Machine Learning Scientist, Scientific Reasoning

Machine Learning Scientist I/II, Scientific Reasoning

Cambridge, MA USA

As a Machine Learning Scientist focused on Scientific Reasoning, you will help pioneer the next generation of AI systems capable of reasoning like a scientist. You’ll design novel frameworks that push the boundaries of LLM-based reasoning methods — while also implementing scalable frameworks that integrate with Lila’s platforms. This role bridges deep theoretical thinking with practical ML engineering, enabling breakthroughs in how scientific hypotheses are generated, tested, deployed and optimized.

What You'll Be Building

• Design and formalize frameworks for
  scientific reasoning with LLMs
  , including structured prompting, reasoning chains, and test-time compute.
• Explore and implement methods for
  in-context learning, self-reflection, and adaptive reasoning
  in scientific discovery workflows.
• Build
  scalable model prototypes that can be deployed to solve frontier scientific problems.
• Collaborate with scientists and engineers to encode
  domain knowledge
  into reasoning systems that integrate symbolic and statistical approaches.

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• PhD (preferred) or equivalent research/industry experience in Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI, Engineering, Materials Science or related fields.
• Strong programming skills in
  Python
  with deep expertise in LLM frameworks (PyTorch,Hugging Face Transformers,
  Lang Chain, Llama Index
  , and related toolkits).
• Expertise in
  LLM reasoning methods
  : in-context learning, test-time compute, chain-of-thought, or tool-augmented reasoning.
• Ability to balance
  theoretical research
  with
  practical ML engineering
  to deliver scalable solutions.

Bonus Points For

• Research experience in
  causal reasoning, symbolic AI, or probabilistic programming
  .
• Contributions to
  open-source LLM reasoning frameworks
  .
• Familiarity with
  scientific discovery pipelines
  in chemistry, biology, or materials science.
• Experience with
  multimodal reasoning
  (e.g., combining text, image, and experimental data).
• Publications in top ML/AI conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL).

About Lila

Lila Sciences is the world’s first scientific superintelligence platform and autonomous lab for life, chemistry, and materials science. We are pioneering a new age of boundless discovery by building the capabilities to apply AI to every aspect of the scientific method. We are introducing scientific superintelligence to solve humankind's greatest challenges, enabling scientists to bring forth solutions in human health, climate, and sustainability at a pace and scale never experienced before.

Learn more about this mission a.ai

If this sounds like an environment you’d love to work in, even if you only have some of the experience listed below, we encourage you to apply.

Compensation

We expect the base salary for this role to fall between $176,000-$304,000 USD per year
, along with bonus potential and generous early equity. The final offer will reflect your unique background, expertise, and impact.

Lila Sciences is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

A Note to Agencies

Lila Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Lila Sciences or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Lila Science’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Lila Sciences, and Lila Sciences will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.