Research Lead / Principal Scientist & Manager Post-Training · Alignment · Reinf

Autodesk AI Lab is seeking a Research Lead / Principal Scientist to define and drive the research strategy for post-training and alignment of foundation models. The role combines hands-on research in RLHF, preference optimization, agentic systems, and long-horizon reasoning with leadership of a team of AI scientists. The position also involves designing rigorous evaluation frameworks, partnering with infrastructure teams, and publishing at top-tier conferences. This is a deeply technical leadership role reporting to the Senior Director of AI Research.

• Own the post-training research strategy for foundation model development, including RLHF, preference optimization, and agentic systems.
• Develop novel algorithms that improve model reliability, controllability, and alignment.
• Make principled architectural decisions about pre-training, post-training, or system-level approaches.
• Design and run experiments that shape model behavior, robustness, and reasoning quality.
• Partner with infrastructure teams to build scalable, reproducible post-training workflows.
• Lead model evaluation, interpretability, and human-in-the-loop annotation efforts.

• PhD or equivalent experience in machine learning, computer science, or a related field.
• Deep expertise in post-training techniques such as RLHF and preference optimization.
• Proven publication record at top-tier AI venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, or SIGGRAPH).