Occupation
Research Scientist
A Research Scientist leads independent or team-based scientific investigations, typically holding an advanced degree and working in academia, government labs, or industry R&D. Responsibilities include experimental design, rigorous data analysis, and hands-on laboratory techniques, alongside grant writing to secure funding and scientific publishing to disseminate results. This senior role combines deep subject-matter expertise with the ability to set research direction and mentor junior staff.
Duties & responsibilities
- Design and conduct scientific experiments using established protocols and novel methodologies to test research hypotheses
- Analyze experimental data rigorously, applying statistical methods and domain-specific techniques to draw valid conclusions
- Develop and implement novel algorithms, models, or computational approaches to advance understanding in your field
- Write scientific publications and present findings at conferences to contribute to the broader scientific knowledge base
- Write grant proposals and secure funding from government agencies, foundations, or industry to support ongoing research
- Mentor junior researchers and collaborate with team members on multi-disciplinary projects
- Translate research findings into prototypes, tools, or systems that demonstrate practical applications of discoveries
What Research Scientist roles involve, from employers’ own postings.
How much does a Research Scientist make?
Too few Research Scientist postings state pay to publish a median yet: 19 of 28 open roles do, and we wait for 25.
Who is hiring for Research Scientist roles?
28 open Research Scientist roles from 19 employers; the most at Menlo Ventures Portfolio, NVIDIA and Pika Labs.
From employers’ own postings, as of.
Research Scientist in the job market
Last checked October 27, 2026
- Open roles
- 28
- Employers
- 19
- Median pay
- —
- Disclose pay
- —
on Career App right now
hiring for it
not enough disclosed
of these roles
Career ladder
Often leads to
Similar roles
Open Research Scientist roles (28)
Research Scientist
KLA-Tencor
Ann Arbor, MI
Listed on KLA-Tencor’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Research Scientist
NVIDIA
Listed on NVIDIA’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Research Scientist
Schreiber Foods
Green Bay, WI
Listed on Schreiber Foods’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Senior R&D Technologist
Smithfield Foods
Saint Charles, IL · $70,000 – $97,500
Lead applied research and experimentation within a meat processing plant to optimize products, processes, and equipment while providing technical support to operations teams. This role suits experienced food scientists or meat industry technologists who thrive solving practical manufacturing challenges and collaborating across scientific and operational disciplines.
Listed on Smithfield Foods’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Applied Research Scientist, AI Research
Descript
San Francisco, CA · $197,000 – $262,500 · Remote
This is a research scientist role focused on building multimodal AI systems that help an editing agent understand video and audio content the way human editors do. The role suits someone with a strong deep learning background who wants to work on specialized models that ship to production, from research concept through to features used by millions of creators.
Listed on Descript’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Research Staff, Voice AI Foundations
Deepgram
Ann Arbor, MI · $150,000 – $250,000 · Remote
This role develops novel approaches to audio AI through research on Latent Space Models, focusing on neural audio codecs, generative speech synthesis, and efficient training methods that can scale voice AI across billions of hours of data. The position suits researchers who thrive on solving fundamental technical challenges in multimodal learning and have the drive to move from concept to production-grade systems rapidly.
Listed on Deepgram’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Research Scientist, Life Sciences (Chemistry)
Menlo Ventures Portfolio
Full-time · San Francisco, CA · $300,000 – $320,000
Anthropic seeks a medicinal chemist to lead hands-on synthesis and characterization work for their life sciences research group, designing and testing small molecules informed by AI. You'll bridge computational predictions and wet-lab validation, working across chemistry, AI research, and external partners to accelerate drug discovery.
Listed on Menlo Ventures Portfolio’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Research Scientist
FLIR Systems
Durham, NC
Listed on FLIR Systems’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Working Student (f/m/d) - Quantum Machine Learing Researcher
SAP
Part-time · Walldorf, DE, 69190
SAP is seeking a mathematics student to support early-stage quantum machine learning research, validating mathematical concepts and exploring practical applications of quantum computing in business. The role suits someone with strong math skills who is curious about quantum computing and comfortable learning in an exploratory, research-driven environment.
Listed on SAP’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Lead Research Scientist
Visa Inc.
Full-time · US - Foster City, CA · $215,300 – $344,600
This role leads Visa's quantum computing research agenda, focusing on applications to payments and finance. It suits researchers with advanced quantum computing expertise and a track record of published research who want to guide strategic technology development at a major payments company.
Listed on Visa Inc.’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Likely next role (4)
Where Research Scientists commonly go next: Research Director.
Head of Research, DataLab
Protege
Remote
Lead Protege's DataLab research function, defining the research agenda on AI training data challenges and building systems to evaluate dataset quality and model performance. This role suits experienced research leaders who can balance strategic thinking with hands-on technical work, manage a growing team, and translate findings into product impact.
