Staff AI Researcher (Foundation AI)

WHOOP
Boston, MA
On-site

Who this role is best for

Aimed at senior AI/ML researchers with production experience who can collaborate across teams and build scalable models.

Best fit for

  • Senior researchers with 7+ years of experience in large-scale modeling and production deployment
    — “7+ years of experience in applied ML, AI research, or large-scale modeling, with a track record of delivering production systems.”
  • Candidates with expertise in multimodal data integration and foundation models
    — “Expertise in modern deep learning (e.g., transformers, state space models), multimodal model training.”
  • Individuals who can translate technical research into member-centric features
    — “Partner with product and research teams to translate foundation model capabilities into downstream features that deliver meaningful member value.”

Things to consider

  • Relocation to Boston, MA is required if not already based there
    — “The successful candidate must be prepared to relocate if necessary to work out of the Boston, MA office.”
  • Must meet ethical and privacy standards for AI development
    — “Ensure models adhere to WHOOP’s standards for ethical, transparent, and privacy-preserving AI.”

How to stand out

  • Emphasize experience in self-supervised learning and multimodal data integration in your resume
    — “Conduct applied research in self-supervised learning, representation learning, and downstream task fine tuning.”
  • Highlight your ability to operationalize models with MLOps and distributed training experience
    — “Collaborate with MLOps, data engineering, and software engineering teams to operationalize models for production deployment.”
  • Demonstrate a track record of deploying large-scale models in multi-GPU environments
    — “Experience building and scaling large datasets and training large models in multi-node, multi-gpu distributed compute environments.”
  • Showcase your ability to mentor others and share deep learning best practices
    — “Serve as a technical mentor for other data scientists, sharing best practices in deep learning, large-scale training, and multimodal data integration.”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • developed and deployed large-scale multimodal models
  • improved WHOOP’s core model capabilities
Typical background
PhD in Computer Science, Machine LearningAI research experience

Skills & requirements

Required

AI ResearchMachine LearningDeep LearningMultimodal ModelsData Integration

Preferred

Reinforcement LearningMlops

Stack & domain

PythonPyTorchTensorFlow

About the role

Original posting from WHOOP via Ashby

At WHOOP, we’re on a mission to unlock and inspire performance for life. WHOOP empowers members to perform at a higher level through a deeper understanding of their bodies and daily lives. Our wearable technology collects rich physiological data, providing members with actionable insights into their recovery, training, and sleep.

We are seeking a Staff AI/ML Researcher to join our Foundation AI team. This team builds the multimodal foundation models that underpin WHOOP’s next generation of intelligent, personalized, and health-enhancing experiences. These models integrate data across wearable sensors, language, biomarkers, clinical information, and self-reported inputs to create scalable AI systems that understand human physiology and behavior.

In this role, you’ll serve as a staff individual contributor driving the research, development, and deployment of large-scale multimodal models. You’ll collaborate closely with data scientists, ML engineers, and cross-functional partners to push the boundaries of deep learning and ensure our models deliver measurable value to WHOOP members.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Design, train, and optimize large-scale multimodal foundation models that integrate wearable sensor data, text, biomarkers, and behavioral data.
  • Conduct applied research in self-supervised learning, representation learning, and downstream task fine tuning to advance WHOOP’s core model capabilities.
  • Develop scalable, distributed training pipelines for large models on high-performance compute environments.
  • Collaborate with MLOps, data engineering, and software engineering teams to operationalize models for production deployment, ensuring robustness, reproducibility, and observability.
  • Partner with product and research teams to translate foundation model capabilities into downstream features that deliver meaningful member value.
  • Contribute to the technical roadmap and architectural direction for foundation model development at WHOOP.
  • Serve as a technical mentor for other data scientists, sharing best practices in deep learning, large-scale training, and multimodal data integration.
  • Ensure models adhere to WHOOP’s standards for ethical, transparent, and privacy-preserving AI.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
  • 7+ years of experience in applied ML, AI research, or large-scale modeling, with a track record of delivering production systems.
  • Expertise in modern deep learning (e.g., transformers, state space models), multimodal model training.
  • Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow).
  • Experience building and scaling large datasets and training large models in mulit-node, multi-gpu distributed compute environments.
  • Familiarity with best practices for data, model, and context parallelisms.
  • Strong applied experience with representation learning, self-supervised methods, and post-training for downstream applications.
  • Experience with reinforcement learning for post-training foundation models (PPO, DPO, GRPO etc.).
  • Familiarity with MLOps best practices including model versioning, evaluation, CI/CD for ML, and cloud-based compute.
  • Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate cross-functionally with engineers, researchers, and product teams.
  • Passion for WHOOP’s mission to improve human performance and extend healthspan through science and technology.

This role is based in the WHOOP office located in Boston, MA. The successful candidate must be prepared to relocate if necessary to work out of the Boston, MA office.

Interested in the role, but don’t meet every qualification? We encourage you to still apply! At WHOOP, we believe there is much more to a candidate than what is written on paper, and we value character as much as experience. As we continue to build a diverse and inclusive environment, we encourage anyone who is interested in this role to apply.

WHOOP is an Equal Opportunity Employer and participates in E-verify https://www.e-verify.gov/ to determine employment eligibility. It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Source: WHOOP careers (Ashby)

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