Chief Scientist

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San Francisco / $300000 - $350000 annum

INFO

Salary

SALARY:

$300000 - $350000

Location

LOCATION

San Francisco

Job Type
JOB TYPE

Permanent

Chief Scientist - Frontier AI for Scientific Discovery

Location: Remote

Travel: Occasional global travel for team retreats and premier technical conferences

About the Role

Are you a deep AI research leader motivated by mission over margin?

We are recruiting the Chief Scientist for a pioneering non-profit research organization using state-of-the-art AI to decode non-human communication and accelerate scientific discovery.

Reporting directly to the CEO and serving as a key executive team member, you will own the vision, strategy, and leadership of an interdisciplinary research organization. You will bridge the gap between frontier AI foundation models and natural sciences, translating cutting-edge ML research into practical, open-source tools.

If you bring world-class AI expertise, high scientific rigor, and a humble, collaborative mindset, this is a unique chance to shift humanity's relationship with the natural world.

What You'll Do

  • Lead Scientific Strategy: Steward the multi-year scientific roadmap, aligning large-scale AI research (foundation models, bioacoustics, ML) with biological hypotheses.
  • Lead & Build an Interdisciplinary Team: Direct and mentor a team of ~18 brilliant researchers, engineers, postdocs, and contractors across Foundational Modeling, Decoding, and Engineering.
  • Drive Strategic Alignment: Partner with executive leadership to integrate research output with organizational strategy, donor engagement, and mission objectives.
  • Manage Budget & Operations: Hold full authority over the research function budget and lead staffing design and recruitment.
  • External Voice & Partnerships: Represent the organization at top global conferences, cultivate academic/non-profit research partnerships, and oversee a paid postdoc/intern fellowship program.

Must-Haves

  • PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Electrical Engineering, Computational Biology, or a closely related field.
  • 5+ Years of AI/ML Depth: Substantial experience in an AI research lab or deploying large-scale AI systems (e.g., foundation model development, large-scale training infrastructure).
  • Proven Research Leadership: Demonstrated track record of leading research teams, managing senior AI researchers, and setting strategic direction.
  • External Credibility & Network: Strong academic/industry reputation with an established network to help recruit top-tier ML talent.
  • Mission-Driven Mindset: High emotional intelligence, low ego ("ego-to-talent ratio"), coachable, and excited about working in an "AI for Good" or non-profit research context.

Nice-to-Haves

  • Prior experience in Big Tech AI labs (e.g., DeepMind, FAIR, Google Research) or high-growth tech environments.
  • Research familiarity with audio AI, speech recognition, computer vision, or bioacoustics.
  • Experience applying AI to natural science or field-biology domains.

Why You'll Love Working Here

  • Impact: Work on ground-breaking, fundamental AI problems that directly benefit scientific understanding of the planet.
  • Culture: A highly collaborative, low-ego environment grounded in kindness, open-source knowledge sharing, and intellectual honesty.
  • Compensation & Benefits: * Base Salary: $300,000 - $350,000 USD
  • Perks: Premium healthcare options, home office stipends, and all travel fully paid

CONTACT

Anthony Goodvin

Sourcing Consultant

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