Principal Applied Scientist

DesignWorks Talent

Job Overview

Location

Seattle

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• Lead the research, development, and productionization of generative AI and agentic AI systems to solve complex challenges in identity verification, fraud detection, and risk intelligence for a publicly traded software company.
• Design and deploy scalable AI/ML solutions using large language models (LLMs), reinforcement learning, and graph neural networks that operate at national and global scales in production environments.
• Partner with cross-functional teams of scientists, engineers, and product leaders to translate ambiguous research problems into reliable, shipped AI-powered products—not just prototypes or academic publications.
• Architect agentic AI systems with tool usage, function calling, planning, multi-agent orchestration, and retrieval-augmented generation, ensuring robust evaluation and monitoring of agent behavior in live systems.
• Pre-train and/or fine-tune foundational large language models using techniques such as supervised fine-tuning, RLHF/DPO, LoRA/PEFT, and distillation to improve performance and efficiency in identity and risk applications.
• Develop and optimize transformer-based architectures and deep learning models for natural language processing tasks critical to identity intelligence, including entity resolution, relationship mapping, and anomaly detection.
• Own end-to-end project lifecycles: from framing novel research questions, prototyping, validating hypotheses, to production deployment and iterative improvement based on real-world performance metrics.
• Apply proficiency in Python and C++ with expertise in AI frameworks including PyTorch, TensorFlow, and JAX to build, test, and deploy high-performance models.
• Drive innovation by staying current with cutting-edge research in generative AI and agentic systems, rapidly translating academic advancements into functional product features—often moving from reading a paper on Friday to shipping a prototype by Monday.
• Build and scale distributed training pipelines and large-scale AI infrastructure capable of handling massive datasets used in identity verification and background screening operations.
• Ensure AI systems comply with regulatory requirements and ethical standards in fraud prevention and customer due diligence, while minimizing false positives and maintaining high accuracy.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to integrate AI models into existing platforms, ensuring low-latency, high-reliability performance under real-world user loads.
• Mentor junior scientists and engineers, fostering a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and continuous learning within the AI team.
• Contribute to internal knowledge sharing through technical documentation, presentations, and code reviews to elevate the collective capability of the AI organization.
• Evaluate and improve model interpretability, fairness, and robustness in high-stakes decision-making contexts such as regulatory compliance and risk assessment.
• Work in an on-site, downtown Seattle environment with hybrid flexibility, collaborating daily with peers in a fast-paced, product-driven AI team.
• Contribute to the company’s mission of enabling frictionless commerce, reducing societal fraud costs, and enhancing safety through trustworthy identity intelligence.

🎯 Requirements

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or related field with focus on generative AI, agentic AI, deep learning, reinforcement learning, or graph neural networks—or equivalent industry experience
• 7+ years of applied AI research experience with a proven track record of shipping AI-powered products in production
• Hands-on experience designing and deploying agentic AI systems including tool usage, function calling, planning, multi-agent orchestration, and retrieval-augmented generation
• Proficiency in Python or C++ and expertise with PyTorch, TensorFlow, or JAX
• Demonstrated experience pre-training or fine-tuning large language models at scale
• Ability to independently drive ambiguous research projects from conception through productionization

🏖️ Benefits

• Stock (RSU) grants
• 401K with generous company match
• Flexible PTO policy
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Commuter benefits
• In-office healthy snacks and team events

Skills & Technologies

Python

AWS

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Senior

Hybrid

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DesignWorks Talent

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About DesignWorks Talent

DesignWorks Talent is a boutique recruiting firm that places designers, researchers, product managers, and creative technologists in permanent and contract roles at technology, e-commerce, and consumer brands. Founded in San Francisco in 2016, the company maintains a curated network of senior-level talent and partners with venture-backed startups and Fortune 500 companies to build in-house design and product teams. Services include retained search, contingency placement, contract staffing, compensation benchmarking, and team-building advisory. The firm operates across North America and Europe while remaining focused on digital product, UX, brand, and service design disciplines.

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