AI Researcher Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
AI Researcher roles are among the most actively sponsored positions in the U.S. right now. Most employers file H-1B petitions for this role, and many qualify for cap-exempt filing through universities and nonprofit research labs. A master's or PhD in computer science, machine learning, or a related field is standard. For detailed occupation requirements, see the O*NET profile.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Build a Safer World. TRM Labs provides blockchain analytics and AI solutions to help law enforcement and national security agencies, financial institutions, and cryptocurrency businesses detect, investigate, and disrupt crypto-related fraud and financial crime. TRM’s blockchain intelligence and AI platforms include solutions to trace the source and destination of funds, identify illicit activity, build cases, and construct an operating picture of threats. TRM is trusted by leading agencies and businesses worldwide who rely on TRM to enable a safer, more secure world for all.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The AI Research Engineer will join our AI Engineering team, a group focused on advancing model selection, fine-tuning, and evaluation strategies for production-scale AI systems. As a senior individual contributor, this person will lead technical efforts to push the boundaries of model performance and orchestration, directly impacting the competitiveness of our AI Engineering platform.
The Impact You Will Have
- Design, build, and own a production-grade evaluation system that drives measurable improvements in model accuracy and latency.
- Lead experimentation, fine-tuning, and feedback-based evaluation loops for continuous model optimization.
- Advance the orchestration of AI/ML systems, ensuring scalable, resilient, and high-impact deployments.
- Elevate technical standards through engineering craftsmanship, mentorship, and leadership as a senior IC.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Advanced programming expertise in Python and SQL, with strong system design skills.
- Deep experience deploying machine learning/deep learning models in production (LLM/GenAI strongly preferred).
- Strong foundation in experimentation frameworks, evaluation metrics, and ML Ops practices.
- Proven ability to own critical systems end-to-end and collaborate effectively with cross-functional partners.
ABOUT THE TEAM
- The AI Engineering team operates with a high level of collaboration and interdependence, fostering an inclusive culture where connections extend beyond work. We value diverse personalities and seek someone who is both results-driven and sociable, with strong communication, leadership, and teamwork skills, along with a positive, solutions-oriented mindset.
- As a globally distributed team, members may observe different timezones. However, most of the team will overlap between the hours of 7am-12pm PST for meetings and collaboration.
- All team members, regardless of location must have at least 4 hour overlap with PST business hours.
- The team is involved in 2 different on-calls:
- Analytics on-call: only requires focus on working time (average of < 1 hour a day every month).
- Data Science on-call: full week on-call to ensure Data Science pipelines are running smoothly (average of 1-2 hours a day every 3 months).
LIFE AT TRM
We are building a safer world. That promise shows up in how we work every day. TRM moves quickly. We are a high velocity, high ownership team that expects clarity, follow-through, and impact. People who thrive here are energized by hard problems, experimentation, and continuous feedback. If something takes months elsewhere, it will ship here in days. Our work sits at the intersection of AI, national security, and fighting financial crime. The problems are complex, the stakes are real, and the environment evolves quickly. The pace and intensity of the work reflect the importance of the mission. As a result, the way we operate requires a high level of ownership, adaptability, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.
At TRM, You Should Expect
- Priorities and targets to change quickly as we experiment and iterate.
- Work that often requires operating with a high degree of ambiguity.
- A high level of personal ownership and accountability.
- Close collaboration across teams and functions.
- Frequent, high-touch communication.
- Creative problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking.
- A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes.
This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires comfort navigating ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment. We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here. At the same time, many people find this work deeply rewarding. If you are excited by meaningful problems, motivated by ambitious goals, and energized by working alongside mission-driven colleagues, there is a good chance you will find TRM to be an exceptional place to grow and contribute.
AI FLUENCY AT TRM
AI fluency is a baseline expectation at TRM. We believe AI meaningfully changes how top performers operate. We expect every team member to use AI to accelerate and reimagine their craft, not just automate surface tasks. At TRM, AI Fluency Means You Are Among The Top 10 Percent Of Operators In Your Function In How You Apply AI To
- Accelerate repeatable workflows.
- Structure and solve problems.
- Improve output quality.
- Increase speed and leverage.
You will be evaluated on applied AI fluency during the interview process.
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES
We hire and grow against three leadership principles. They’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and make decisions.
- Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment – test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly.
- Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end-to-end, and invest in getting better everyday.
- Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one-team mindset — giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger.
