Member of Technical Staff, Research

Job Application for Member of Technical Staff, Research at Fireworks AI

Member of Technical Staff, Research San Mateo, CA

About Us:

At Fireworks, we’re building the future of generative AI infrastructure. Our platform delivers the highest-quality models with the fastest and most scalable inference in the industry. We’ve been independently benchmarked as the leader in LLM inference speed and are driving cutting-edge innovation through projects like our own function calling and multimodal models. Fireworks is a Series C company valued at $4 billion and backed by top investors including Benchmark, Sequoia, Lightspeed, Index, and Evantic. We’re an ambitious, collaborative team of builders, founded by veterans of Meta PyTorch and Google Vertex AI.

The Role:

As a Member of Technical Staff on the Research team, you’ll push the boundaries of generative AI, advancing LLMs and multimodal systems through foundational research. Your work will enhance model efficiency, accuracy, and scalability, directly shaping our high-performance AI infrastructure. You'll collaborate with top experts in deep learning, distributed systems, and optimization to bring cutting-edge research into real-world applications. You'll also have the opportunity to shape how some of the world’s leading companies build and deploy AI through the models and tools you help create.

Key Responsibilities

Conduct foundational research to advance the capabilities, efficiency, and reliability of LLMs and multimodal systems

Design, implement, and evaluate novel model architectures, training methods, and optimization techniques

Collaborate with engineering teams to transition research prototypes into production-grade systems

Analyze empirical results, identify performance bottlenecks, and iterate quickly to improve model quality

Contribute to internal research strategy by identifying high-impact opportunities and emerging trends in AI

Minimum Qualifications:

Research background in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Physics, or similar field

Experience solving analytical problems using analytic and quantitative approaches

Experience communicating research to audiences with different backgrounds

Experience coding in C/C++, Python, or other similar languages

Preferred Qualifications:

PhD degree in Computer Science, Computational Physics, Mathematics, or a similar field

Research and engineering experience demonstrated via grants, fellowships, patents, internships, work experience, and/or coding competitions

Experience having first-authored publications at peer-reviewed conferences or journals

Experience working with ML frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Jax

Total compensation for this role also includes meaningful equity in a fast-growing startup, along with a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package. Base salary is determined by a range of factors including individual qualifications, experience, skills, interview performance, market data, and work location. The listed salary range is intended as a guideline and may be adjusted.

Base Pay Range (Plus Equity) $175,000 - $240,000 USD

Why Fireworks AI?

Solve Hard Problems: Tackle challenges at the forefront of AI infrastructure, from low-latency inference to scalable model serving.

Build What’s Next: Work with bleeding-edge technology that impacts how businesses and developers harness AI globally.

Ownership & Impact: Join a fast-growing, passionate team where your work directly shapes the future of AI—no bureaucracy, just results.

Learn from the Best: Collaborate with world-class engineers and AI researchers who thrive on curiosity and innovation.

Fireworks AI is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all innovators.

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