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David Careers

Software Engineer - RL Environments

Posted 5 days ago

afterqueryMillbrae (CA)
Software DevelopersSoftware Publishers

SENIORITY

Mid

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About the role

AfterQuery Software Engineer (Environments) AfterQuery is an applied research lab curating data solutions for foundation model development. We serve every frontier AI lab with the mission of delivering the best data to power the best models. In doing so, we can make expertise that once took a lifetime to build available to anyone who needs it. Our customers are the ones building the foundation models themselves and our work sits directly in the loop of how those systems improve. This is a rare opportunity to join a company at a defining moment in AI. We are YC's fastest unicorn, valued at $3.2 billion. We're based in San Francisco and backed by leading investors including Altos Ventures, BoxGroup, and Y Combinator and angels from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta Superintelligence Labs, and Microsoft AI.
Responsibilities:
  • Construct simulated worlds and explore data shapes that expose meaningful model failure modes across domains like finance, code, and enterprise workflows
  • Build and refine evaluation rubrics and reward signals for RLHF and RLVR training pipelines
  • Analyze agent-produced trajectories and run experiments to improve different model capabilities
  • Develop quantitative frameworks for measuring dataset quality, diversity, and downstream impact on model alignment and capability
  • Create and manage both real world & synthetic data pipelines Partner with lab research teams to translate their training objectives into concrete data and evaluation specifications
  • Partner with in-house researchers to run post-training experiments and scale training infrastructure
Required Qualifications:
  • Ability to design lightweight experiments, move fast, and extract actionable insights from messy results
  • Experience with using Docker, or similar containerization tools, to design and monitor systems at scale
  • Strong familiarity with common reinforcement learning algorithms and methods, especially with respect to post-training LLMsPreferred Qualifications
Major plus if they've worked for/interned for any RL environment companies in the past or any AI safety or benchmarking orgs like METR, Artificial Analysis, etc. Former founders and early engineers at early stage startups are a plus. We want people who can demonstrate they work hard, learn fast, and care deeply about getting the details right. Company Benefits (For Eligible Employees):Health Insurance: Medical, Vision, Dental 401(k) with Employer MatchDaily Meals: Daily UberEats Stipend Monthly Wellness Stipend Commute Covered We are an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. Employment decisions are made without regard to legally protected characteristics under applicable federal, state, or local law. We comply with applicable pay transparency requirements and provide compensation ranges based on the position, qualifications, experience, and other relevant factors. Reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs, as required by law. This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed and is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, or working conditions associated with the position. We reserve the right to modify this job description as business needs change.

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