Research Engineer, Engineering Hub

This position is fully remote, with some travel (<10%).  Base salary for this role is $125k-$170K, and up to $200k for more senior roles, plus a discretionary bonus.

About the Engineering Hub

The Renaissance Philanthropy Engineering Hub provides on-demand development technical assistance in support of grant-funded educational technology projects. Our support allows mission-driven teams to overcome hurdles and achieve their technical and impact goals.

Why Join Us?

We solve educational technology problems that require creativity, analytical rigor, and a deep understanding of emerging AI capabilities. Members of our team are trusted technical partners who help shape product strategy, architect novel solutions, and prototype new ideas from first principles. We move quickly, operate with a high degree of independence, and take pride in delivering reliable, thoughtfully-designed systems that make a meaningful difference.

If you’re excited about applying modern generative and predictive technologies to real-world learning challenges—and want the opportunity to experiment, innovate, and guide others—this is the place for you.

Role and Responsibilities

Technical Strategy & Consultation

  • Provide hands-on guidance to product and research teams, shaping technical roadmaps aligned with ambitious program goals.

  • Review architectures, prototypes, and designs to ensure feasibility, quality, and long-term maintainability.

  • Advise teams on best practices for evaluating and integrating new generative technologies, including LLMs, agentic systems, and novel model architectures.

  • Support technical hiring efforts by helping teams identify the capabilities needed to bring new products to life.

Prototype, Build, and Evaluate 

Develop proof-of-concepts that explore new applications of generative AI and validate the viability of emerging approaches.

  • Implement and review production-grade machine learning pipelines, often involving experimental techniques or domain-optimized model designs.

  • Lead evaluations of ML/AI systems to ensure performance, reliability, and safety in student- and educator-facing applications.

  • Translate early research ideas into deployable, scalable features that unlock new product functionality.

Collaborate, Adapt, and Learn

  • Work directly with non-technical stakeholders to surface product needs and convert them into actionable technical requirements.

  • Develop solutions that balance functionality, robustness, and data collection needs to support authentic product impact measurement (e.g., A/B testing).

  • Clearly communicate the limitations, risks, and failure modes of advanced models—and help teams understand when they can (or cannot) be mitigated.

  • Continuously expand your expertise as emerging technologies evolve.

You may be a great match if you have:

  • Proven experience building production-grade ML-powered software in a commercial environment.

  • A track record of conducting and publishing research in fields that study human behavior (e.g., psychology, education, user experience, economics, social science).

  • Hands-on familiarity with modern generative AI techniques, such as LLM evaluation frameworks, RAG systems, and agentic architectures.

  • A passion for educational technology and a desire to see advanced models applied responsibly and creatively.

  • Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate across disciplines.

Candidates with experience developing tools for students, teachers, or learning organizations are strongly encouraged to apply.

Values

You will thrive within our team if you:

  • Have strong mission and vision alignment: You believe in the power of science, innovation, and technology to create a brighter future for all.

  • Exhibit high agency: You can move mountains and break perceived constraints.

  • Inspire others and are highly collaborative: You can motivate others to join your mission and goals. You understand the value of going further by working with others.

  • Value exceptional talent and the power of networks: You can spot or nurture exceptional talent and believe in the value of building networks and the power law of talent.

  • Are comfortable working in fast-moving and ambitious teams: You are not afraid of ambiguity and enjoy working at pace.

Diversity

We encourage anyone who is interested in this role to apply, regardless of whether you feel you meet 100% of the qualifications. The top candidates will bring their own unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds from a variety of industries along with many but not necessarily all the skills listed above.

Recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and retaining a diverse workforce is critical to our success. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. 

Renaissance Philanthropy is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Next Steps

Apply here.

Outcomes

In 2-3 years, a successful Research Engineer will have assisted multiple product teams bring their education-focused, mission-driven ideas to life through technical guidance, hands-on development, and support for team capacity-building. Conditional on team needs, candidates will also have contributed to open-source projects and presented collaborative published work at conferences.