Machine Learning Scientist I/II, Scientific Reasoning

Your Impact at Lila

As a Machine Learning Scientist focused on Scientific Reasoning, you will help pioneer the next generation of AI systems capable of reasoning like a scientist. You’ll design novel frameworks that push the boundaries of LLM-based reasoning methods — while also implementing scalable frameworks that integrate with Lila’s platforms. This role bridges deep theoretical thinking with practical ML engineering, enabling breakthroughs in how scientific hypotheses are generated, tested, deployed and optimized.

What You'll Be Building

• Design and formalize frameworks for scientific reasoning with LLMs, including structured prompting, reasoning chains, and test-time compute.
• Explore and implement methods for in-context learning, self-reflection, and adaptive reasoning in scientific discovery workflows.
• Build scalable model prototypes that can be deployed to solve frontier scientific problems.
• Collaborate with scientists and engineers to encode domain knowledge into reasoning systems that integrate symbolic and statistical approaches.

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• PhD (preferred) or equivalent research/industry experience in Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI, Engineering, Materials Science or related fields.
• Strong programming skills in Python with deep expertise in LLM frameworks (PyTorch, HuggingFace Transformers, LangChain, LlamaIndex, and related toolkits).
• Expertise in LLM reasoning methods: in-context learning, test-time compute, chain-of-thought, or tool-augmented reasoning.
• Ability to balance theoretical research with practical ML engineering to deliver scalable solutions.

Bonus Points For

• Research experience in causal reasoning, symbolic AI, or probabilistic programming.
• Contributions to open-source LLM reasoning frameworks.
• Familiarity with scientific discovery pipelines in chemistry, biology, or materials science.
• Experience with multimodal reasoning (e.g., combining text, image, and experimental data).
• Publications in top ML/AI conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL).

About Lila

Lila Sciences is the world’s first scientific superintelligence platform and autonomous lab for life, chemistry, and materials science.  We are pioneering a new age of boundless discovery by building the capabilities to apply AI to every aspect of the scientific method.  We are introducing scientific superintelligence to solve humankind's greatest challenges, enabling scientists to bring forth solutions in human health, climate, and sustainability at a pace and scale never experienced before. Learn more about this mission at  www.lila.ai

If this sounds like an environment you’d love to work in, even if you only have some of the experience listed below, we encourage you to apply.

Compensation

We expect the base salary for this role to fall between $176,000-$304,000 USD per year, along with bonus potential and generous early equity. The final offer will reflect your unique background, expertise, and impact.

We’re All In

Lila Sciences is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.

A Note to Agencies

Lila Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Lila Sciences or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by Lila Science’s internal Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Lila Sciences, and Lila Sciences will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto.