Alignment Scientist/Engineer
AE Studio is a bootstrapped AI company that combines frontier AI alignment research with applied AI consulting and production software development.
About AE Studio
Founded in 2016, AE Studio operates as a bootstrapped product and technology studio with two connected divisions: frontier AI alignment research and applied AI services. Its applied work includes AI-native products, custom machine learning, agentic automation, knowledge graphs, AI platforms, evaluation, red-teaming, observability, and AI transformation. The company embeds senior technical and product teams with clients to build and operate production systems. Its published work covers airline revenue optimization, education technology, healthcare and neurotechnology, manufacturing automation, financial services, gaming, blockchain, and enterprise software. AE Studio states that it is self-funded, has no outside investors, and reinvests consulting profits into alignment research.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
Work autonomously as a high-agency technical generalist guiding AI alignment research alongside external collaborators. Research areas include pretraining interventions for model safety, interpretability, and neuroscience-inspired alignment approaches.
Requirements
- Experience in ML research, alignment research, or both
- Passion for AI alignment and belief that genuine progress is possible
- Excellent Python, PyTorch, and modern deep learning skills
- Knowledge of building, training, or evaluating deep learning models
- Comfort calling AI model APIs via REST or client libraries
- Ability to decompose complex problems into concrete, testable experiments
- AI-native mindset and eagerness to automate workflows with AI tools
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, startup-like environment
- Strong English communication skills for technical audiences
- Bonus: self-directed research or data science experience
- Bonus: software engineering background, Agile experience, client management, or startup experience
Responsibilities
- Guide the direction of research alongside collaborators
- Research pretraining interventions for model safety
- Develop novel interpretability techniques
- Explore neuroscience-inspired approaches to alignment
- Build, train, and evaluate deep learning models
- Call AI model APIs via REST or client libraries
- Decompose complex problems into concrete, testable experiments
- Communicate technical work to all audiences
Benefits
- Remote-first work with flexible schedules
- Health insurance
- Free lunches at the office
- Weekly knowledge-sharing talks
- Annual team retreat
- Regular performance-based raises
- Diversified employee equity program