Prototype Researcher (AI)

Location: Remote across the US; offices in New York, San Francisco, and Seattle

Salary: $250,000–$310,000 annually for candidates in the US

Company

Runway builds AI systems that simulate the world by combining art and science, with a focus on AI video and General World Models.

What you will do

• Develop original concepts exploring interactive video, world models, agentic experiences, and other emerging AI systems.
• Design and build working prototypes that turn research capabilities into engaging and understandable experiences.
• Shape the narrative of each project, including what it explores, why it matters, and what it suggests about the future.
• Package explorations into polished demos, films, and interactive experiences.
• Collaborate with researchers, engineers, and designers to identify compelling ways to demonstrate new capabilities.
• Iterate quickly through experimentation to refine both the experience and its story.

Requirements

• Portfolio demonstrating creative thinking, design craft, technical execution, and strong storytelling.
• Ability to take an idea from an early concept to a working prototype and compelling presentation.
• Hands-on experience building interactive experiences with code and selecting appropriate tools for each experiment.
• Strong visual and interaction design skills, attention to detail, and ability to make complex ideas accessible.
• Curiosity about AI video, world models, agentic systems, and emerging generative media.
• Comfort working in ambiguous research environments, defining direction, learning new tools, and clearly explaining the purpose and potential of the work.

Culture & Benefits

• Work with a creative, open-minded, caring, and ambitious research and exploration team.
• Collaborate across research, engineering, and design disciplines.
• Equal-opportunity workplace committed to inclusion and pay equity.
• Salary is determined based on experience, skills, qualifications, market rates, and internal equity.