Research Scientist – Applied Artificial Intelligence in Chemistry

$115K - $140K Ewing, NJ, US Mid Level Research Scientist

Interested in this Research Scientist role at Universal Display Corporation?

Apply Now →

Skills & Technologies

PythonPytorch

About This Role

AI job market dashboard showing open roles by category

At Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: OLED) (UDC), we’re changing the way people see the world.

If you’re reading this on a smartphone, there’s a good chance UDC’s materials are producing the light and color shining from your screen right now. UDC’s OLED ingredients are key parts of stunning, energy\-efficient displays used in everything from smartwatches to phones, tablets, laptops, monitors, TVs and automobiles. Virtually every OLED consumer electronics product around the world uses UDC’s phosphorescent OLED materials and technologies.

UDC is a publicly traded company and pioneer in the OLED industry. When you join our global team, you are embarking on a journey at the forefront of display technology and organic electronics that impacts the daily lives of people around the world. From engineers to chemists, Ph.D. scientists, technicians, lawyers and more, our UDC team is continuously advancing our field. With a focus on energy efficiency, UDC’s team is contributing to making a better, more sustainable planet. Please visit us at www.oled.com .

Job Summary:

Universal Display Corporation is seeking a Research Scientist to develop and deploy practical AI/ML capabilities that accelerate molecular discovery and materials research. This role will apply modern machine learning, generative molecular design, agentic AI workflows, and scientific software development across chemistry\-focused R\&D programs. The ideal candidate has hands\-on experience applying AI/ML to chemistry problems, can work across data curation, model development, and workflow deployment, and is motivated by close collaboration with computational scientists, synthetic chemists, and device engineers to advance new materials from concept toward experimental validation.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Design, implement, and evaluate machine learning models for chemistry and materials applications, including molecular property prediction, representation learning, and structure\-property relationship modeling.
  • Develop and apply generative molecular design methods to propose candidate compounds and materials with target properties relevant to OLED and organic electronics research.
  • Curate, analyze, and improve scientific datasets used for AI/ML model training, validation, benchmarking, and deployment in practical R\&D workflows.
  • Build and maintain applied AI workflows, including agentic AI systems, tool\-harnessed LLM workflows, and scientific application components that support chemistry\-focused decision making.
  • Collaborate closely with ML scientists, computational chemists, synthetic chemists, and device engineers to interpret model outputs, guide experiments, and identify promising molecular leads for synthesis and testing.
  • Contribute to applied AI/ML infrastructure that enables reproducible model development, deployment, monitoring, and integration with computational chemistry and experimental workflows.

Required Qualifications:

  • PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, Computer Science, or a related field, with demonstrated experience applying AI/ML methods to chemistry or molecular materials problems.
  • Proven experience developing machine learning models for chemistry, including molecular property prediction and hands\-on generative molecular design.
  • Strong working knowledge of modern AI/ML approaches relevant to molecular systems, including molecular featurization, transformer\-based models, and deep learning workflows.
  • Proficiency in Python for scientific programming and data analysis, including hands\-on experience with RDKit, PyTorch, and related scientific Python libraries.
  • Experience developing agentic AI workflows, LLM tool harnesses, or AI\-enabled scientific applications that connect models, tools, data, and user workflows.
  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with ML scientists, computational chemists, synthetic chemists, and device engineers.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Advanced research experience applying AI/ML to molecular discovery, computational chemistry, materials science, or related applied R\&D problems.
  • Background in molecular chemistry, organic electronics, OLED materials, or organic semiconductors.
  • Experience with graph neural networks, PyTorch Geometric or related frameworks, recurrent neural networks, sequence models, or other molecular deep learning architectures.
  • Experience with machine\-learned interatomic potentials, molecular simulation workflows, or AI/ML methods that support atomistic modeling.
  • Experience with exploratory data analysis, scientific data curation, model benchmarking, or deployment of ML\-enabled scientific workflows.

