Research Engineer, Platform

Basis is a nonprofit applied AI research organization with two mutually reinforcing goals.

The first is to understand and build intelligence. This means to establish the mathematical principles of what it means to reason, to learn, to make decisions, to understand, and to explain; and to construct software that implements these principles.

The second is to advance society’s ability to solve intractable problems. This means expanding the scale, complexity, and breadth of problems that we can solve today, and even more importantly, accelerating our ability to solve problems in the future.

To achieve these goals, we’re building both a new technological foundation that draws inspiration from how humans reason, and a new kind of collaborative organization that puts human values first.

Research Engineers on the Platform team at Basis advance research methods and package them into reusable modules that others can build on. You will develop Basis core technology modules (fundamental algorithmic components like ChiRho, Effectful, Weighted), contribute research-driven capabilities to commercial platform offerings, and ensure research advances have clear paths to impact—whether commercial or societal.

We are looking for people who bridge research excellence and engineering rigor. The ideal Research Engineer has both published research and shipped production code, understands how to translate experimental techniques into robust implementations, and thinks carefully about software architecture that enables others to build on your work. You will identify high-value research problems aligned with Basis mission and develop them from ideation through concrete implementation.

This role is distinguished from Operations Research Engineers (who focus on internal tooling) by emphasis on advancing research methods for platform and commercial applications. You will work on Core Tech Module Teams and contribute to research that defines Basis’s technological foundation.

We seek individuals who excel technically and value probing concepts at their foundations. Our research engineers aspire to do rigorous, high-quality, robust science and engineering, but are not afraid to tinker, make mistakes, and explore radically different ideas to get there.

Basis is a collaborative effort, both internally and with our external partners; we are looking for people who enjoy working with others on problems larger than ones they can tackle alone.

• →

  Advance research methods in areas aligned with Basis mission including probabilistic programming, causal inference, reasoning under uncertainty, program synthesis, and foundations of machine learning.

• →

  Build Basis core technology modules producing fundamental algorithmic components that provide reusable capabilities across multiple projects and applications.

• →

  Package research into production-ready code by translating experimental techniques into robust implementations with comprehensive documentation, tests, and examples that enable others to build on your work.

• →

  Contribute to Platform development by developing research-driven capabilities that enhance commercial offerings, integrating novel techniques into platform APIs and features.

• →

  Identify high-value research problems by staying connected to research frontiers, understanding commercial and societal needs, and recognizing opportunities where Basis capabilities can make significant impact.

• →

  Develop new project concepts from ideation through concrete vision, scoping research questions, defining technical approaches, and creating compelling cases for new initiatives.

• →

  Collaborate across research and engineering teams to ensure research advances integrate smoothly with platform infrastructure and that engineering constraints inform research directions.

• →

  Ensure research has path to impact whether through commercial deployment, open-source release, academic publication, or transfer to other projects within Basis portfolio.

• →

  (Optionally) Publish and present findings in journals and conferences to contribute to broader research community and establish Basis thought leadership.

• →

  Contribute to the culture and direction of Basis by modeling excellence at the intersection of research and engineering, rigorous thinking about foundations, and commitment to building tools that advance societal capability.

Exceptional candidates who may not meet all of the following criteria are still encouraged to apply.

• FT/PT: This is a full-time position

• In-person Policy: We are in the office four days a week. Be prepared to attend multi-day Basis-wide in-person events.

• Location: New York City

• Salary range: Competitive salary.

Non-Discrimination Notice
Basis Research Institute provides equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or genetics and prohibits discrimination based on all protected characteristics.

Privacy Notice

By submitting your application, you grant Basis permission to use your materials for both hiring evaluation and recruitment-related research and development purposes. Your information may be processed in different countries, including the US. You retain copyright while providing Basis a license to use these materials for the stated purposes.

Read our full Global Data Privacy Notice here.