Machine Learning Fellow

About the Collective

The Human Frontier Collective (HFC)’s mission is to bring the world's best minds to shape the future of AI – because the future of AI depends not only on powerful models, but on the people who teach them to think.
We bring together researchers, academics, and domain leaders across 70+ fields – over 90% of members hold doctorates – to shape how frontier AI systems are built, evaluated, and governed. HFC members have since co-authored published work including SciPredict, PropensityBench, and Professional Reasoning Benchmark.

Why join the HFC

HFC centers on three core pillars: the network itself, participation in selected AI/ML projects, and opportunities to publish with our research team.

• Join a unique and exclusive expert network: You’ll become a part of an interdisciplinary community, consisting of over 90% doctorates and field leaders representing 70+ fields from the leading institutions. We’re a collective of top innovators and thought leaders committed to advancing frontier AI to power the world’s most important decisions.
• Participate in AI/ML projects: Beyond the collective network, you’ll be regularly invited to work on high-impact projects with Scale AI and its affiliated lab and platform: building AI safety and policy guardrails, helping models understand real-world deep learning workflows by designing, reviewing, and optimizing PyTorch models, evaluating complex ML code and AI-generated implementations for efficiency and correctness, and more.
• Co-author selected research publications: Collaborate with Scale’s research team to co-author technical reports and research papers—boosting your academic visibility and professional recognition.

Who should apply

• Background: PhD, or postdoctoral research experience, in Machine Learning, Computer Science, or a related field; or senior industry experience in Machine Learning or a related field.
• Skills: Strong proficiency in Python and modern ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow). Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS) and MLOps tools (Docker) and LLM frameworks (LangChain) is a plus.
• Professional Mindset: Detail-oriented, innovative thinker with a passion for applied AI research and a commitment to collaboration.

How it works

• Duration: This is a fully remote opportunity with no fixed end date; engagements continue as long as there's mutual interest. This is a 1099 independent contractor engagement.
• Work authorization: We do not sponsor visas for Fellows. To participate in the HFC Fellows program, you need to have or independently obtain full-time work authorization in the US.
• Community Network: Once you’ve received an invitation to join the HFC, you’ll also gain access to our newsletters, discussion channels, virtual sessions, IRL events, and much more.
• Projects Logistics: 
• Project selection: You’ll regularly get matched to carefully selected projects from our partners. Depending on the partner, projects range from evaluating AI models to designing experiments, building RL environments, co-authoring research papers, and more. 
• Flexible schedule: There's no minimum commitment – you decide whether to take on a project. Most fellows spend 10–25 hours per week, on a schedule they set themselves.
• Competitive pay: Project pay rates vary across platforms and depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to: projects, scope, skillset, and location. You’ll receive the pay information upon receiving project matching notifications.

Application process

1. Apply: We review applications on a rolling basis.
2. Interview: Candidates will get to discuss their research experience, professional background, and alignment with our mission to advance human-centered AI. Note: If we invited you directly, your invitation will say whether this step applies.
3. Join the Collective: Successful candidates will receive an invitation to join the Human Frontier Collective Fellowship.

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