Research Engineer, Tinker, Developer Experience
Thinking Machines Lab is seeking a Research Engineer to join the Tinker team, focusing on enhancing the developer experience. Tinker is our fine-tuning API that empowers researchers and developers to customize frontier AI models to their specific needs. This role bridges the gap between our users and internal teams, ensuring that Tinker remains a flexible and user-friendly platform for model fine-tuning.
In this position, you will write and maintain high-quality code examples, recipes, and documentation to support the Tinker community. Collaborating directly with users, you'll debug technical issues, optimize fine-tuning pipelines, and develop tools and integrations that reduce user friction. Additionally, you'll share insights through blog posts, guides, and talks, contributing to the continuous improvement of Tinker's developer experience.
The ideal candidate has experience fine-tuning large language models using supervised and reinforcement learning, and is adept at tuning hyperparameters. A background in developing software libraries, particularly open-source ones, is highly valued. Strong communication skills and a passion for engaging with open-source communities are essential, as is the ability to reason about model training, fine-tuning, and inference trade-offs.
This role is based in San Francisco, California. Compensation is competitive, with an expected annual salary range of $350,000 to $475,000 USD, depending on background, skills, and experience. Thinking Machines offers generous health, dental, and vision benefits, unlimited PTO, paid parental leave, and relocation support as needed.
At Thinking Machines Lab, we are committed to empowering humanity through advancing collaborative general intelligence. Our team comprises scientists, engineers, and builders who have created widely used AI products and open-source projects. Joining us means contributing to a mission-driven organization that values innovation, collaboration, and the democratization of AI technology.