AI Institute Fellow in Residence

Schmidt Sciences is a nonprofit organization founded in 2024 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt that works to accelerate scientific knowledge and breakthroughs with the most promising, advanced tools to support a thriving planet. The organization prioritizes research in areas poised for impact including AI and advanced computing, astrophysics, biosciences, climate, and space, as well as supporting researchers in a variety of disciplines through its science systems program.

Schmidt Sciences invites recent PhD graduates in AI and computer science to apply for a 12-18 month Fellows‑in‑Residence program. Reporting to the Director of the AI Institute at Schmidt Sciences, fellows would split their time between supporting the AI Institute—e.g., by exploring new grant‑making programs—and pursuing specific research projects aligned with the Institute’s priorities. Up to four fellows will be hired in 2026.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

For this cohort, we are most interested in hiring experts in the following domains:

• AI agent inter‑operability and emerging communication in multi‑agent systems
• AI for scientific discovery
• Hardware‑enabled verification of AI agreements
• AI’s impact on the labor market
• Science of trustworthy AI and alignment

Note:

AI Institute priorities will evolve with the Institute’s growth and the rapid evolution of AI, so the Institute might have different priorities in future years.

The goal of this fellowship is to allow early‑career AI researchers a flexible environment in which to pursue specific research projects while contributing to the building of the AI Institute at Schmidt Sciences. Fellows would split their time, roughly equally, between project‑focused work and work for the AI Institute as directed.

Fellows would propose specific projects as part of their application for the fellowship. We would agree on these projects before fellows arrive. Fellows must be able to complete their projects during their fellowship. Projects must align with AI Institute goals and research directions.

• Opportunity to apply for up to $50,000 of compute credits and API credits over the course of the fellowship.
• Opportunity to apply for up to $50,000 in funding for targeted convenings, workshops, working sessions, etc. to advance exploration in various AI research areas.
• Opportunity to apply for travel funds to collaborate with others on research projects.
• Access to Schmidt Sciences’ network of stakeholders in the AI ecosystem.

Each fellowship will be 12‑18 months long, with flexibility around start and end dates to accommodate academic commitments and other needs.

Fellows will be based at our offices in New York City. Fellows will be permitted to spend a portion of their time at a local university.

Fellows would report to the Director of the AI Institute at Schmidt Sciences. Each fellow would receive a mentor, who would be an AI Institute team member, and who would assist their onboarding to the organization.

Fellows will be permitted to keep their existing academic appointments, as long as they do not conflict with either institution’s policies (e.g., conflict of interest policies).

Fellows will be invited to interview with Schmidt Sciences on the basis of their academic accomplishments and publications, the relevance of their academic research to the AI Institute’s priorities, and the relevance and quality of their proposed research projects. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

• Scoping out a grant‑making program in a particular AI domain of interest to Schmidt Sciences and the fellow. If mutually agreeable, this could move beyond scoping to launching the program. In areas where Schmidt Sciences has agreed to invest before the fellow arrives, that fellow could help launch the program and potentially recommend initial grants.
• Conducting research into a specific AI domain of mutual interest, with the intent of writing and releasing a technical paper.
• Organizing a series of workshops on a topic of mutual interest to build the research community in that topic.…