Principal AI Research Engineer

OverviewTalent Acquisition Lead @ FICO (North America) | Ex Amazon. Recruiting Top Talent - Analytic Scientists, Data Scientists, Machine Learning & AI…CompensationFICO provided pay range: This range is provided by FICO. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.Base pay range: $220,000.00/yr - $350,000.00/yrAdditional compensation types: Annual Bonus, Sign-on bonus, RSUs, and Stock optionsCompensation: $200,000 – $350,000 base + top-tier RSUs + joining bonus + performance bonus + industry-leading benefits.The OpportunityAs a Principal Research Engineer, you’ll have a unique opportunity to build, train, and deploy FICO’s diverse range of Foundational AI models. As part of our dynamic team, your expertise will play a crucial role in shaping the technology and architecture of our latest innovations, spanning natural language, transactional, speech, vision, and other modalities.This is a high-visibility, exclusive opportunity to work directly with Dr. Scott Zoldi (FICO’s Chief Analytics Officer, 101+ AI patents) and the leadership team to build something transformational for FICO in the U.S. It’s not just a role—it’s a career-defining opportunity to become a founding member of a new AI innovation function inside one of the most trusted names in credit, risk, and decision science.What You’ll ContributeLead & Innovate: Design, advance, and deploy AI models in collaboration with Product, Engineering, and Pre-Sales teams.Build Focused LLMs: Create domain-specific language models tailored to customer needs (fraud, collections, financial services, education, and platform innovation).Architect Systems: Implement novel architectures (transformers, encoders/decoders, diffusion), optimize distributed training pipelines (PyTorch/CUDA), and design robust pre/post-training frameworks.Apply GenAI: Build domain datasets, business-relevant benchmarks, and agentic/multi-agent AI systems with real-world applications.Data-Driven Impact: Conduct deep analysis of large datasets to apply the best ML/GenAI techniques for measurable business outcomes.Mentor & Influence: Guide scientists, mentor future AI leaders, and represent FICO externally with thought leadership.Drive Growth: Contribute ideas that fuel innovation and inorganic product growth.Strong engineering expertise in Python plus C++/Rust.Proven experience with pre-training and fine-tuning of modern AI architectures (transformers, LLMs, diffusion models).Hands-on with distributed systems, concurrency, and scaling training pipelines.Familiarity with Reinforcement Learning (RL), simulation, and synthetic data generation.Track record of delivering end-to-end AI/ML projects at scale.Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or related fields.Ability to work onsite in San Diego, CA; willingness to travel up to 10%.Why This Role Stands OutWork directly with Dr. Scott Zoldi, a globally recognized AI leader with 101+ patents.Be a founding member of a new GenAI business within a U.S. credit leader.Tackle real-world, high-impact AI problems at enterprise scale.Thrive in an innovation-first culture with the stability and credibility of FICO.Our Offer to YouBase Salary: $200K – $350K, tailored to your expertise and pensation Package: Industry-best RSUs, joining bonus, performance bonus.Benefits: Comprehensive health, wellness, and financial programs.Work-Life Balance: People-first culture, flexible structure, and strong emphasis on balance and growth.Seniority levelDirectorEmployment typeFull-timeJob functionInformation Technology, Research, and ScienceIndustries: Software Development, IT Services and IT Consulting, and Consumer ServicesReferrals increase your chances of interviewing at FICO by 2xInferred from the description for this jobPaid maternity leave401(k)Paid paternity leaveMedical insurancePension planVision insuranceGet notified about new Artificial Intelligence Engineer jobs in San Diego, CA. #J-18808-Ljbffr

Created: 2025-09-17