JOIN OUR MISSION
At TRM we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast. TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Blockchain Capital, Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore.
Privacy Policy And Additional Information
By submitting your application, you are agreeing to allow TRM to process your personal information in accordance with the TRM Privacy Policy. Our typical hiring cycles for specialized roles span 24 to 36 months. Accordingly, we retain your personal information for up to 36 months to evaluate your application and to consider you for current and future employment opportunities, unless you request earlier deletion or a different retention period is required or permitted by law. To notify TRM Labs that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this form.
Recruitment agencies
TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company without a signed agreement.
INTRODUCTION
Build a Safer World. TRM Labs provides blockchain analytics and AI solutions to help law enforcement and national security agencies, financial institutions, and cryptocurrency businesses detect, investigate, and disrupt crypto-related fraud and financial crime. TRM’s blockchain intelligence and AI platforms include solutions to trace the source and destination of funds, identify illicit activity, build cases, and construct an operating picture of threats. TRM is trusted by leading agencies and businesses worldwide who rely on TRM to enable a safer, more secure world for all.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The AI Research Engineer will join our AI Engineering team, a group focused on advancing model selection, fine-tuning, and evaluation strategies for production-scale AI systems. As a senior individual contributor, this person will lead technical efforts to push the boundaries of model performance and orchestration, directly impacting the competitiveness of our AI Engineering platform.
The Impact You Will Have
- Design, build, and own a production-grade evaluation system that drives measurable improvements in model accuracy and latency.
- Lead experimentation, fine-tuning, and feedback-based evaluation loops for continuous model optimization.
- Advance the orchestration of AI/ML systems, ensuring scalable, resilient, and high-impact deployments.
- Elevate technical standards through engineering craftsmanship, mentorship, and leadership as a senior IC.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Advanced programming expertise in Python and SQL, with strong system design skills.
- Deep experience deploying machine learning/deep learning models in production (LLM/GenAI strongly preferred).
- Strong foundation in experimentation frameworks, evaluation metrics, and ML Ops practices.
- Proven ability to own critical systems end-to-end and collaborate effectively with cross-functional partners.
ABOUT THE TEAM
- The AI Engineering team operates with a high level of collaboration and interdependence, fostering an inclusive culture where connections extend beyond work. We value diverse personalities and seek someone who is both results-driven and sociable, with strong communication, leadership, and teamwork skills, along with a positive, solutions-oriented mindset.
- As a globally distributed team, members may observe different timezones. However, most of the team will overlap between the hours of 7am-12pm PST for meetings and collaboration.
- All team members, regardless of location must have at least 4 hour overlap with PST business hours.
- The team is involved in 2 different on-calls:
- Analytics on-call: only requires focus on working time (average of < 1 hour a day every month).
- Data Science on-call: full week on-call to ensure Data Science pipelines are running smoothly (average of 1-2 hours a day every 3 months).
LIFE AT TRM
We are building a safer world. That promise shows up in how we work every day. TRM moves quickly. We are a high velocity, high ownership team that expects clarity, follow-through, and impact. People who thrive here are energized by hard problems, experimentation, and continuous feedback. If something takes months elsewhere, it will ship here in days. Our work sits at the intersection of AI, national security, and fighting financial crime. The problems are complex, the stakes are real, and the environment evolves quickly. The pace and intensity of the work reflect the importance of the mission. As a result, the way we operate requires a high level of ownership, adaptability, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.
At TRM, You Should Expect
- Priorities and targets to change quickly as we experiment and iterate.
- Work that often requires operating with a high degree of ambiguity.
- A high level of personal ownership and accountability.
- Close collaboration across teams and functions.
- Frequent, high-touch communication.
- Creative problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking.
- A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes.
This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires comfort navigating ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment. We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here. At the same time, many people find this work deeply rewarding. If you are excited by meaningful problems, motivated by ambitious goals, and energized by working alongside mission-driven colleagues, there is a good chance you will find TRM to be an exceptional place to grow and contribute.
AI FLUENCY AT TRM
AI fluency is a baseline expectation at TRM. We believe AI meaningfully changes how top performers operate. We expect every team member to use AI to accelerate and reimagine their craft, not just automate surface tasks. At TRM, AI Fluency Means You Are Among The Top 10 Percent Of Operators In Your Function In How You Apply AI To
- Accelerate repeatable workflows.
- Structure and solve problems.
