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Salary: USD 220,000 - 315,000 / annual
Goodfire is a research company focused on AI interpretability—understanding how large language models and advanced AI systems actually work internally. The company is backed by over $200M from top-tier VCs (B Capital, Menlo Ventures, Lightspeed) and founded by world-class interpretability researchers from OpenAI and DeepMind.
As a Forward Deployed Research Scientist, you will work directly with enterprise customers to apply Goodfire's interpretability platform to solve novel, high-stakes problems. This is a hybrid research and customer-facing role where you own end-to-end project delivery.
Key responsibilities include:
- Conduct original interpretability research in partnership with customers, focusing on understanding and manipulating internal model structures
- Lead research projects from problem definition through hypothesis formation, data sourcing, prototyping, and implementation
- Prototype novel techniques to visualize and manipulate how large models process information
- Collaborate with the engineering team to translate research prototypes into production-ready tools
- Drive customer partnership success through close collaboration and clear communication of complex findings
- Help shape Goodfire's research direction based on customer needs and emerging opportunities
Required qualifications:
- MS/PhD in Computer Science or equivalent hands-on experience, with strong ML background and demonstrated experience in interpretability research
- Deep familiarity with large language models and genuine passion for understanding how they work
- Fluency in Python and modern ML frameworks (PyTorch)
- Excellent writing and communication skills for explaining complex technical concepts to diverse audiences
- Demonstrated ability to move quickly, take ownership, and drive projects to completion
Preferred experience includes leading research in forward-deployed or customer-centric environments, and working in startup or fast-paced research lab settings.
The role is based in San Francisco with in-person work 5 days per week (one company-wide remote week per month). Goodfire emphasizes mission-driven culture, continuous improvement, ownership, and rapid execution.
