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About This Role
*About Pearson’s Automated Scoring Team*
As the world's learning company, Pearson helps people make more of their lives through learning. We use our knowledge, passion, and reach to tackle the big problems in education and inspire a love of learning that lasts a lifetime. That is why we need smart people like you. Together, we can transform education and provide boundless opportunities for billions of learners worldwide.
The Automated Scoring team develops machine learning\-based models that analyze tens of millions of learner exam responses each year. Our technology is unique and meaningful, providing results quickly on student performance on standardized tests. The AI Scientist will join Pearson’s Automated Scoring Team to provide support for the administration of Pearson’s automated scoring programs and support the execution of initiatives to innovate and improve the delivery of Pearson's automated scoring technologies. This role will report to and work closely with the Manager of AI Scientist, but it will also support program managers, quality assurance automation engineers, psychometricians, and various internal stakeholders to ensure the quality and reliability of our automated scoring systems.
*AI Scientist’s Duties \& Responsibilities*
Listed below are the typical duties and responsibilities expected of an individual for the job title. The items specified below are a guideline of the minimum expectations for the job title; changes will be made on a case\-by\-case basis for individuals who show potential to take on more opportunities.
- Train, evaluate, and deploy machine learning models tasked with scoring short answer and essay student responses to formative and summative test administrations from school districts nationwide
- Monitor performance of deployed machine learning models to ensure consistent, fair, and unbiased scoring in real time and recalibrate deployed models as needed
- Maintain, update, and improve code base used to train and deploy machine learning models
- Evaluate historical model performance and conduct experiments exploring strategies to potentially improve team modeling techniques and approaches
- Research and stay up\-to\-date on emerging technologies in the NLP space
- Be a thought leader in automated scoring by attending and presenting at conferences
*Qualifications*
Qualified individuals will be required to work with dynamic teams driven by project delivery goals. They should possess the drive to learn and continuously improve on work performance. They must also be detail\-oriented and eager to work with peers in producing quality output. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field (CS, EE, statistics, math, data science)
- 2\+ years professional experience as a software engineer, data scientist, psychometrician, machine learning engineer
- Solid understanding of machine learning principles and current/emerging technologies
- Strong coding \& analytics skills including proficiency in Python and Linux commands
- Understanding of or experience with deploying machine learning models into production environments
- Familiarity with software engineering fundamentals (version control, object\-oriented and functional programming, database and API access patterns, testing)
- Passionate about agile software processes, data\-driven development, reliability, and systematic experimentation
- Strong verbal and written communication skills including the ability to interact effectively with colleagues of varying technical and non\-technical abilities
- Curious and always learning habits of mind
- Strong team\-oriented approach to work, with excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written
- Ability to work effectively as a member of a team in a collaborative environment
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously
*Experiences That Will Set You Apart*
- Advanced degree in a quantitative field (CS, EE, statistics, math, data science)
- Track record of producing machine learning models and production infrastructure at scale
- Familiarity with traditional natural language processing (NLP) techniques and/or latest advancements in large language models (LLMs), generative AI, active learning and reinforcement learning
- Strong experience with machine learning in non\-NLP domains
- Experience using containerized technologies such as Docker and/or Kubernetes
*Applications will be accepted through July 30\. This window may be extended depending on business needs.*
*Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington DC laws, the pay range for this position is as follows:*
*The full\-time salary range for this position is between $130,000 \- $160,000*
*This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, and information on benefits offered is* here *.*
Who we are:
At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. We are the world's lifelong learning company. For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are. To learn more: We are Pearson.
Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E\-Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.
If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing [email protected].
Job: Data Engineering
Job Family: TECHNOLOGY
Organization: Assessment \& Qualifications
Schedule: FULL\_TIME
Workplace Type: Remote
Req ID: 24967
\#LI\-REMOTE
Salary Context
This $130K-$160K range is below the median for AI/ML Engineer roles in our dataset (median: $180K across 1841 roles with salary data).
View full AI/ML Engineer salary data →Role Details
About This Role
AI/ML Engineers build and deploy machine learning models in production. They work across the full ML lifecycle: data pipelines, model training, evaluation, and serving infrastructure. The role has evolved significantly over the past two years. Where ML Engineers once spent most of their time on model architecture, the job now tilts heavily toward inference optimization, cost management, and integrating LLM capabilities into existing systems. Companies want engineers who can ship production systems, and the experimenter-only role is fading fast.
Day-to-day, you're writing training pipelines, debugging data quality issues, setting up evaluation frameworks, and figuring out why your model performs differently in staging than it did on your dev set. The best ML engineers are obsessive about reproducibility and measurement. They instrument everything. They know that a model is only as good as the data feeding it and the infrastructure serving it.
