Principal Research Scientist (AI Optimization)

Location: United States of America; flexible hybrid work with occasional in-person events or team sessions.

Salary: $160,965–$349,885 per year, with possible discretionary annual bonus or commissions.

Company

hirify.global operates a programmatic advertising platform and develops mathematical models and algorithms for real-time marketplace optimization.

What you will do

• Lead research, architecture, and production deployment of algorithms for budget pacing, bid optimization, and marketplace supply-and-demand balancing.
• Design agentic AI workflows using coding agents, automated experiment orchestration, and agent-driven validation.
• Apply control theory, convex and stochastic optimization, and machine learning to real-time marketplace dynamics under uncertainty.
• Own multi-quarter research initiatives from mathematical formulation through production rollout, including metrics and evaluation frameworks.
• Drive AI-assisted refactoring, automated test generation, and LLM-based research synthesis.
• Set technical strategy, mentor senior scientists and engineers, and communicate research and architecture decisions to executive and cross-functional partners.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in computer science, electrical engineering, operations research, statistics, mathematics, or a related quantitative field.
• 8+ years of experience designing and deploying large-scale optimization, control systems, or machine learning models in production.
• Deep knowledge of probability, convex and stochastic optimization, and control theory, including feedback control or model predictive control.
• Production programming experience with Python, Java, C++, SQL, or Spark, plus low-latency or distributed data architecture experience.
• Hands-on experience with AI pair-programming, developer automation, and agentic orchestration tools.
• Ability to evaluate and validate AI-generated research artifacts and code against safety, accuracy, and performance standards.

Nice to have

• Research or production experience in computational advertising, real-time bidding auctions, or dual-sided marketplaces.
• Peer-reviewed publications or patents in computational advertising, control theory, or applied optimization.
• Experience leading system re-architectures with agentic workflows or automated research pipelines.
• Familiarity with high-throughput, low-latency distributed computing frameworks.

Culture & Benefits

• Flexible hybrid work with advance notice for occasional in-person events and team sessions.
• Healthcare benefits and a 401(k) plan.
• Backup childcare and education stipends.
• Employee resource groups supporting an inclusive workplace.