ServiceNow

Principal Research Engineer/Scientist

ServiceNow$125K — $150K *
Enterprise Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • PhD in computer science, machine learning, or related field, or equivalent research experience
  • Eight years or more of post-PhD research experience, significantly in an industrial context with deployed systems
  • Established publication record at top-tier venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP) with influential contributions
  • Proven ability to define a research agenda and choose problems ahead of the community
  • Experience leading cross-disciplinary research teams and projects
  • Strong software development skills with a focus on high-quality research code and production readiness
  • Advanced use of agentic tools and commitment to advancing team practices

Responsibilities

  • Lead research initiatives on agents' knowledge accumulation and reuse
  • Investigate agents' continuous learning and improvement capabilities
  • Explore resilience, safety, and data privacy of AI agents
  • Identify operational realities impacting enterprise agentic deployment
  • Focus on mechanisms for safety, threat detection, and responsible AI practices
  • Publish research findings and advance state of the art in agentic AI
  • Validate hypotheses against real-world deployments rather than benchmarks

Benefits

  • Flexible work arrangements including remote work options
  • Opportunity to publish and contribute to cutting-edge AI research
  • Engage in high-impact projects within complex enterprise environments
  • Collaboration opportunities with multidisciplinary teams and industry leaders
  • Access to state-of-the-art research tools and resources
Full Job Description
Description du poste

En tant que chercheuse ou chercheur principal, vous travaillerez sur des questions de recherche auxquelles la plupart des laboratoires d'IA n'ont tout simplement pas accès. ServiceNow AI Research a pour mandat de construire le futur de l'agentique en entreprise, avec une position d'observation rare: nous voyons comment les agents se comportent réellement, dans des environnements d'entreprise complexes et à grande échelle.

Vous dirigerez des initiatives de recherche sur la capacité des agents à accumuler et à réutiliser le savoir tacite, à apprendre et à s'améliorer en continu, ainsi que sur leur résilience, leur sûreté et la confidentialité des données qu'ils manipulent. Ces questions sont aujourd'hui les vrais obstacles au déploiement de l'agentique en entreprise, et elles se révèlent dans la réalité opérationnelle avant d'apparaître dans la littérature.

Alors qu'une grande partie de la communauté en IA et en TAL se concentre sur les capacités de base des agents, notre équipe explore les dimensions qui déterminent l'adoption réelle: mécanismes de sûreté, détection de menaces, garanties de confidentialité et pratiques d'IA responsable. Vous aurez la liberté de publier et de faire avancer l'état de l'art, avec l'avantage rare de valider vos hypothèses contre des déploiements réels plutôt que contre des bancs d'essai.

As a Principal Researcher, you will work on research questions that most AI labs simply do not have access to. ServiceNow AI Research is chartered to build the future of enterprise agentic AI, from a rare vantage point: we see how agents actually behave, inside complex enterprise environments, at scale.

You will lead research initiatives on how agents accumulate and reuse tacit knowledge, learn and improve continuously, and on their resilience, their safety, and the privacy of the data they handle. These are the real obstacles to enterprise agentic deployment today, and they surface in operational reality well before they appear in the literature.

While much of the AI and NLP community concentrates on core agent capabilities, our team explores the dimensions that determine real adoption: safety mechanisms, threat detection, privacy guarantees, and responsible AI practices. You will have the freedom to publish and advance the state of the art, with the rare advantage of testing your hypotheses against real deployments rather than against benchmarks.

Qualifications
  • Doctorat en informatique, en apprentissage automatique ou dans un domaine connexe, ou expérience de recherche équivalente
  • Huit années ou plus d'expérience en recherche après le doctorat, dont une part significative dans un contexte industriel ou en lien direct avec des systèmes déployés
  • Dossier de publications établi dans des lieux de premier plan (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP ou équivalents), avec des contributions reconnues comme influentes dans votre domaine
  • Antécédents démontrés de définition d'un agenda de recherche, et non seulement d'exécution: vous avez choisi des problèmes avant que la communauté ne s'y intéresse et vous pouvez expliquer pourquoi
  • Expérience de direction scientifique d'équipes ou de projets pluridisciplinaires réunissant chercheurs et ingénieurs
  • Solides compétences en développement logiciel: vous écrivez, maintenez et optimisez du code de recherche de qualité, et vous savez ce qu'il faut pour qu'un résultat survive au passage en production
  • Usage avancé des outils agentiques dans votre propre pratique de recherche, et volonté de faire progresser les pratiques de l'équipe sur ce plan
  • Capacité démontrée à influencer des décisions techniques en dehors de votre propre équipe, notamment auprès d'équipes produit et ingénierie
  • Excellentes aptitudes de communication, incluant la capacité à expliquer des travaux techniques complexes à un public non spécialisé et à des dirigeants