Across the 3,708 AI roles we're tracking, AI/ML Engineer positions make up 70% of the market. At Pearson, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
Demand for AI/ML Engineers has been strong and consistent. Unlike some AI roles that spike with hype cycles, ML engineering is a foundational need. Every company deploying AI models needs people who can keep them running, and the gap between research prototypes and production systems keeps growing.
What the Work Looks Like
A typical week might include: debugging a data pipeline that's silently dropping 3% of training examples, running A/B tests on a new model version, writing documentation for a feature flag system that lets you roll back model deployments, and reviewing a junior engineer's PR for a new evaluation metric. Meetings tend to be cross-functional since ML touches product, engineering, and data teams.
Demand for AI/ML Engineers has been strong and consistent. Unlike some AI roles that spike with hype cycles, ML engineering is a foundational need. Every company deploying AI models needs people who can keep them running, and the gap between research prototypes and production systems keeps growing.
Skills Required
Python and PyTorch dominate the requirements. Most roles expect experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and familiarity with ML frameworks like TensorFlow or JAX. RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) has become a top-3 skill requirement as companies integrate LLMs into their products. Docker and Kubernetes show up in about a third of postings, reflecting the production focus of the role.
Beyond the core stack, employers increasingly want experience with experiment tracking tools (MLflow, Weights & Biases), feature stores, and vector databases. Fine-tuning experience is valuable but less common than you'd think from reading Twitter. Most production LLM work is RAG and prompt engineering, not fine-tuning. If you have both, you're in a strong position.
Companies that are serious about AI/ML hiring tend to post specific infrastructure details in the job description: the frameworks they use, their model serving stack, their data pipeline tools. Vague postings that just say 'ML experience required' without specifics are often companies that haven't figured out what they need yet.
Compensation Benchmarks
AI/ML Engineer roles pay a median of $218,750 based on 3,817 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $200,000. This role's midpoint ($145K) sits 34% below the category median. Disclosed range: $130K to $160K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $217,500. Top-quartile compensation starts at $272,100. The 90th percentile reaches $325,000. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($300,000) and Research Engineer ($280,000). By seniority level: Entry: $120,000; Mid: $200,000; Senior: $230,000; Director: $272,150; VP: $250,000.
Pearson AI Hiring
Pearson has 2 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI/ML Engineer. Positions span Remote, US, Hoboken, NJ, US. Compensation range: $160K - $180K.
Remote Work Context
Remote AI roles pay a median of $185,334 across 717 positions. About 14% of all AI roles offer remote work.
Career Path
Common paths into AI/ML Engineer roles include Data Scientist, Software Engineer, Research Engineer.
From here, career progression typically leads toward ML Architect, AI Engineering Manager, Principal ML Engineer.
The fastest path into ML engineering is through software engineering with a self-directed ML education. A CS degree helps, but production engineering skills matter more than academic credentials. Build something that works, deploy it, and measure it. That portfolio project is worth more than a Coursera certificate. For career growth, the fork comes around the senior level: go deep on technical complexity (staff/principal track) or move into managing ML teams.
What to Expect in Interviews
Expect system design questions around ML pipelines: how you'd build a training pipeline for a specific use case, handle data drift, or design A/B testing infrastructure for model deployments. Coding rounds typically involve Python, with emphasis on data manipulation (pandas, numpy) and algorithm implementation. Take-home assignments often ask you to build an end-to-end ML pipeline from raw data to deployed model.
When evaluating opportunities: Companies that are serious about AI/ML hiring tend to post specific infrastructure details in the job description: the frameworks they use, their model serving stack, their data pipeline tools. Vague postings that just say 'ML experience required' without specifics are often companies that haven't figured out what they need yet.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 3,708 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 102 entry-level, 1,705 mid-level, 1,469 senior, and 432 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 14% of the market (508 positions). The remaining 3,180 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $217,500. Top-quartile compensation starts at $272,100. The 90th percentile reaches $325,000. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($300,000 median, 21 roles); Research Engineer ($280,000 median, 147 roles); AI Architect ($254,798 median, 67 roles).
Demand for AI/ML Engineers has been strong and consistent. Unlike some AI roles that spike with hype cycles, ML engineering is a foundational need. Every company deploying AI models needs people who can keep them running, and the gap between research prototypes and production systems keeps growing.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 3,708 open positions across 16 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (2,605), Data Scientist (310), AI Software Engineer (259). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.
The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (102) are outnumbered by mid-level (1,705) and senior (1,469) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 432 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 14% of all AI roles (508 positions), with 3,180 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.
AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $217,500. Top-quartile roles start at $272,100, and the 90th percentile reaches $325,000. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.
Category matters for compensation. AI Safety roles lead at $300,000 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $140,000. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.
The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (1,890 postings), Aws (1,103 postings), Azure (877 postings), Rag (855 postings), Gcp (631 postings), Prompt Engineering (560 postings), Pytorch (545 postings), Claude (498 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
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