AI Researcher Jobs in San Jose, CA
AI Researcher jobs in San Jose are concentrated in North San Jose, Downtown, and the Alviso tech corridor, with strong demand across semiconductor, enterprise software, and applied AI sectors. Employers actively hiring include ByteDance, TikTok, and Honda Research Institute USA. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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- Health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance
- Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with company match
- Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per year, accruing at a rate of 6.15 hours per pay period for the first five years of employment
- Sick Time: 40 hours/year (increased to 69 hours/year for Seattle) including 5 discretionary sick days per instance
- Maternity Leave (Short-Term Disability + Baby Bonding): 28-30 weeks
- Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks
- Holidays: 13 paid days per year
Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Kirkland, WA, USA; New York, NY, USA; San Jose, CA, USA.
Minimum qualifications:
- PhD degree in Economics, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
- 2 years of experience leading a research agenda.
- One or more publications in an economics or AI journal or conference (such as the ICSE or FSE).
Preferred qualifications:
- Applied experience with NLP/LLM frameworks (e.g., embeddings, text classification, prompt engineering, fine-tuning/distillation) applied to quantitative research or social science problems.
- Demonstrated proficiency in Python and standard scientific computing/ML libraries (pandas, NumPy, PyTorch/JAX, scikit-learn, statsmodels).
- Deep theoretical and practical expertise in causal inference, experimental and quasi-experimental design, and econometrics.
- Track record of developing ML solutions for real world problems.
About the job
As an organization, Google maintains a portfolio of research projects driven by fundamental research, new product innovation, product contribution and infrastructure goals, while providing individuals and teams the freedom to emphasize specific types of work. As a Research Scientist, you'll setup large-scale tests and deploy promising ideas quickly and broadly, managing deadlines and deliverables while applying the latest theories to develop new and improved products, processes, or technologies. From creating experiments and prototyping implementations to designing new architectures, our research scientists work on real-world problems that span the breadth of computer science, such as machine (and deep) learning, data mining, natural language processing, hardware and software performance analysis, improving compilers for mobile platforms, as well as core search and much more.
As a Research Scientist, you'll also actively contribute to the wider research community by sharing and publishing your findings, with ideas inspired by internal projects as well as from collaborations with research programs at partner universities and technical institutes all over the world.
Our team works across all of Google to architect the foundational intelligence layer for Google's agentic ecosystem, engineering the data, insights, and feedback loops that empower developers and autonomous agents. Our work powers product decisions within our organization and helps Google to understand the impact of AI on the socio-technical systems that drive our business.
We value technical curiosity, collaborative visioning, and a bias toward action that celebrates fast failures that lead to clear learnings.
US: $174000 - $252000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google.
Responsibilities
- Take nebulous socio-technical AI impact questions and turn them into concrete, validated, measurement strategies. Scale research strategies through Data Science and UXR partnerships.
- Apply causal frameworks (e.g., difference-in-differences, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, synthetic controls, quasi-experiments) to understand AI impact from observational and behavioral data.
- Advise Product areas and Product teams on data driven system improvements e.g., how to better utilize AI in the software development lifecycle, how to improve product strategy to meet new development approaches, etc.
- Mentor junior quantitative researchers and data scientists, establishing best practices for statistical inference, study design, and empirical reproducibility.
- Health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance
- Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with company match
- Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per year, accruing at a rate of 6.15 hours per pay period for the first five years of employment
- Sick Time: 40 hours/year (increased to 69 hours/year for Seattle) including 5 discretionary sick days per instance
- Maternity Leave (Short-Term Disability + Baby Bonding): 28-30 weeks
- Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks
- Holidays: 13 paid days per year
Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Kirkland, WA, USA; New York, NY, USA; San Jose, CA, USA.
Minimum qualifications:
- PhD degree in Economics, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
- 2 years of experience leading a research agenda.
- One or more publications in an economics or AI journal or conference (such as the ICSE or FSE).
Preferred qualifications:
- Applied experience with NLP/LLM frameworks (e.g., embeddings, text classification, prompt engineering, fine-tuning/distillation) applied to quantitative research or social science problems.
