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About This Role
Job Description
The UW Climate Impacts Group (CIG) has an outstanding opportunity for a Research Scientist 2 – Social Scientist to join their team.
About this Opportunity
Reporting to one of CIG’s Principal Investigators, the Research Scientist 2 – Social Scientist is responsible for expanding the CIG's social science, policy, and governance capabilities. We are seeking a candidate with a social science or policy background and project management experience who can add breadth to the work we do and support CIG’s senior researchers on climate change adaptation projects with our federal, tribal, state, and local partners. While educational attainment is valued, we also encourage applications from practitioners who have worked in government, non\-profits, and consulting who can bring a practical social science orientation to the CIG team.
This is a full\-time research position with no teaching expectations and no path to university tenure. This position is primarily intended to serve applied research, which may come at the expense of opportunities to pursue published research.
This is a hybrid position with an expectation to work on\-site at the UW Seattle campus at least two days per week; the remaining days may be worked remotely, with supervisor approval. Our in\-office days are currently Monday and Wednesday.
Key Responsibilities
Independent Research and Research Support \[55%]
- Independently apply social science and/or policy research methodologies to implement and support CIG research and engagement objectives, including integrating climate considerations into a variety of policy mechanisms
- Assist and provide leadership in project\-specific research needs, such as literature reviews, contextual analyses, needs assessments, or developing monitoring and evaluation strategies
- Proactively work with CIG senior research staff to identify opportunities to assist existing clients to move from climate change planning to implementation
- Support the director and deputy director in CIG\-relevant policy processes and initiatives
Project Management \[20%]
- Work with CIG senior research staff to provide logistical support for projects
- Develop project tracking and reporting mechanisms
- Organize meetings, which may include notetaking, agenda development, room reservations, etc.
Stakeholder Engagement \[15%]
- Collaborate with state or local government decision makers
- Collaborate with frontline community partners
- Collaborate with partner scientists from other universities
Grant Writing and Proposal Development \[5%]
- Collaborate with CIG senior research scientists to integrate social or policy sciences into project opportunities or proposals
- Maintain records and submit reports related to grant opportunities
- Write grant or proposal sections as needed
Other Duties as Assigned \[5%]
Required Qualifications
To be considered for this opportunity, your application must demonstrate that you meet both the minimum qualifications and additional qualifications listed below. Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.
Minimum Qualifications
Applicants who do not meet these qualifications will not be forwarded to the Hiring Department.
- Bachelor’s degree in public policy, geography, psychology, sociology, economics, or a related field
Minimum of 2 years of experience supporting public policy and/or research
*
Additional Qualifications
- Knowledge of or experience in applied climate change impacts and adaptation
Demonstrated familiarity with applying social science methods to policy issues and/or the practical needs of federal, tribal, state and/or municipal governments
*
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree in a related field
- Social science methodological experience associated with applied social science research (e.g., interview methodologies, literature reviews, policy evaluation)
- Demonstrated experience working directly with frontline communities
- Demonstrated experience working in state or municipal government or in a practical policy\- or governance\-focused position
- Experience with co\-production and use\-inspired research
- Experience evaluating complex social and policy processes
- Strong analytical and problem\-solving skills and an ability to quickly adapt to new topics and challenges (e.g., research topics, institutional contexts, new methodologies or software tools)
- Demonstrated ability to communicate complex scientific information in clear and concise language appropriate for diverse audiences (e.g., scientists, businesses, policy makers, university students, mass media, etc.)
- Demonstrated experience deploying and interpreting results from technologies that support synthesis, analysis, and modeling, such as large language models. geospatial analysis platforms (GIS, QGIS), databases (SQL), and/or coding environments (R, Python, vibe coding)
- Proficiency with quantitative and qualitative data analysis may include meteorological data, geospatial data, time series analysis, development and computation of metrics, etc.
Working Conditions
Occasional travel within the UW Seattle campus and partner sites across the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho may be required.
About the Team
The University of Washington Climate Impacts Group (CIG) supports the development of climate resilience by advancing understanding of climate risks \& enabling science\-based action to manage those risks. Since 1995, the Climate Impacts Group has linked cutting\-edge scientific research with innovative approaches to community engagement to produce exceptional research products, develop strong relationships among resource managers, planners, and policy makers in the region and build regional capacity for addressing climate variability and change. The Climate Impacts Group is administratively housed within EarthLab in the College of the Environment.
Compensation, Benefits and Position Details
Pay Range Minimum:
$68,736\.00 annual
Pay Range Maximum:
$78,000\.00 annual
Other Compensation:
*
Benefits:
For information about benefits for this position, visit https://www.washington.edu/jobs/benefits\-for\-uw\-staff/
Shift:
First Shift (United States of America)
Temporary or Regular?
This is a regular position
FTE (Full\-Time Equivalent):
100\.00%
Union/Bargaining Unit:
UAW Research
About the UW
Working at the University of Washington provides a unique opportunity to change lives – on our campuses, in our state and around the world.
UW employees bring their boundless energy, creative problem\-solving skills and dedication to building stronger minds and a healthier world. In return, they enjoy outstanding benefits, opportunities for professional growth and the chance to work in an environment known for its diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.
Our Commitment
The University of Washington is committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful and welcoming community for all. As an equal opportunity employer, the University considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, pregnancy, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, or veteran status consistent with UW Executive Order No. 81 .
To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206\-543\-6450 or [email protected] .
Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law .
Salary Context
This $68K-$78K range is in the lower quartile for Research Scientist roles in our dataset (median: $183K across 117 roles with salary data).
Role Details
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 4,133 AI roles we're tracking, Research Scientist positions make up 3% of the market. At University Of Washington, 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
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 307 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $165,778. This role's midpoint ($73K) sits 67% below the category median. Disclosed range: $68K to $78K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $200,700. Top-quartile compensation starts at $254,000. The 90th percentile reaches $307,500. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($274,200) and AI Engineering Manager ($268,700). By seniority level: Entry: $97,760; Mid: $165,778; Senior: $227,400; Director: $250,000; VP: $250,000.
University Of Washington AI Hiring
University Of Washington has 2 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across Research Scientist. Based in Seattle, WA, US. Compensation range: $78K - $168K.
Location Context
AI roles in Seattle pay a median of $227,400 across 1,128 tracked positions. That's 13% above the national 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 4,133 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 106 entry-level, 1,901 mid-level, 1,663 senior, and 463 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 14% of the market (583 positions). The remaining 3,532 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $200,700. Top-quartile compensation starts at $254,000. The 90th percentile reaches $307,500. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($274,200 median, 57 roles); AI Engineering Manager ($268,700 median, 42 roles); Research Engineer ($260,000 median, 442 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 4,133 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (2,865), Data Scientist (339), AI Software Engineer (313). 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 (106) are outnumbered by mid-level (1,901) and senior (1,663) 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 463 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 14% of all AI roles (583 positions), with 3,532 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 $200,700. Top-quartile roles start at $254,000, 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 Safety roles lead at $274,200 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 (2,128 postings), Aws (1,324 postings), Azure (1,003 postings), Rag (916 postings), Gcp (817 postings), Pytorch (655 postings), Prompt Engineering (639 postings), Claude (571 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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