Research Scientist, Data

About the RoleAt Pika, we are pioneering the next generation of creative infrastructure built around real-time, multimodal generation and intelligent agentic platforms. We are looking for a staff or lead-level Research Engineer, Data to architect and scale data engineering systems supporting model training for our advanced multimodal foundation models. This pivotal role will strengthen our research teams by building, optimizing, and owning large-scale data pipelines and robust ML data curation, ensuring our foundation models have access to the highest quality and most diverse datasets. If you are passionate about powerful data infrastructure and innovative research-engineering, join us to make an impact for millions of creators.What You’ll DoTake ownership of large-scale data pipeline architecture and implementation to support model training and research workflows for text, image, audio, and video datasetsPartner with research and engineering teams to curate, clean, and manage diverse, sensory-rich datasets for pre-training and mid-training of multimodal modelsDevelop strategies and tools for scalable data ingestion, labeling, filtering, augmentation, and storageEnsure data quality, reliability, and compliance, including managing privacy and ethical considerations throughout the data lifecycleOptimize data processing, transformation, and delivery for large-scale distributed training pipelinesPrototype and productionize new methods for dataset creation, management, and continuous improvement in response to researcher needsContribute to the integration of research-driven data advancements into production-ready systemsStay informed on emerging data engineering and ML data management developments, bringing best practices to our systemsWhat We’re Looking For5+ years of experience building and scaling data pipelines for machine learning applications at staff or lead engineer level, ideally in research or model training environmentsStrong background in data engineering and ML data curation for LLMs, VLMs, or other large-scale multimodal modelsExpertise in distributed data systems (e.g., Spark, Hadoop, Ray, or similar) and efficient large dataset processing/ETL workflowsProven ability to build robust, scalable, and production-grade data infrastructure for ML pipelinesExperience developing tools for data labeling, filtering, deduplication, quality assurance, and dataset managementStrong programming skills (Python, SQL, PySpark, or similar) and familiarity with cloud data platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)Knowledge of privacy, compliance, ethics, and best practices in data collection and managementExcellent cross-functional collaboration, problem-solving, and communication skillsPassion for enabling cutting-edge generative AI and creative technology through data excellenceWhat We OfferCompetitive salary and substantial equity in a high-growth startupFull health benefits, 401k matching, and moreCollaborative, mission-driven team environment with major growth opportunitiesFlexible on-site/remote hybrid (HQ in Palo Alto, CA)About PikaPika empowers creators by building state-of-the-art agentic and multimedia platforms. Our vision is to break down technical barriers to creativity, making real-time generative and intelligent orchestration accessible to all. Join us and help shape the next evolution of creative technology!If you are a data-driven research engineer excited to lead and scale the data infrastructure powering real-time multimodal foundation models, we want to hear from you.Compensation Range: $185K - $400KLocationPalo Alto HQEmployment TypeFull timeLocation TypeOn-siteDepartmentResearchCompensationUS locationBase Salary $185K – $400K • 0.1% – 0.3%