- Demonstrated proficiency in Python and standard scientific computing/ML libraries (pandas, NumPy, PyTorch/JAX, scikit-learn, statsmodels).
- Deep theoretical and practical expertise in causal inference, experimental and quasi-experimental design, and econometrics.
- Track record of developing ML solutions for real world problems.
About the job
As an organization, Google maintains a portfolio of research projects driven by fundamental research, new product innovation, product contribution and infrastructure goals, while providing individuals and teams the freedom to emphasize specific types of work. As a Research Scientist, you'll setup large-scale tests and deploy promising ideas quickly and broadly, managing deadlines and deliverables while applying the latest theories to develop new and improved products, processes, or technologies. From creating experiments and prototyping implementations to designing new architectures, our research scientists work on real-world problems that span the breadth of computer science, such as machine (and deep) learning, data mining, natural language processing, hardware and software performance analysis, improving compilers for mobile platforms, as well as core search and much more.
As a Research Scientist, you'll also actively contribute to the wider research community by sharing and publishing your findings, with ideas inspired by internal projects as well as from collaborations with research programs at partner universities and technical institutes all over the world.
Our team works across all of Google to architect the foundational intelligence layer for Google's agentic ecosystem, engineering the data, insights, and feedback loops that empower developers and autonomous agents. Our work powers product decisions within our organization and helps Google to understand the impact of AI on the socio-technical systems that drive our business.
We value technical curiosity, collaborative visioning, and a bias toward action that celebrates fast failures that lead to clear learnings.
US: $174000 - $252000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google.
Responsibilities
- Take nebulous socio-technical AI impact questions and turn them into concrete, validated, measurement strategies. Scale research strategies through Data Science and UXR partnerships.
- Apply causal frameworks (e.g., difference-in-differences, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, synthetic controls, quasi-experiments) to understand AI impact from observational and behavioral data.
- Advise Product areas and Product teams on data driven system improvements e.g., how to better utilize AI in the software development lifecycle, how to improve product strategy to meet new development approaches, etc.
- Mentor junior quantitative researchers and data scientists, establishing best practices for statistical inference, study design, and empirical reproducibility.
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Find AI Researcher JobsAI Researcher Job Market in San Jose
Who's Hiring
- ByteDance81
- TikTok43
- Honda Research Institute USA12
- Adobe6
- Hume AI6
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software25
- Science & Research9
- Automotive6
AI Researcher Jobs in San Jose: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a ai researcher job in San Jose?
Focus on employers in North San Jose's semiconductor and chip design firms, Downtown's enterprise software companies, and the applied AI labs clustered near the airport corridor. Candidates who can demonstrate hands-on experience with large language models, computer vision, or reinforcement learning stand out in this market. Publishing research, contributing to open-source projects, and building connections through local AI meetups in San Jose sharpens your edge considerably.
Which companies hire ai researchers in San Jose?
San Jose ai researcher roles are posted by ByteDance, TikTok, and Honda Research Institute USA and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. The local market is shaped heavily by established semiconductor companies, enterprise cloud platforms, and well-funded AI startups that have made San Jose their operational base.
Are there remote ai researcher jobs in San Jose?
Yes, though roles requiring lab access, specialized hardware, or collaborative prototyping tend to be on-site. About 17% of ai researcher openings tied to San Jose are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting broader flexibility among enterprise software and cloud AI employers here. Purely theoretical or modeling-focused positions are the most likely to offer full remote options within this market.
How can I get a ai researcher job in San Jose with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in San Jose is through a research internship or associate researcher role at one of the city's large semiconductor or enterprise AI firms, which regularly recruit new graduates from nearby programs. Lateral moves from data science or ML engineering roles within local companies are also common. A strong portfolio of independent projects or published work, even at a small scale, carries real weight with San Jose hiring teams.
Which industries hire the most ai researchers in San Jose?
The sectors hiring the most ai researchers in San Jose are Technology & Software, Science & Research, and Automotive, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. San Jose's deep roots in semiconductor manufacturing and enterprise software mean that applied AI research tied to hardware optimization and cloud-scale products drives a large share of local demand.
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