Atouts
  • Expertise dans un ou plusieurs des axes suivants: mémoire et savoir tacite des agents, apprentissage continu, sûreté et alignement, sécurité et détection de menaces, confidentialité, évaluation d'agents
  • Expérience de travail sur des systèmes d'IA opérant dans des environnements d'entreprise réels, avec les contraintes de conformité, de gouvernance et d'échelle que cela implique
  • Contributions à des logiciels ouverts, à des jeux de données ou à des bancs d'évaluation utilisés par la communauté
  • Rôles de service scientifique: comité de programme, édition, organisation d'ateliers
  • Collaborations académiques ou supervision de doctorants
  • Maîtrise du français ou intérêt à l'apprendre, dans un environnement de travail montréalais bilingue

Requirements
  • PhD in computer science, machine learning, or a related field, or equivalent research experience
  • Eight or more years of research experience post-PhD, a significant portion of it in an industrial setting or in direct contact with deployed systems
  • Established publication record at top-tier venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, or equivalents), with contributions recognized as influential in your field
  • Demonstrated track record of setting a research agenda, not only executing one: you have chosen problems before the community turned to them, and you can explain why
  • Experience providing scientific leadership to cross-disciplinary teams or projects bringing together researchers and engineers
  • Strong software development skills: you write, maintain, and optimize high-quality research code, and you know what it takes for a result to survive the move into production
  • Advanced use of agentic tools in your own research practice, and a willingness to advance the team's practices in this area
  • Demonstrated ability to influence technical decisions beyond your own team, particularly with product and engineering teams
  • Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical work to non-specialist audiences and to executives

Nice to have
  • Expertise in one or more of the following areas: agent memory and tacit knowledge, continual learning, safety and alignment, security and threat detection, privacy, agent evaluation
  • Experience with AI systems operating in real enterprise environments, with the compliance, governance, and scale constraints that entails
  • Contributions to open source software, datasets, or evaluation benchmarks used by the community
  • Scientific service roles: program committees, editorial work, workshop organization
  • Academic collaborations or supervision of doctoral students
  • Fluency in French, or interest in learning it, in a bilingual Montreal work environment


Informations complémentaires

Work Personas

Nous abordons notre monde du travail distribué avec flexibilité et confiance. Les profils de travail (flexible, à distance ou requis au bureau) sont des catégories attribuées aux employés de ServiceNow en fonction de la nature de leur travail et de leur lieu de travail assigné. Pour en savoir plus, cliquez ici. Pour déterminer l'éligibilité à un profil de travail, ServiceNow peut confirmer la distance entre votre résidence principale et le bureau ServiceNow le plus proche à l'aide d'un service tiers.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow provides cloud-based solutions that define, structure, manage, and automate services for enterprise operations in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and other countries. The company offers service management solutions, including incident, problem, change, request, and cost management as well as service catalogs; and IT, HR, facilities, and field service management solutions. It also provides IT operations management solutions covering service mapping, delivery, and assurance solutions; business management solutions such as financial management, project portfolio suite, vendor performance management, and performance analytics as well as governance, risk, and compliance; and application development services.

ServiceNow Careers

Join the dynamic team at ServiceNow, a global leader in digital workflow solutions, where innovation and leadership converge to shape the future of work. At ServiceNow, we offer more than just job opportunities; we provide a platform for professional growth and a chance to be part of a culture that values diversity, creativity, and continuous learning.

Work You’ll Do

Embark on a career journey with ServiceNow and contribute to the world’s leading enterprises' digital transformation. Our team is at the forefront of developing cutting-edge technologies that improve how people work. With ServiceNow, you will use your skills to impact businesses and industries profoundly, driving efficiency and innovation.

Join Our Market-Leading Team

ServiceNow is not just another technology company. We are a team that thrives on diversity and leadership, fostering an inclusive environment that promotes growth and development. Our commitment to diversity training ensures that every team member can achieve their potential.

Innovative Work

ServiceNow is home to more than 10,000 dedicated professionals who lead the charge in digital workflows and enterprise solutions. As part of our team, you will engage in projects that merge technology with practical applications, creating revolutionary products that advance how services are delivered and managed.

Career Development

At ServiceNow, your career trajectory is filled with boundless opportunities. We support your growth with robust training programs, leadership development courses, and access to global challenges. Whether you are looking for an internship, full-time position, or leadership role, ServiceNow equips you with the tools to excel.

Be Part of a Great Team

Working at ServiceNow means being part of a community that values teamwork and innovation. Our collaborative environment encourages networking and sharing ideas, making our workplace vibrant and dynamic. The benefits of joining ServiceNow extend beyond comprehensive health and wellness; they include fostering professional connections and friendships that last a lifetime.

Explore Job Opportunities and Internships

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, ServiceNow offers a range of employment options to suit your career goals. From internships that provide real-world experience to full-time positions that challenge you to leverage your expertise, we are committed to hiring the best talent.

Stay Connected

Join Our Team Search open positions that match your skills and interests. At ServiceNow, we look for passionate, curious, and solution-driven team players. Explore the possibilities that await you at a company that is committed to your professional success.

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ServiceNow Careers

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Learn more about ServiceNow
Size
16,881 employees
Market Cap
$76.5 billion
Industry
Net Income
$118.5 million
Founded
2004
5 Year Trend
+33.5%
Revenue
$4.5 billion
NASDAQ

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