Lead Data Scientist - Autonomous Goal Management
LaddersAbout the role
For our client, we are seeking a Lead Data Scientist - Autonomous Goal Management to join the team of a leader in the Healthcare space.
This role will lead the design of advanced AI and ML systems that help autonomous agents plan, adapt, and achieve goals in production settings. The ideal candidate will work closely with research, engineering, and product partners to build safe, reliable, and human-aligned agentic solutions. This position blends applied machine learning, hierarchical planning, and evaluation rigor to support real-world healthcare applications.
Location: Remote - US based candidates only, no visa sponsorship available
Compensation: $142,300 – $195,700 annually
Responsibilities
Architect goal-setting and decomposition mechanisms for autonomous agents.
Design and implement dynamic planning systems such as hierarchical planning and curriculum learning.
Collaborate on designs for memory, tool use, and feedback loops for self-directed agents.
Develop evaluation frameworks to ensure alignment with human intent and long-term objectives.
Prototype agents that interact with APIs and real-world systems for goal achievement.
Explore strategies to detect and mitigate goal misalignment and undesirable strategies.
Integrate goal alignment with safety and operational reliability across teams.
Qualifications
Master's degree and 4+ years of experience in research, ML engineering, or applied research with a focus on production-ready AI solutions.
2+ years of experience leading AI/ML systems development.
Ph.D. preferred in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
Experience shipping autonomous or semi-autonomous agents in production or simulation.
Familiarity with LLM-based agents employing hierarchical task decomposition.
Benefits
Medical, dental, and vision benefits
401(k) retirement savings plan
Paid time off, including company and personal holidays
Paid parental and caregiver leave
Short-term and long-term disability insurance
Life insurance
Opportunities for personal wellness and smart healthcare decisions
Our client is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification—your background could be exactly what this team needs.
Responsibilities
- Architect goal-setting and decomposition mechanisms for autonomous agents.
- Design and implement dynamic planning systems such as hierarchical planning and curriculum learning.
- Collaborate on designs for memory, tool use, and feedback loops for self-directed agents.
- Develop evaluation frameworks to ensure alignment with human intent and long-term objectives.
- Prototype agents that interact with APIs and real-world systems for goal achievement.
- Explore strategies to detect and mitigate goal misalignment and undesirable strategies.
- Integrate goal alignment with safety and operational reliability across teams.
Qualifications
- Master's degree and 4+ years of experience in research, ML engineering, or applied research with a focus on production-ready AI solutions.
- 2+ years of experience leading AI/ML systems development.
- Ph.D. preferred in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
- Experience shipping autonomous or semi-autonomous agents in production or simulation.
- Familiarity with LLM-based agents employing hierarchical task decomposition.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision benefits
- 401(k) retirement savings plan
- Paid time off, including company and personal holidays
- Paid parental and caregiver leave
- Short-term and long-term disability insurance
- Life insurance
- Opportunities for personal wellness and smart healthcare decisions
Skills mentioned
About Ladders
We lead the leaders. Ladder’s community of 10 mm leading professionals come to us to be inspired, grow in their careers, and get ahead in their professional lives. We focus on the $100K+ job market, representing 25% of all jobs and about 50% of income in the US & Canada. We build data-driven tools, marketplaces, news and entertainment products for our growing audience, and the companies, recruiters, and advertisers that want to reach them. We work best with people who enjoy using their talents, commitment and hard work to achieve great successes for millions of real life users through products that impact their careers. We are deeply technology-driven -- about half the company are engineers, technical product people or product designers -- but we never build technology for technology’s sake. We’re always trying to connect our efforts to the good it can do in people’s lives.
H-1B sponsorship history
Historical employer filing data was found for Ladders. The employer record includes 8 historical certified applications. This is employer-level history, not a guarantee that this role currently offers sponsorship.