Principal AI Researcher (Agentic Systems)

TL;DR

Principal AI Researcher (Agentic Systems): Driving the long-term research direction for the Trase operating system to power autonomous systems in regulated environments with an accent on agent workflows, orchestration infrastructure, and system reliability. Focus on translating frontier AI research into scalable, production-grade systems and designing safe autonomous execution frameworks.

Location: Seattle, WA, McLean, VA, or Remote. Must be based in the USA

Salary: $250,000-300,000

Company

An incubation firm building scalable technology companies in healthcare, cyber, and national security, specifically Trase Systems which specializes in AI agent innovation.

What you will do

• Define and evolve the long-term AI/ML research strategy and technical roadmap for Trase OS.
• Lead large-scale experimentation and prototyping to translate frontier research into scalable, production-grade systems.
• Drive breakthroughs in agentic systems, autonomous execution, multi-agent orchestration, and post-training systems.
• Design agent workflows, planning, memory systems, reasoning, and human-in-the-loop controls.
• Establish evaluation methodologies and reliability frameworks for autonomous systems, including safety and controllability.
• Mentor technical teams and contribute to the AI research community through publications and thought leadership.

Requirements

• 12–15+ years of experience in machine learning, AI systems, or applied AI research.
• Strong research and publication track record in top-tier conferences or influential open-source AI infrastructure.
• Deep expertise in LLMs, generative AI, agentic systems, reasoning systems, or reinforcement learning.
• Hands-on experience with prompt engineering, RAG, RLHF, SLMs, and fine-tuning techniques.
• Proven experience building and operating enterprise-grade AI systems at scale.
• Strong programming skills in Python; experience in Java or related systems languages preferred.

Nice to have

• PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI, Systems, or a related field.
• Experience building AI/ML platforms supporting the full model lifecycle.
• Experience optimizing ML inference or orchestration in real-time or resource-constrained environments.

Culture & Benefits

• 100% employer-paid comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and families.
• Unlimited PTO and 14 weeks of paid maternity and paternity leave.
• Optional 401K, FSA, and equity incentives.
• Professional development opportunities and mental health benefits via Tara Mind.
• Rapid career advancement opportunities within a growing incubation firm.