Research Scientist, Compilers and Programming Languages

Research Scientist, Compilers and Programming Languages

Join to apply for the Research Scientist, Compilers and Programming Languages role at Basis Research Institute

Base pay range: $/yr - $/yr. This range is provided by Basis Research Institute. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Basis is a nonprofit applied AI research organization with two mutually reinforcing goals. The first is to understand and build intelligence
. This means to establish the mathematical principles of what it means to reason, to learn, to make decisions, to understand, and to explain; and to construct software that implements these principles.

The second is to advance society’s ability to solve intractable problems
. This means expanding the scale, complexity, and breadth of problems that we can solve today, and even more importantly, accelerating our ability to solve problems in the future.

To achieve these goals, we’re building both a new technological foundation that draws inspiration from how humans reason, and a new kind of collaborative organization that puts human values first.

Research scientists advance Basis’ efforts to develop a deeper understanding of the conceptual, mathematical, and computational principles of intelligence. Research scientists at Basis are distinguished by the following traits:

• Exceptional technical depth—solid mathematical and computational foundations.
• A builder's mindset—ability to design, construct, and refine complex systems from foundational principles.
• Scientific rigor—rigorous, high-quality, robust science, without fear of tinkering, making mistakes, and exploring radically different ideas in order to get there.

This role targets experts in programming languages design, implementation, and analysis. Research scientists will help design and implement the core computational reasoning systems that Basis is developing.

The core areas of PL research encompass compiler design, partial evaluation, program analysis, abstract interpretation, and program transformation. These are developed within the context of building reasoning systems. Consequently, research scientists will also engage with topics such as probabilistic programming, automatic differentiation, and SAT/SMT solvers, among others.

• Have a PhD (or equivalent experience) in a relevant area.
• Have demonstrated an ability to conduct first‑class scientific research, published in venues such as PLDI, OOPSLA, and POPL, or in technical reports.
• Have demonstrated an ability to write excellent software.
• Be excited about solving real‑world problems and having a positive societal impact.
• Have demonstrated significant technical achievements within PL research and engineering. Examples include:
• You’ve designed the full stack of a novel programming language, all the way from a formalized semantics to an optimized compiler.
• You’ve contributed heavily to the compiler infrastructure of a machine learning or statistics framework, such as PyTorch, Stan, or Jax.
• You’ve built a program analysis technique that has helped identify bugs or inefficiencies in a real code base.

• Design, implement, and maintain programming languages tools for Basis' core reasoning technology.
• Develop and explore computational theories of intelligence, including reasoning, learning, and decision‑making.
• Collaborate with domain experts on Basis scientific and societal challenge problems.
• Publish and present findings in journals and conferences (optional).
• Contribute to the culture and direction of Basis.

• FT/PT:
  This is a full‑time position.
• Hours:
  
  While we prioritize in‑person collaboration for its benefits to creative work, there is a degree of flexibility in your working hours. Be prepared to attend multi‑day Basis‑wide in‑person events.
• Location:
  
  In‑person in either New York City or Cambridge, MA.
• Salary range:
  Competitive salary and bonuses.

By submitting your application, you grant Basis permission to use your materials for both hiring evaluation and recruitment‑related research and development purposes. Your information may be processed in different countries, including the US. You retain copyright while providing Basis a license to use these materials for the stated purposes.

Mid‑Senior level

Full‑time

In‑person in either New York City or Cambridge, MA.