Applied Researcher II (AI Foundations)

Discover Financial
Cambridge, New York, San Francisco, San Jose
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeFunction: Research & Scientific (R&D)Education: phdSkills: ["Innovative","Creative","Leadership","Translating complexity","Talent development"]

Partner with cross-functional data scientists, software and machine learning engineers, and product managers to build AI foundation models and deliver AI-powered customer experiences. Use tools such as PyTorch, AWS Ultraclusters, Hugging Face, and Lightning to extract insights from large-scale numeric and textual data. Drive applied research across the full model lifecycle—design, training, evaluation, validation, and implementation—while translating research complexity into measurable business goals.

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Discover Financial
Discover Financial
1 month ago

Applied Researcher II (AI Foundations)

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Last checked: 6 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Partner with cross-functional data scientists, software and machine learning engineers, and product managers to build AI foundation models and deliver AI-powered customer experiences. Use tools such as PyTorch, AWS Ultraclusters, Hugging Face, and Lightning to extract insights from large-scale numeric and textual data. Drive applied research across the full model lifecycle—design, training, evaluation, validation, and implementation—while translating research complexity into measurable business goals.
Location: Cambridge, New York, San Francisco, San Jose
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Research & Scientific (R&D)
Seniority: Mid level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Partner cross-functionally to deliver AI-powered products that change how customers interact with their money.
  • •Leverage a broad technology stack to analyze large volumes of numeric and textual data.
  • •Build AI foundation models across design, training, evaluation, validation, and implementation.
  • •Conduct high-impact applied research to advance state-of-the-art AI into next-generation customer experiences.
  • •Communicate research insights by translating complex work into tangible business goals.

Key Requirements

  • •Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining, a PhD (or an M.S. with specified applied research experience) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, AI, Mathematics, or a related field.
  • •2+ years of Applied Research experience (with PhD) or 4 years of Applied Research experience (with M.S.).
  • •Hands-on experience developing AI foundation models using open-source tools and cloud computing platforms.
  • •Deep understanding of AI methodology foundations and experience building large deep learning models; expertise in areas such as training optimization, self-supervised learning, robustness, explainability, or RLHF.
  • •Ability to own and pursue a research agenda, selecting impactful research problems and independently executing long-running projects.
Experience:AIMachine learningDeep learningLLMNatural language processingOpen sourceCloud computing
Education:PhD / Doctorate
Skills:InnovativeCreativeLeadershipTranslating complexityTalent development
Tech Stack:PyTorchAWS UltraclustersHuggingfaceLightningVectorDBsOpen-sourceCloud computing platformsRLHF

Eligibility

Work Authorization:Authorization required. Sponsorship not provided.

Company Brief

Discover Financial
Provides consumer banking products, credit cards, personal loans, and payment services through the Discover brand. It operates a major U.S. financial network and serves individuals and merchants with lending and digital payment solutions.
Industry: Retail Banking
Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)
Revenue: USD 10M to 25M
Growth: Public Company
Valuation: Public Company (Market Cap in USD)
Funding: IPO / Publicly Listed
Headquarters: Riverwoods, United States
Founded: 1985
WebsiteLinkedIn