Your impact

Handshake is building the future of human data for AI.

We partner directly with top AI labs to power large language model (LLM) training and evaluation with high-quality, expert-generated data. As AI models become more sophisticated, the demand for specialized human input continues to grow—and Handshake is uniquely positioned to meet it. We power career platforms at 92% of the top U.S. universities, giving us direct access to verified expert talent across a wide range of domains.

Our AI team is rapidly building a new generation of human data products—from expert annotation platforms to AI interviewers and seamless payout infrastructure—all designed to accelerate research and improve model performance.

We’ve assembled a world-class team from YC, Notion, Scale, Coinbase, Palantir, and more, and we’re working directly with many of the world’s leading AI research labs. This is a unique opportunity to join a fast-growing team shaping the future of AI through better data, better tools, and better systems—for experts, by experts.

We’re looking for an entrepreneurial AI Researcher to help us build at the frontier. As an AI Researcher, you’ll work directly with the world’s leading labs to scope novel data and evaluation challenges, spin up ambitious new initiatives, and turn our unmatched access to PhD talent into differentiated capabilities. You’ll operate with autonomy and urgency, shaping our roadmap through direct customer insight and setting the foundation for a world-class research function within Handshake.

Location: San Francisco, CA

Your role

• Be the Lab’s First Call: You’ll be a point of contact for researchers at the most advanced AI labs. By building deep, trust-based relationships, you’ll stay ahead of their emerging needs—so when a new challenge arises, we’re already in the room.

• Scope and Launch New Research-Driven Initiatives: You’ll partner directly with labs to uncover unarticulated data and evaluation needs—across reasoning, multi-agent systems, tool use, and beyond. Then you’ll help shape these ideas into concrete, scoped projects we can execute on.

• Prototype and Bring New Offerings to Market: You’ll lead the 0→1 work of designing new data types, spinning up lightweight pilots with engineering and ops, and collaborating with business teams to turn promising experiments into scalable offerings.

Your experience

• AI/ML Research Depth: You’ve conducted meaningful research—whether in academia or industry—and can speak fluently about LLMs, agent-based systems, and emerging evaluation methods. You’ve likely published at top venues or shipped work that mattered in production.

• Strategic, Customer-Obsessed Mindset: You know how to talk to technical buyers and senior researchers, uncover their real pain points, and turn that into action. You’re not afraid of a blank whiteboard and thrive in messy, fast-moving environments.

• Builder’s DNA: You move quickly, prototype often, and aren’t precious about titles or playbooks. You’re comfortable sitting between research, product, and GTM—and know how to ship.

• Technical Fluency: You’re comfortable debugging models, evaluating outputs, and collaborating with engineers. You’ve likely worked with frameworks like PyTorch or JAX, and you understand how modern ML stacks fit together.

Why Join Us

• This is a rare opportunity to help define how the world’s top labs build, test, and evaluate cutting-edge AI systems. You’ll be working with a uniquely high-talent team, tapping into a network of 18 million students and 500K+ PhDs, and shaping foundational infrastructure at a critical moment in the field. If you're excited to build from first principles—and want your work to directly accelerate frontier AI—we'd love to talk.

What we offer

At Handshake, we'll give you the tools to feel healthy, happy and secure.

Benefits below apply to US employees in full-time positions.

• 💰 Equity and ownership in a fast-growing company.

• 🍼 16 Weeks of paid parental leave for birth giving parents & 10 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birth giving parents.

• 💝 Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision policies including LGTBQ+ Coverage. We also provide resources for Mental Health Assistance, Employee Assistance Programs and counseling support.

• 📚 Generous learning & development opportunities and an annual $2,000 stipend for you to grow your skills and career.

• 💰 Financial coaching through Origin to help you through your financial journey.

• 🛜 Monthly internet stipend and a brand new MacBook to allow you to do your best work.

• 🚃 Monthly commuter stipend for you to expense your travel to the office (for office-based employees).

• 🥗 Free lunch provided 5x a week in office.

• 🏋️ Free gym access in San Francisco office building.

• 🤝 Referral bonus to reward you when you bring great talent to Handshake.

• 🧗🏼Team outings throughout the year to stay connected to each other.

• 🏦 401k Match: Handshake offers a dollar-for-dollar match on 1% of deferred salary, up to a maximum of $1,200 per year.

• 🏝 All full-time US-based Handshakers are eligible for our flexible time off policy to get out and see the world. In addition, we offer 13 standardized holidays, and 2 additional days of flexible holiday time off. Lastly, we have a Winter #ShakeBreak, a one-week period of Collective Time Off.

• 💻 Handshake offers $500 home office stipend for you to spend during your first 3 months to create a productive and comfortable workspace at home.

• 🍼 Family support: Parental leave coaching and support provided by Parentaly. We partner with Maven Clinic to provide a lifetime coverage up to $15K for expenses related to fertility and family forming!

• 💰 Lifestyle Savings Account: We offer you an annual stipend of $500 to use for purchases such as fitness classes, gym memberships, work-from-home setup, and more.

Looking for more? Explore our mission, values and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.

Handshake is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or reasonable accommodation, please let your recruiter know during initial communications.