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Research Scientist - Simplex

Astera Institute· Projects
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Emeryville HQ$140k - $200kFull-timePosted 8mo ago

About the role

Research Scientist role focused on building a theory of latent internal structure in neural networks and applying rigorous mathematics to real models and data within the Simplex project at Astera Institute.

Responsibilities

  • Belief discovery at scale: Finding belief-state geometry in large language models without supervision.
  • Building a theory of intelligence: Extending and refining the initial theory to capture internal world models of different types and apply to neural systems (e.g., RL and biological brains).
  • Generalization: Investigating why and how neural networks generalize and how internal structures support out-of-distribution behavior.
  • Red Teaming: Stress-testing the framework to identify boundaries and edge cases to validate truths.
  • Biological Intelligence: Testing mathematics on real brain data to explore intelligence in biological systems.

Qualifications

  • PhD or equivalent in Physics, CS, neuroscience, math, or comparable (preferred)
  • Extensive ML experience
  • Experience in interpretability
  • Ability to operate across theory and experiment, work self-directed, and communicate ideas clearly

Skills

Required:Mathematical reasoningMachine learningInterpretabilityExperimentation
Last updated Sep 2, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

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