Current Benefits at UDC:

  • Competitive base salary and annual bonus program
  • Medical/Prescription Drug coverage, Dental, and Vision for employees and family
  • Option between Flexible Spending account (FSAs) or Health Savings Account (HSA)
  • Group Term Life insurance, short term disability, and long\-term disability benefits for employees
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
  • 401(k) company contribution
  • Ewing Worldwide Headquarters (HQ) cafeteria provides breakfast and lunch to employees at no cost to them
  • Annual charitable matching gift
  • Generous Paid Time Off

Annual compensation range: $115k\-140k

At Universal Display Corporation, base pay is one part of our total compensation package. Individual compensation is determined by skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Compensation details listed in this posting reflect the annual salary range only, and does not include bonus, equity or sales incentives, if applicable.

Salary Context

This $115K-$140K range is in the lower quartile for Research Scientist roles in our dataset (median: $196K across 93 roles with salary data).

Role Details

Title Research Scientist – Applied Artificial Intelligence in Chemistry
Location Ewing, NJ, US
Category Research Scientist
Experience Mid Level
Salary $115K - $140K
Remote No

About This Role

Research Scientists push the boundaries of what AI can do. They design experiments, develop novel architectures, publish papers, and translate research breakthroughs into production capabilities. This is where the fundamental advances happen, from attention mechanisms to diffusion models to reasoning chains.

The work is intellectually demanding and often ambiguous. You might spend months on an approach that doesn't pan out. The best research scientists combine deep mathematical intuition with engineering pragmatism. They know when to go deep on theory and when to run experiments. They read papers voraciously and can spot incremental contributions from genuine breakthroughs.

Across the 3,824 AI roles we're tracking, Research Scientist positions make up 3% of the market. At Universal Display Corporation, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.

Research Scientist roles are concentrated at major AI labs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta FAIR) and well-funded AI startups. The competition is intense. PhD is effectively required for most positions, and publication track record matters. Compensation is among the highest in AI, reflecting both the scarcity of talent and the strategic importance of research breakthroughs.

What the Work Looks Like

A typical week includes: reading and discussing recent papers with your team, designing and running experiments on multi-GPU clusters, analyzing results and iterating on hypotheses, writing up findings for internal review or publication, and collaborating with engineering teams to productionize promising results. The ratio of thinking to coding is higher than in engineering roles.

Research Scientist roles are concentrated at major AI labs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta FAIR) and well-funded AI startups. The competition is intense. PhD is effectively required for most positions, and publication track record matters. Compensation is among the highest in AI, reflecting both the scarcity of talent and the strategic importance of research breakthroughs.

Skills Required

Python (51% of roles) Pytorch (15% of roles)

PhD strongly preferred for most roles. Deep expertise in a specific area (NLP, computer vision, reinforcement learning, multimodal) is expected. PyTorch is the standard. Publication track record matters. Strong mathematical foundations in linear algebra, probability, optimization, and information theory are assumed.

Beyond the fundamentals, companies value experience with large-scale distributed training, novel architecture design, and the ability to bridge theory and practice. Understanding of current frontier topics (reasoning, multimodal, long-context, alignment) is essential. Code quality matters more than many researchers expect. Labs want researchers who can implement their ideas cleanly.

Strong research postings specify the research area, mention the team you'd join, and describe the problems they're working on. They often list recent publications from the team. Vague 'AI research' postings without specifics usually mean the company wants to sound impressive but doesn't have a real research agenda.

Compensation Benchmarks

Research Scientist roles pay a median of $223,400 based on 223 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $160,000. This role's midpoint ($127K) sits 43% below the category median. Disclosed range: $115K to $140K.

Across all AI roles, the market median is $200,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $253,000. The 90th percentile reaches $307,500. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Engineering Manager ($293,500) and AI Safety ($274,200). By seniority level: Entry: $97,380; Mid: $160,000; Senior: $227,400; Director: $243,000; VP: $250,000.

