills with experience building complex systems
• Expertise in Python and experience with deep learning frameworks (preferably PyTorch)
• Familiarity with large-scale machine learning, particularly language models
• Ability to balance research goals with engineering constraints
• Strong problem-solving skills and a results-oriented mindset
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Awareness of societal impacts of AI work

Preferred Experience

• Experience with high-performance, large-scale ML systems
• Familiarity with GPUs, Kubernetes, and OS internals
• Experience with transformer architectures in language modeling
• Knowledge of reinforcement learning techniques
• Background in large-scale ETL processes

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Significant software engineering experience
• Results-oriented with flexibility and impact focus
• Willingness to take on tasks beyond job description
• Enjoys pair programming and collaborative work
• Eager to learn more about machine learning research
• Motivated by working on aligned AI models reflecting human values and preferences
• Views research and engineering as complementary disciplines
• Ambitious about AI safety and long-term outcomes

Sample Projects

• Optimizing novel attention mechanism throughput
• Comparing compute efficiency of Transformer variants
• Preparing large data sets for efficient model consumption
• Scaling distributed training to thousands of GPUs
• Designing fault tolerance strategies for training infrastructure
• Creating interactive model internal visualizations like attention patterns

Compensation

• Annual Salary: £250,000 - £270,000 GBP

Logistics

• At least Bachelor's degree required or equivalent experience
• Hybrid work policy with minimum 25% office presence
• Visa sponsorship available with legal assistance

About Anthropic

• Focus on big science AI research with a collaborative team culture
• Emphasis on high impact AI advancements prioritizing safety and ethics
• Public benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco
• Competitive compensation, benefits, equity donation matching, and flexible hours
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion

If excited about advancing AI safely and ethically, encouraged to apply.