Machine Learning Research Scientist jobs in 2026 — required skills, demand trends, and top hiring cities

As of 2026-09-30, Skillenai has indexed 18 job postings with the title “Machine Learning Research Scientist” over the past 90 days. The skill mentioned most often is RLHF.

Last updated · 90d ending 2026-09-30

Postings · last 90 days
18
Most-required skill
Top hiring metro
San Francisco

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Frequently asked questions about Machine Learning Research Scientist jobs

+How many Machine Learning Research Scientist jobs are being posted in 2026?

Skillenai has indexed 18 job postings with the title “Machine Learning Research Scientist” over the 90 days ending 2026-09-30.

+What skills do Machine Learning Research Scientist jobs require?

Across Machine Learning Research Scientist postings indexed by Skillenai over the 90 days ending 2026-09-30, the skills mentioned most often are RLHF, Reinforcement learning, reward modeling, deep learning, Preference modeling.

+Which cities are hiring the most Machine Learning Research Scientist?

As of 2026-09-30, Machine Learning Research Scientist postings indexed by Skillenai are concentrated in San Francisco, Seattle, Mountain View, New York City, Seoul.

+Is Machine Learning Research Scientist a good career path right now?

Skillenai indexes 18 Machine Learning Research Scientist postings over the 90 days ending 2026-09-30. The skill mentioned most often in Machine Learning Research Scientist postings is RLHF, so building it gives the strongest signal that an applicant matches the role.

+How can I track new Machine Learning Research Scientist job postings as they’re indexed?

Skillenai sends a daily email digest of new Machine Learning Research Scientist postings indexed across the open web. Subscribe from your account dashboard after creating a free Skillenai account.

+What roles do people move into and out of Machine Learning Research Scientist?

The career-flow chart shows roles before and after observed employer changes across all locations. Counts are moves, not distinct people or promotion probabilities. Same-role moves to another employer are included. The incoming and outgoing sides are separate groups of observations, not a matched three-stage journey.

Weekly indexed Machine Learning Research Scientist postings — last 90 days

Career paths through Machine Learning Research Scientist

Different-role employer moves. Each side is scaled independently.

Historical career profiles · all locations

1 employer moves kept the same role.

Roles before Machine Learning Research Scientist

Before Machine Learning Research ScientistMachine Learning Engineer → Machine Learning Research Scientist: 3 observed employer movesResearcher → Machine Learning Research Scientist: 2 observed employer movesResearch Assistant → Machine Learning Research Scientist: 2 observed employer movesGraduate Assistant → Machine Learning Research Scientist: 2 observed employer movesResearch Scientist → Machine Learning Research Scientist: 2 observed employer movesIntern → Machine Learning Research Scientist: 1 observed employer movesData Scientist → Machine Learning Research Scientist: 1 observed employer movesML Research Scientist → Machine Learning Research Scientist: 1 observed employer movesMachineLearningResearchScientistMachine Learning Engineer: 3 movesMachine LearningEngineer3 movesResearcher: 2 movesResearcher2 movesResearch Assistant: 2 movesResearch Assistant2 movesGraduate Assistant: 2 movesGraduate Assistant2 movesResearch Scientist: 2 movesResearch Scientist2 movesIntern: 1 movesIntern1 movesData Scientist: 1 movesData Scientist1 movesML Research Scientist: 1 movesML ResearchScientist1 moves

Roles after Machine Learning Research Scientist

After Machine Learning Research ScientistMachine Learning Research Scientist → Machine Learning Engineer: 2 observed employer movesMachine Learning Research Scientist → Research Collaborator: 1 observed employer movesMachine Learning Research Scientist → Machine Learning Scientist: 1 observed employer movesMachine Learning Research Scientist → Applied AI Research Scientist: 1 observed employer movesMachine Learning Research Scientist → Machine Learning Researcher: 1 observed employer movesMachine Learning Research Scientist → Chief Technology Officer: 1 observed employer movesMachine Learning Research Scientist → Data Scientist: 1 observed employer movesMachineLearningResearchScientistMachine Learning Engineer: 2 movesMachine LearningEngineer2 movesResearch Collaborator: 1 movesResearchCollaborator1 movesMachine Learning Scientist: 1 movesMachine LearningScientist1 movesApplied AI Research Scientist: 1 movesApplied AIResearch Scientist1 movesMachine Learning Researcher: 1 movesMachine LearningResearcher1 movesChief Technology Officer: 1 movesChief TechnologyOfficer1 movesData Scientist: 1 movesData Scientist1 moves
How to read this chart · view counts

Each side is an independent set of observed employer moves, not the same people followed through three stages. Ribbon widths compare move counts within that side. Internal moves are not included.

Same role means a change of employer while keeping the same role. Counts are moves, not distinct people, promotions, or your chances of making a particular move.

Source: Skillenai talent graph, historical career profiles. Historical descriptions and coverage can change. Only the leading published connections are shown.

Observed connections and move counts
ConnectionMoves
Before: Machine Learning Engineer3
Before: Researcher2
Before: Research Assistant2
Before: Graduate Assistant2
Before: Research Scientist2
Before: Intern1
Before: Data Scientist1
Before: ML Research Scientist1
After: Machine Learning Engineer2
After: Research Collaborator1
After: Machine Learning Scientist1
After: Machine Learning Research Scientist (different employer)1
After: Applied AI Research Scientist1
After: Machine Learning Researcher1
After: Chief Technology Officer1
After: Data Scientist1

Skills most often required for Machine Learning Research Scientist

NamePostingsShare
RLHF950.0%
Reinforcement learning950.0%
reward modeling738.9%
deep learning738.9%
Preference modeling633.3%
Large-scale model fine-tuning633.3%
instruction tuning633.3%
SFT633.3%
LLM post-training633.3%
machine learning527.8%
Text2SQL422.2%
GUI agents422.2%
LangGraph422.2%
OpenHands422.2%
tool-use422.2%

Top companies posting Machine Learning Research Scientist jobs

Employers ranked by indexed job postings in the last 90 days.

Top companies posting Machine Learning Research Scientist jobs
CompanyPostings · 90 days
Scale AI12
CMU2
Nuro2
Match Group1
OpenBrain1

Job postings indexed over the past 90 days, grouped by resolved employer. Counts are postings, not hires. Companies without a published page appear without a link.

Top metros hiring Machine Learning Research Scientist

NamePostingsShare
San Francisco527.8%
Seattle527.8%
Mountain View211.1%
New York City211.1%
Seoul15.6%

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How this was computed

Counts derive from the Skillenai jobs index over the 90 days ending 2026-09-30, matching postings whose canonical role is “Machine Learning Research Scientist”. Pages refresh weekly (or daily for the top-50 most-posted roles). An adjusted trend is not shown because comparable posting coverage is insufficient.

role
Machine Learning Research Scientist
source
Skillenai jobs index, deduplicated daily
data_as_of
2026-09-30
window_days
90
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Compiled by Jared Rand · Data sourced from the Skillenai labor market index