Senior Researcher, Machine Learning and Education

Summary: Foundry10 seeks a Senior Researcher to lead machine learning research focused on education and youth learning. The role involves designing and evaluating ML models, conducting applied research, and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to improve student outcomes through evidence-based practices.

### Description

foundry10 is an education research organization with a philanthropic focus on expanding ideas about learning and creating direct value for youth. In collaboration with a wide range of partners, we surface, evaluate, and share opportunities to better support youth learning both inside and outside the classroom. Building on more than a decade of impactful work, our unique approach blends applied and basic research, philanthropy, and education programs rooted in evidence-based best practices.

Summary of Role

Machine learning can provide powerful ways to understand, support, and reimagine learning both inside and outside formal educational settings. The Senior Researcher, Machine Learning for Education, will be a core member of a new multi-project ML Team at foundry10. This role involves both independent research and analysis as well as multidisciplinary collaboration across a project team and potentially in partnership with external institutions.

Applicants should have deep expertise in machine learning, artificial intelligence, computational modeling, human-computer interaction, data science, or a related field. Additionally, they need a strong interest in education and learning with a desire to improve student outcomes across multiple dimensions. The Senior Researcher will help identify where machine learning can create meaningful value for young people, where it may introduce risks or limitations, and what kinds of evidence are needed to understand its impact.

We are especially interested in candidates who can translate between technical ML methods and educationally meaningful questions, including questions about learning processes, developmental stages, assessment, feedback, adaptive support, accessibility, human-AI interaction, and responsible implementation.

Qualified candidates will have advanced research skills, experience developing or evaluating ML models or computational approaches, and the ability to communicate findings through multiple formats, including peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, public-facing writing, prototypes, tools, or other research products.

This position reports within the Research Pillar. Salary depends on the primary work a candidate will do on the team and their level of experience. We are currently considering candidates within three tracks, based on their training, skills, and expertise:

Human-Centered and Learning Research: $133,000 to $222,000 per year, depending on experience. Research on how young people learn and experience technology, including study design, qualitative and mixed methods, design and user research with youth, and developmental or learning-science expertise applied to ML and AI questions.

Applied Data and Systems: $160,000 to $286,000 per year, DOE. Quantitative and technical research, including statistical modeling, data and analytic pipelines, and building and evaluating prototypes and AI-enabled tools.

Machine Learning and AI Modeling: $184,000 to $307,000 per year, DOE. Design, development, training, and evaluation of ML models and computational systems, such as learner models, multimodal or foundation-model-based approaches, and causal or adaptive systems.

Areas of Interest

The Senior Researcher will help develop a research agenda focused on how machine learning can expand what we are able to understand, measure, design, and support in learning environments. This work may include formal and informal K–12, post-secondary, and out-of-school learning contexts.

We are interested in candidates who can help foundry10 pursue questions such as:

• How can ML help researchers and educators better understand learning processes, developmental trajectories, reasoning, collaboration, motivation, creativity, and other complex dimensions of learning?
• How can computational models, including learner models, multimodal models, causal models, adaptive systems, or foundation-model-based approaches, be used responsibly to support educational research and practice?
• How can AI/ML systems be designed and evaluated in ways that preserve human judgment, promote equity, protect youth, and create meaningful value for learners and educators?
• How can emerging ML methods help generate new forms of assessment, feedback, reflection, accessibility, or learning support beyond conventional chatbot or tutoring applications?
• How can foundry10 combine expertise in machine learning with areas such as developmental psychology, cognitive science, human-centered design, and related fields to pursue ambitious yet grounded education research programs?

Responsibilities

As part of a focused project team, this role in particular will:

• Work collaboratively within the ML project team to provide new and interesting ideas for lines of research, outputs, tool development and/or other avenues to improve learning outcomes and opportunities for young people
• Collaborate to define output goals for the project team
• Conceive, design, build, adapt, and/or evaluate ML models, research systems, datasets, prototypes, analytic pipelines, and, where appropriate, software or hardware-enabled tools.
• Think critically about data quality, experimental design, and responsible AI practices
• Develop predictive analytics, statistical modeling, data mining and machine learning algorithms
• Assist in crafting interesting and important questions regarding education in a technologically advancing world, specifically around the intersections of ML/AI in learning spaces.