- Improve output quality.
- Increase speed and leverage.
You will be evaluated on applied AI fluency during the interview process.
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES
We hire and grow against three leadership principles. They’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and make decisions.
- Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment – test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly.
- Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end-to-end, and invest in getting better everyday.
- Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one-team mindset — giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger.
JOIN OUR MISSION
At TRM we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast. TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Blockchain Capital, Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore.
Privacy Policy And Additional Information
By submitting your application, you are agreeing to allow TRM to process your personal information in accordance with the TRM Privacy Policy. Our typical hiring cycles for specialized roles span 24 to 36 months. Accordingly, we retain your personal information for up to 36 months to evaluate your application and to consider you for current and future employment opportunities, unless you request earlier deletion or a different retention period is required or permitted by law. To notify TRM Labs that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this form.
Recruitment agencies
TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company without a signed agreement.
How to Get Visa Sponsorship in AI Researcher
Target cap-exempt employers first
Universities, nonprofit research institutes, and government-affiliated labs can sponsor H-1B visas outside the annual lottery. For AI Researchers, this dramatically increases your odds of getting sponsored without waiting for a cap-subject slot.
Lead with publications and benchmarks
Employers evaluating AI Researchers want evidence of impact. Citing published papers, open-source contributions, or model performance benchmarks gives hiring managers and immigration attorneys concrete proof your role meets specialty occupation standards.
A PhD opens O-1A doors
AI Researchers with peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, or awards may qualify for the O-1A extraordinary ability visa. It has no lottery, no annual cap, and is increasingly common for senior researchers at frontier AI labs.
Clarify your research scope early in interviews
Employers sometimes conflate AI Researchers with ML Engineers or Data Scientists, which affects how they structure sponsorship. Be specific about whether your role is research-focused to ensure the petition is filed under the right classification.
Degree field alignment matters for H-1B approval
USCIS requires your degree to directly relate to the research specialization. A PhD in physics applying to a natural language processing role may face scrutiny. Framing your coursework and thesis in terms of the job's technical requirements strengthens the petition.
EB-1A and NIW are realistic long-term paths
AI Researchers are well-positioned for EB-1A extraordinary ability or EB-2 National Interest Waiver green cards. Published research, citation counts, and national security or scientific impact arguments carry significant weight with USCIS adjudicators for both categories.
AI Researcher jobs are hiring across the US. Find yours.
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Get Access To All JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Do AI Researcher roles typically qualify as H-1B specialty occupations?
Yes. AI Researcher positions almost universally qualify as specialty occupations because they require at minimum a bachelor's degree, and in practice a master's or PhD, in computer science, machine learning, statistics, or a closely related field. USCIS has a strong approval record for this role when the job description is research-specific and the degree field aligns with the work.
Can I get sponsored as an AI Researcher without going through the H-1B lottery?
Yes, through two main paths. First, cap-exempt employers, including universities, nonprofit research labs, and certain government-affiliated institutions, can file H-1B petitions year-round outside the lottery. Second, AI Researchers with strong publication records may qualify for the O-1A visa, which has no lottery or annual cap. Browse current openings on Migrate Mate to filter for employers with a track record of cap-exempt or O-1A sponsorship.
Does my degree need to be in AI or machine learning specifically?
Not necessarily, but it needs to be directly relevant to the research role. Computer science, statistics, mathematics, cognitive science, and electrical engineering are all accepted. Where applicants run into trouble is when the degree is in an unrelated field and the connection to AI research isn't clearly documented. USCIS looks at coursework, thesis topics, and specializations, not just the degree title.
What visa options are available for senior AI Researchers beyond the H-1B?
Senior AI Researchers have several strong options. The O-1A visa suits those with published papers, speaking invitations, awards, or high citation counts. The EB-1A immigrant visa (extraordinary ability) and EB-2 National Interest Waiver both work well for researchers whose work has demonstrated scientific or national significance. Both green card categories allow self-petition without an employer sponsor, which is a meaningful advantage.
How do employers typically assess whether to sponsor an AI Researcher?
Most employers look at three things: research output (publications, conference presentations, open-source contributions), technical specialization (the more narrowly defined, the easier the H-1B justification), and long-term retention potential. Frontier AI companies and academic institutions are generally more experienced with sponsorship and more willing to absorb the cost. Startups may require more upfront conversation about the process.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored AI Researcher jobs?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.
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