AI Lead Research Scientist
Lucas James Talent Partners · Evanston, IL
$160,000
Jul 26, 2026
Evanston, IL
Jul 29, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior research role focused on NLP and large language model safety within a nonprofit digital safety institute. The position involves leading independent test and evaluation programs, securing competitive research funding as a principal investigator, designing experiments, and publishing findings at academic conferences. It suits a deep specialist in NLP/LLMs with a track record of leading research programs and winning external funding.
Senior level · 6+ years · Remote · Bachelor's required · Full-time
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 1,050 people nationally plausibly meet what this posting asks for (data scientists). range 450–1,600
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
What the occupation pays Median $122,874 (middle half $87,544–$162,374).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
The title 'Lead Research Scientist in AI' carries no standard seniority level word (Junior/Senior/Staff/Principal), so the title states no level; however, the scope — principal investigator, program leadership, proposal development, 6–12+ years of experience depending on degree — firmly supports Senior.
SOC classification is a genuine judgment call: the role is primarily an applied AI research scientist focused on NLP/LLM safety evaluation, which sits between Data Scientists (15-2051) and Computer Occupations, All Other (15-1299). 15-2051 was chosen because the work centers on experimental design, data analysis, and advancing ML/NLP science; 15-1299 is the runner-up given the strong software engineering and test-and-evaluation framing.
Degree requirement: the JD offers three equivalent paths — PhD + 6 yrs, Master's + 8 yrs, or Bachelor's + 12 yrs — so Bachelor's is the minimum formal degree that can satisfy the requirement. The overall years minimum is set to 6 (the minimum years required under the PhD path, which is the lowest overall experience gate).
The JD names very few concrete named technologies beyond NLP and LLMs; most requirements are framed as research competencies (proposal development, principal investigator experience, keynote presentations, publication record) rather than specific tools or frameworks. No specific software stack, libraries, or platforms are mentioned.
No compensation figures are provided in the posting.
The role is explicitly stated as fully remote with no geographic restriction beyond the US context of the hiring organization.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): data analysis.
Read the full posting
The employer publishes the full description on their own site — read it there ↗. Or sign in to read it here — it's free, and it also lets you track this application.