More broadly as a researcher, this role will include:

• Represent foundry10 at conferences, within peer-reviewed publications, and face-to-face with a variety of community partners
• Actively read and engage with current research/techniques/technologies and bring new knowledge to the organization and their teams as a result of engagement with relevant topics
• Use various qualitative and quantitative methodologies, analysis strategies, and study designs as needed to address current research questions
• Make informed decisions about when to extend vs. redirect or close off lines of inquiry, depending on progress and likelihood of yielding useful and actionable insights
• Lead operations and partnership tasks (e.g., coordination of external data collection services, communication with external partners) as needed

This is not an exhaustive list, other duties may be assigned as necessary

### Requirements

Education and Experience

• PhD in psychology, human-centered design and engineering, learning science, data science, human-computer interaction, statistics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, computational cognitive science, computer science, or a related field
• 2-5 years of relevant post-PhD work experience
• Strong record of technical research contributions, including first-author or lead-author publications in relevant peer-reviewed journals and conferences
• Experience in both academia and industry preferred
• Practical experience independently leading and conducting applied research with minimal supervision
• Experience with machine learning data structures and models, software architecture, framework, and python libraries (Panda, Pytorch, Numpy)
• Experience developing research prototypes, analytic pipelines, computational models, datasets, software tools, or other technical research products
• Experience with design/development of software tools, preferably for a variety of age groups
• Experience with using data sets of various sizes and from a variety of domains, including synthetic data generation
• Experience mentoring and/or managing students, junior researchers, and/or research staff
• Strong background in research ethics, particularly research ethics involving children and adolescents

Skills, Abilities, and Knowledge

• Ability to gain background knowledge and expertise in other fields within foundry10’s research domains and interest areas that may intersect with your projects
• Proficiency with R or Python and relevant ML libraries
• Familiarity with Cloud platforms (e.g. AWS, Azure, or GCP), Docker/containerization, Git/GitHub, and Linux-based development environments.
• Ability to work collaboratively with researchers from other fields and specializations
• Ability to ask questions that deviate from the status quo to pursue innovative ways to approach learning
• Nuanced understanding of technology and its impact on children and adolescents
• Knowledge of AI/ML tools and methods, including their strengths, limitations, and the direction of development

We cannot sponsor visa applications, and to be considered for this position, you must be eligible to work in the United States. To protect our staff, partners, and the youth we serve, we require all foundry10 employees to adhere to our masking and COVID testing policies when working in person.

To be considered for this role, please submit all of the following materials:

• Cover letter detailing how your interest and qualifications align with this position
• Resume or CV
• Peer-reviewed publication, white paper, conference submission, project summary/report or similar document showcasing your work, clearly state your level of contribution and role
• Responses to the three application questions

Applications without a cover letter will not be reviewed. The application deadline is 5 pm on December 2, 2026.

The interview process will consist of the following steps:

Step 1: Zoom audio interview (1 hour)

Step 2: Zoom video interview with Research team members (1. 5 hours)

Step 3: Background and professional reference checks, if an offer is extended

foundry10 offers competitive salary and benefits that include:

• A 4-day workweek
• A flexible and hybrid work schedule
• Full Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage for employees and their dependents
• $1,500 yearly education stipend
• $3,000 yearly wellness and hobby stipend, before taxes
• Generous paid time off that includes:
• 4 weeks of vacation time annually and additional accrual with tenure
• 12 paid holidays
• 56 hours of paid sick and safe leave frontloaded annually
• Week-long office closures twice a year - each summer and winter
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Reimbursement Account
• Employee Assistance Program at no cost to the employee
• Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, Life Insurance paid fully by foundry10

Employment decisions are based on merit and business needs. foundry10 strives to provide a work environment free from discrimination and harassment because of a protected characteristic. The organization does not discriminate against employees or applicants based on race, color, creed, citizenship, status, national origin, ancestry, gender, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, age, religion, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status, political affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to assist individuals with disabilities with the application and interviewing process as well as essential job functions.