Research Scientist - RL Training

About Snorkel At Snorkel, we believe meaningful AI doesn’t start with the model – it starts with the data. We’re on a mission to help enterprises transform expert knowledge into specialized AI at scale. Since our origins as a Stanford research project in 2015, we’ve kept the data you use to build AI at the center of everything we do, enabling scientists, engineers, product creators, journalists, and more to build custom AI faster than ever before. About the Role We’re looking for a Research Scientist to work on reinforcement learning for training and aligning large language models. This is a foundational research role focused on one of the most consequential open‑data problems in AI: how to generate the data, reward signals, and training procedures that steer LLM behavior in reliable and generalizable directions – a core capability that directly differentiates Snorkel’s data‑as‑a‑service offering. You will collaborate with Snorkel’s research, engineering, and delivery teams to advance our RL data capabilities, translating research ideas into preference datasets, reward models, and RL‑ready corpora that customers use to train and fine‑tune large language models. Responsibilities Research and implement reinforcement learning techniques – including GRPO, RLHF, RLAIF, DPO, and reward modeling – and translate them into data products such as preference datasets, reward signals, and verifiable rewards that customers can use to train and fine‑tune large language models. Design and build data pipelines that generate high‑quality training signals for RL workflows, including AI‑assisted data annotation and curation pipelines to improve model generalization to unseen benchmarks. Prototype and iterate on end‑to‑end RL training recipes that inform what data Snorkel ships as part of its data‑as‑a‑service deliveries. Work closely with research scientists, ML engineers, and delivery teams to translate RL research into customer‑ready data products. Stay current with the latest developments in large‑scale multi‑node LLM training, alignment research, and scalable RL methods on complex environments such as Terminal‑Bench, and bring relevant advances into Snorkel’s data‑as‑a‑service approach. Contribute to Snorkel’s research publications and internal knowledge base in RL and model training. Preferred Qualifications Deep expertise in reinforcement learning from human or AI feedback, reward modeling, and credit attribution – ideally with a clear perspective on what data makes these techniques work. Experience training or fine‑tuning 30B+ large language models at scale, including familiarity with distributed training infrastructure. Strong proficiency in Python and ML frameworks, especially PyTorch and HuggingFace, and hands‑on experience with RL frameworks such as Verl and SkyRL. Solid software engineering fundamentals – you can build research prototypes that others can run, extend, and integrate into data production workflows. Familiarity with ML infrastructure and cloud platforms and tools (AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, Slurm, etc.); experience with large‑scale RL training pipelines is a strong plus. Comfort operating in a high‑iteration environment with open‑ended research questions and shifting, customer‑driven technical constraints. Ph.D. in machine learning, reinforcement learning, or a related field strongly preferred; exceptional industry experience considered. Benefits and Growth Joining Snorkel AI means becoming part of a company that has market‑proven solutions, robust funding, and is scaling rapidly. As a member of our team, you’ll have meaningful opportunities to shape priorities and initiatives, influence key strategic decisions, and directly impact our ongoing success. Whether you’re looking to deepen your technical expertise, explore leadership opportunities, or learn new skills across multiple functions, you’ll be fully supported in building your career in an environment designed for growth, learning, and shared success. Equal Employment Opportunity Statement Snorkel AI is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and is committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Snorkel AI embraces diversity and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. Snorkel AI prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, performance, merit, and business need. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. #J-18808-Ljbffr Snorkel AI