Research Lead / Principal Scientist & Manager Post-Training · Alignment · Reinforcement Learning Autodesk AI Lab: London · San Francisco · Toronto · Remote (US/CA/EU) -

Autodesk, Inc.

Job Overview

Location

London, GBR

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• Lead Autodesk’s research strategy for post-training and alignment of foundation models to ensure reliability, controllability, and domain-specific usefulness in engineering, architecture, and design workflows.
• Develop novel algorithms for reinforcement learning from human and AI feedback (RLHF, RLAIF, DPO, PPO) and other post-training methods to improve model alignment and robustness.
• Design and execute experiments that evaluate long-horizon reasoning, tool use, agentic behavior, safety, and real-world workflow completion using domain-grounded verifiers from physics simulations and CAD kernels.
• Build scalable, reproducible post-training workflows in partnership with infrastructure teams to support high-fidelity model evaluation and iteration.
• Establish rigorous model evaluation frameworks and release criteria, including human-in-the-loop annotation systems with scientific methodology, to determine model readiness for production.
• Lead technical decision-making on whether to address alignment challenges at the pre-training, post-training, or system level, based on empirical evidence and domain constraints.
• Contribute directly to research by running experiments, developing new methods, and publishing at top-tier venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, and SIGGRAPH.
• Manage, mentor, and grow a team of AI scientists, fostering a culture of scientific rigor, reproducibility, and fast iteration in alignment and reinforcement learning research.
• Recruit world-class talent in machine learning, reinforcement learning, alignment, and foundation models to expand the research team’s capabilities.
• Partner with pre-training teams, product organizations, and engineering stakeholders to translate research outcomes into product impact and ensure alignment with customer workflows.
• Communicate technical risks, limitations, and trade-offs clearly to leadership, providing decision-ready guidance on model deployment and safety.
• Advance Autodesk AI Lab’s reputation as a leading contributor to frontier AI research through publications, patents, and collaborations with academic and industry labs.
• Drive interpretability and model analysis efforts to understand and improve model behavior in high-precision domains such as structural engineering, manufacturing, and media production.
• Leverage Autodesk’s unique assets — including decades of investment in physics simulation engines and computational design tools — to create reward signals for reinforcement learning that go beyond human preference data.

🎯 Requirements

• Deep hands-on expertise in reinforcement learning for foundation models and fluency with post-training methods (RLHF, RLAIF, DPO, PPO, or adjacent approaches)
• Proven experience leading or mentoring technical research teams in academic, industry, or AI research lab settings
• Strong intuition for model behavior, alignment challenges, and post-training trade-offs
• Experience designing evaluation systems for long-horizon reasoning, tool use, and safety in AI systems
• Ability to communicate complex technical trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
• PhD or equivalent depth of industry research experience in machine learning, reinforcement learning, AI, or a related field

🏖️ Benefits

• Opportunity to publish at top-tier AI/ML venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, SIGGRAPH)
• Direct line from research advances to product impact at scale across Autodesk’s global customer base
• Access to unique domain-grounded verifiers from physics simulations and CAD kernels for reinforcement learning
• Collaborative environment with leading academic and industry research labs
• Remote work flexibility across US, Canada, and EU (including Germany, France, Italy)
• Competitive compensation package including base salary, annual cash bonuses, stock grants, and comprehensive benefits

Skills & Technologies

Senior

Remote

Degree Required

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Autodesk, Inc.

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About Autodesk, Inc.

Autodesk, Inc. develops professional design, engineering, and entertainment software. Its flagship products include AutoCAD, Revit, Fusion 360, Maya, and 3ds Max, serving architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, and education sectors worldwide. Founded in 1982, the company provides cloud-based subscription services enabling digital design, simulation, visualization, and collaboration across project lifecycles. Headquartered in San Rafael, California, Autodesk operates globally, empowering customers to create sustainable infrastructure, products, and digital content through integrated software platforms and emerging technologies such as generative design, additive manufacturing, and building information modeling.

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