Research Scientist

OpenRouter

Research Scientist at OpenRouter conducting original research on large language models. Collaborating on evaluation frameworks and improving routing intelligence through research.

Posted 7/14/2026full-timeRemote • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSeniorWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in LLM evaluation, statistical analysis, and experimental design, with a strong ability to translate research findings into practical applications. Proficient in Python and SQL, with hands-on experience in modern ML/NLP techniques and a deep understanding of the LLM landscape.

Highest-signal resume keywords

MS Or PhD In Quantitative FieldDeep Expertise In StatisticsStrong Programming Skills In PythonProficiency In SQLHands-On Experience With Modern ML/NLP Techniques

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

LLM EvaluationExperimental DesignCausal InferenceData Pipeline DevelopmentLarge-Scale ExperimentationModel PrototypingFine-TuningEmbeddingsClassificationReinforcement Learning From Human Feedback

Tools & Technologies

ClickHouseBigQuery

Industry Keywords

Model QualityRouting OptimizationAI Usage PatternsBenchmark SuitesModel ArchitecturesProvider Ecosystems

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

BigQueryPythonSQL

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Own and pursue a research agenda focused on LLM evaluation, model quality, routing optimization, and AI usage patterns, contributing original insights that advance the field.
Design novel evaluation frameworks and benchmarks that go beyond standard leaderboards, using real-world generation data to capture how models actually perform across tasks and contexts.
Conduct large-scale empirical studies on LLM behavior: how models compare across providers, how performance changes over time, and how usage patterns reveal strengths and weaknesses.
Develop the statistical and mathematical foundations behind our routing systems, building the models and heuristics that power intelligent provider and model selection.
Identify opportunities to apply research findings to feed back into OpenRouter's product and platform.
Collaborate with external researchers, model providers, and the open-source community to advance shared understanding of LLM capabilities and limitations.
Work with product and engineering teams to translate research findings into improvements to OpenRouter's platform, without being constrained to a shipping cadence.

Requirements

What you’ll need

MS or PhD in a quantitative field (machine learning, statistics, computer science, mathematics, computational linguistics, or similar).
Track record of original research, demonstrated by first-author publications, significant open-source contributions, or equivalent impact in industry research.
Deep expertise in statistics, experimental design, and causal inference. You can design rigorous studies and reason carefully about validity, bias, and generalizability.
Strong programming skills in Python. You can build data pipelines, run large-scale experiments, and prototype models efficiently.
Proficiency in SQL for working with large-scale analytical databases (ClickHouse, BigQuery, or similar).
Hands-on experience with modern ML/NLP techniques such as LLM evaluation, fine-tuning, embeddings, classification, or reinforcement learning from human feedback.
Familiarity with the current LLM landscape: model architectures, provider ecosystems, benchmark suites, and the strengths and limitations of leading models.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Health insurance
Flexible working arrangements
Professional development opportunities