Universal Display Corporation AI Hiring

Universal Display Corporation has 1 open AI role right now. They're hiring across Research Scientist. Based in Ewing, NJ, US. Compensation range: $140K - $140K.

Location Context

Across all AI roles, 16% (613 positions) offer remote work, while 3,187 require on-site attendance. Top AI hiring metros: New York (2,448 roles, $210,000 median); San Francisco (1,990 roles, $253,000 median); Los Angeles (1,686 roles, $189,000 median).

Career Path

Common paths into Research Scientist roles include PhD Student, Research Engineer, Postdoc.

From here, career progression typically leads toward Research Lead, Distinguished Scientist, VP of Research.

The PhD is the entry point for most paths. Choose your advisor and research area carefully since they'll define your first industry position. Publish consistently, contribute to open-source projects in your area, and build relationships at conferences. Industry research offers better compensation and compute resources than academia, but the pressure to show product impact is real.

What to Expect in Interviews

Research interviews are multi-stage: a research talk (present your best paper), technical deep-dives on your methodology, and often a 'research proposal' exercise where you design an experiment to test a hypothesis. Coding rounds test implementation ability alongside theoretical knowledge. Be prepared to implement a paper from scratch and discuss the design choices the authors made. Strong candidates can critique papers constructively and identify gaps in experimental methodology.

When evaluating opportunities: Strong research postings specify the research area, mention the team you'd join, and describe the problems they're working on. They often list recent publications from the team. Vague 'AI research' postings without specifics usually mean the company wants to sound impressive but doesn't have a real research agenda.

AI Hiring Overview

The AI job market has 3,824 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 119 entry-level, 1,813 mid-level, 1,472 senior, and 420 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 16% of the market (613 positions). The remaining 3,187 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.

The market median for AI roles is $200,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $253,000. The 90th percentile reaches $307,500. Highest-paying categories: AI Engineering Manager ($293,500 median, 31 roles); AI Safety ($274,200 median, 51 roles); Research Engineer ($260,000 median, 401 roles).

Research Scientist roles are concentrated at major AI labs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta FAIR) and well-funded AI startups. The competition is intense. PhD is effectively required for most positions, and publication track record matters. Compensation is among the highest in AI, reflecting both the scarcity of talent and the strategic importance of research breakthroughs.

The AI Job Market Today

The AI job market spans 3,824 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (2,702), Data Scientist (281), AI Software Engineer (258). 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 (119) are outnumbered by mid-level (1,813) and senior (1,472) 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 420 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.

Remote work availability sits at 16% of all AI roles (613 positions), with 3,187 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 $200,000. Top-quartile roles start at $253,000, and the 90th percentile reaches $307,500. 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 Engineering Manager roles lead at $293,500 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $142,800. 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 (1,968 postings), Aws (1,203 postings), Azure (882 postings), Rag (877 postings), Gcp (735 postings), Prompt Engineering (587 postings), Pytorch (586 postings), Claude (554 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

Based on 223 roles with disclosed compensation, the median salary for Research Scientist positions is $223,400. Actual compensation varies by seniority, location, and company stage.
PhD strongly preferred for most roles. Deep expertise in a specific area (NLP, computer vision, reinforcement learning, multimodal) is expected. PyTorch is the standard. Publication track record matters. Strong mathematical foundations in linear algebra, probability, optimization, and information theory are assumed.
About 16% of the 3,824 AI roles we track offer remote work. Remote availability varies by company and seniority level, with senior and leadership roles more likely to offer location flexibility.
Universal Display Corporation is among the companies actively hiring for AI and ML talent. Check our company profiles for detailed breakdowns of open roles, salary ranges, and hiring trends.
Common next steps from Research Scientist positions include Research Lead, Distinguished Scientist, VP of Research. Progression depends on whether you lean toward technical depth, people management, or product strategy.

Get Weekly AI Career Intelligence

Salary data, skills demand, and market signals from 16,000+ AI job postings. Every Monday.