Titlesby GlyphApplied Scientist job title trend since Apr 2011
Research · Established · in 0.47% of HN hiring posts · 26 open roles at 14 companies · median $243k
Research methods pointed at a product problem; Amazon made the title mainstream.
first seen Feb 2016, Hacker Newstook off Aug 2020
Why it exists
Written by rule from our own data
First seen in our data in February 2016, in a Hacker News Who is hiring post from Applied Scientist. It took off in August 2020, when its share of Who is hiring posts first reached a quarter of its best year. Today 26 open roles use the title at 14 companies, most of them in consumer. Closest tracked titles: Research Scientist, Data Scientist, Machine Learning Engineer.
- PostingAsk HN: Who is hiring? (February 2016)Hacker News, Feb 2016 · backs: first sighting
- PostingApplied Scientist, EngineeringAnthropic, Nov 2026 · backs: an open posting with the title
Where it is posted
Sectors
- Consumer5
- AI infrastructure5
- Software4
- AI lab1
- Fintech1
Cities
- San Francisco7
- New York6
- Palo Alto2
- London, United Kingdom2
- Berlin, Germany2
- Zurich, Switzerland2
- Hyderabad, India2
- Austin1
- Chicago1
- Seattle1
Countries and remote
- United States18
- United Kingdom2
- Germany2
- Switzerland2
- India2
- Netherlands1
- Israel1
- Poland1
- Czechia1
Remote option35%
Posted pay
Middle half $197k to $265k, median $243k from 8 postings that state a base range (USD a year).
Pay by level and city on SalariesWho is hiring for it
Open postings on their own job boards, read 9h ago| # | Company | Open roles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | ||
| 2 | 4 | ||
| 3 | KoBold MetalsA company hiring most for Data Scientist and Applied Scientist. | 3 | |
| 4 | 2 | ||
| 5 | 2 | ||
| 6 | SentiLinkA company hiring most for Data Scientist and Applied Scientist. | 2 | |
| 7 | 1 | ||
| 8 | 1 | ||
| 9 | 1 | ||
| 10 | Prior LabsA company hiring most for Research Scientist and Machine Learning Engineer. | 1 | |
| 11 | 1 | ||
| 12 | 1 |
Open roles
8 of 26; company pages list the restStaff Applied Scientist, Experimentation and Causal Inference
California, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; New York,NY
Senior Applied Scientist, Efficient LLM Inference & Model Optimization
Palo Alto, California, United States
| Role | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Scientist, Engineering | San Francisco, CA | $320k to $405k | |
| Senior Staff Applied Scientist, Science Platform | Remote - United States | $233k to $326k | |
| Senior Applied Scientist (Onsite/Hybrid)KoBold MetalsSan Francisco Bay Area$130k to $190k | KoBold Metals | San Francisco Bay Area | $130k to $190k |
| Staff Applied Scientist, Experimentation and Causal Inference | California, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; New York,NY | $194k to $285k | |
| Applied Scientist | San Francisco, CA | $172k to $222k | |
| Senior Applied Scientist, Efficient LLM Inference & Model Optimization | Palo Alto, California, United States | $195k to $262k | |
| Senior Applied Scientist II, Ads Optimization | United States - Remote | $240k to $254k | |
| AI Applied Scientist | San Francisco, CA • New York, NY • United States | $153k to $376k |
Share of Hacker News hiring posts
91 posts since Apr 2011November 2026 1 of 207 postings, 0.48%
Related titles
Research ScientistDesigns and runs experiments to push what models can do; usually a PhD role.1.4% of HN posts, 12 mo · 122 open · $232k median · since Mar 2012Data ScientistUses statistics and models to answer questions with data; the "sexiest job" of 2012.2.2% of HN posts, 12 mo · 245 open · $226k median · since May 2011Machine Learning EngineerTrains, ships and maintains machine learning models in production.4.3% of HN posts, 12 mo · 331 open · $255k median · since Apr 2011Research EngineerWrites the code that makes research run: training runs, experiments, infrastructure.1.6% of HN posts, 12 mo · 161 open · $340k median · since Apr 2011Member of Technical StaffA deliberately flat title from Bell Labs, revived by AI labs for engineers and researchers alike.1.1% of HN posts, 12 mo · 206 open · $250k median · since Aug 2015AI TutorWrites and grades data that teaches a model a language or a subject; a model-training role, not teaching people.10 open · seen Jul 2020
About this title
Research methods pointed at a product problem; Amazon made the title mainstream.
Also counted: applied research
First sighting
Applied Scientist | Bing Relevance (Microsoft) | Bellevue WA | Full-time & Interns We are...
Median posted salary $243k from 8 postings that state a base pay range (the median of their midpoints, USD a year). Not a survey of what people earn.