Forward Deployed AI Research Scientist

Published October 13, 2026 · Updated October 24, 2026

Pay not postedSanta Clara, CA12d ago

This role bridges applied AI research and customer-facing engineering, identifying high-value AI opportunities and turning them into prototypes, evaluations, and measurable outcomes.

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At a glance

Posted base pay

Not posted

Median $188K

Typical senior FDE payMiddle 50% of 1,748 postings$160K–$220K

The work

Builds what the customer runs

Balance

Mostly building
Mixed
Mostly pre-sales or support

Project stages

Pre-sales
Proof of concept
Implementation (not covered)
Operations (not covered)

Coding: Prototypes and scripts
Builds for: Both
Level: Senior
Role: Technical lead

What they ask for

Tools

Python
PyTorch
JAX
TensorFlow
LLMs
agentic systems
retrieval
GPU systems
compilers
distributed training/inference

Less common in FDE jobs

Coding work: Prototypes and scripts5%
Who you build for: Both9%
Covers pre-sales24%
Company stage: Public33%

Share of US FDE postings that state each fact.

What you’ll do

Identify high-value AI opportunities across engineering workflows.
Translate partner needs into research questions, technical plans, and prototypes.
Prototype and evaluate AI methods for engineering tasks.
Define benchmarks, metrics, and acceptance criteria for AI-assisted workflows.

What you’ll bring

Strong background in AI, machine learning, systems, or applied research.
Experience with generative AI methods, LLMs, agents, retrieval, or applied ML systems.
Strong Python programming ability and familiarity with an ML framework.
Ability to collaborate across software, hardware, infrastructure, research, product, and business teams.

About AMD

Designs high-performance and adaptive computing products—CPUs, GPUs, networking and embedded processors—for data centers, PCs, gaming and embedded systems.

Public · 5000+ people

View posting at AMD