Director, Enterprise Machine Learning & Research

The Enterprise ML team works on the front lines of the AI revolution, partnering deeply with customers to identify high-impact business problems and build cutting-edge AI systems using Scale’s proprietary research, data, and infrastructure—unlocking domain expertise through high-quality data and expert feedback.

As Director of Enterprise ML, you will lead a world-class team of research scientists and engineers, define the research roadmap, and drive execution from early prototyping to deployment. You’ll thrive in a fast-moving environment, balancing deep technical leadership with people management, vision setting, and delivery.

This role is ideal for a leader who thrives in ambiguity, understands both frontier GenAI capabilities and their limitations, and is motivated by turning research into durable, production-ready systems.

What You’ll Do

• Lead, mentor and grow a team of research scientists and engineers working on GenAI research initiatives (e.g., evaluation, post-training, agents, RL environments).  
• Define and drive a multi-year research roadmap: identify key scientific questions, set milestones, allocate resources, and ensure rigorous execution.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, product, client-facing teams and external academic or industry partners to translate research into components, insights, and actionable outcomes.
• Communicate compellingly: publish research, present at conferences, engage in open-source contributions, and represent the team externally.
• Drive an inclusive, high-performing culture: help your team through technical challenges, provide growth opportunities, and attract top talent.
• Stay deeply connected to the research community, understanding major trends, and helping set them.
• Thrive in a high-energy, fast-paced startup environment and are ready to dedicate the time and effort needed to drive impactful results.

What We’re Looking For

Core Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on research experience (PhD or equivalent preferred) in machine learning, deep learning, generative models, agent/rl systems or related domains.
• A strong track record of research excellence, including publications in top-tier ML/AI venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, etc.).
• Experience and track of recording in landing major research impacts in a fast-paced environment
• Experience leading or managing research teams. You’re excited to mentor, coach and develop talent.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. You are able to articulate research ideas and outcomes to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence executives, customers, and cross-functional partners

Nice to Have

• Hands-on experience building and deploying agent-based, tool-augmented, or workflow-driven LLM systems in enterprise environments
• Prior ownership of enterprise AI platforms, internal ML products, or customer-facing AI services at scale
• Proven track record of partnering directly with enterprises to identify high-impact use cases and deliver measurable business outcomes