Listed on Protege’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Director of Research, Text to Speech
Deepgram
Ann Arbor, MI · $213,000 – $328,300 · Remote
This role leads Deepgram's text-to-speech research program from strategy through production, owning the technical roadmap and building a team of researchers to advance speech-generation quality. It suits experienced speech-synthesis researchers comfortable with hands-on technical leadership, fast-moving environments, and shipping models to production at scale.
Listed on Deepgram’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Director, Athlete Intelligence - Biomechanics and Athlete Immersion
Under Armour
Full-time · Baltimore, MD
Lead Under Armour's biomechanics and athlete immersion research teams to uncover unmet athlete needs and translate scientific findings into footwear and performance innovations. This role suits experienced researchers with deep expertise in sport biomechanics, footwear design, and the ability to connect athlete insights to commercial product development.
Listed on Under Armour’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Senior Director, Discovery Sciences & Technologies
Gilead Sciences
Full-time · United States - California - Foster City · $261,375 – $338,250
This senior leadership role oversees drug discovery assay development, high-throughput screening, and emerging technologies across Gilead's research portfolio, requiring deep expertise in protein-ligand interactions and a track record of advancing programs from initial screening to clinical candidates. The position demands both scientific excellence in managing complex discovery projects and people leadership skills to mentor senior scientists and foster innovation across therapeutic areas.
Listed on Gilead Sciences’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Roles similar to Research Scientist (311)
From AI Engineer, Biologist, Biomedical Scientist, Biostatistician, Chemist, Computer Scientist, Data Scientist, Epidemiologist, Geographer, Machine Learning Engineer, Materials Scientist, Medical Research Scientist.
Data Scientist
Citizenship and Immigration Services
Camp Springs, Maryland · $57,736 – $91,815
Via USAJOBS · Apply there ↗
Computer Scientist
Federal Aviation Administration
Atlantic City, NJ · $99,775 – $154,637
Via USAJOBS · Apply there ↗
Chemist
KLA-Tencor
Totowa, NJ
Listed on KLA-Tencor’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Biologist (Temporary) (Direct Hiring Authority)
National Park Service
Contract · Yosemite National Park, CA · $36 – $47 / hour
This position oversees ecological management and research for large carnivores in terrestrial habitats, focusing on conservation, monitoring, and mitigation of threats from climate change and human activity. The role suits wildlife biologists with field experience in species management and habitat restoration.
Via USAJOBS · Apply there ↗
DATA SCIENTIST
Naval Sea Systems Command
Washington Navy Yard, DC · $143,913 – $197,200
Via USAJOBS · Apply there ↗
Data Scientist
Gentex
Zeeland, MI
Listed on Gentex’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Data Scientist
Country Financial
Bloomington, IL
Listed on Country Financial’s careers site · Apply there ↗
Data Scientist
Drug Enforcement Administration
Arlington, VA · $121,785 – $158,322
This DEA role develops data science methodologies and machine learning tools to transform raw intelligence data into actionable information for criminal investigations and operational analysis. The position suits someone comfortable building algorithms, managing data infrastructure, and authoring formal reports that drive leadership decisions in a federal law enforcement context.
Via USAJOBS · Apply there ↗
COMPUTER SCIENTIST
Air Force Elements, U.S. Transportation Command
Scott AFB, Illinois · $91,779 – $141,880
A data engineer position within U.S. Transportation Command overseeing the development of advanced software systems, cloud infrastructure, and integrated cyber strategies in support of military acquisition operations. This role suits experienced software engineers comfortable with government systems, DevSecOps practices, and leading teams through complex cloud migrations and legacy system modernization.
Via USAJOBS · Apply there ↗
Data Scientist (Recent Graduate)
U.S. Census Bureau
Full-time · Suitland, MD · $57,736 – $91,815
The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring a recent graduate data scientist to perform database queries, build analytical visualizations, and transform data from multiple sources to support HR operations. This entry-level federal role suits recent graduates with degrees in mathematics, statistics, computer science, or data science who can work with SQL, Python, R, and Java.
Via USAJOBS · Apply there ↗
Skills Research Scientist postings ask for
Measured from the 28 open roles, not from a curated list.
- Python9 roles32.1%
- Machine Learning8 roles28.6%
- PyTorch6 roles21.4%
- Reinforcement Learning6 roles21.4%
- TensorFlow4 roles14.3%
- Statistical Analysis3 roles10.7%
Employers hiring Research Scientists
19 in total, most open roles first.
- MPMenlo Ventures Portfolio8 roles
- NVIDIA2 roles
- PLPika Labs2 roles
- CCohere1 role
- DDeepgram1 role
- DDescript1 role
- FSFLIR Systems1 role
General Mills1 role