Back to jobs

Data Partnerships

San Francisco

Thinking Machines Lab's mission is to empower humanity through advancing collaborative general intelligence. We're building a future where everyone has access to the knowledge and tools to make AI work for their unique needs and goals. 

We are scientists, engineers, and builders who’ve created some of the most widely used AI products, including ChatGPT and Character.ai, open-weights models like Mistral, as well as popular open source projects like PyTorch, OpenAI Gym, Fairseq, and Segment Anything.

About the Role

As data partnerships lead at Thinking Machines Lab, you'll own the end-to-end pipeline of data procurement for frontier model training, from understanding what our research teams need, to sourcing and closing providers, to managing the quality and delivery of data. You will be the connective tissue between research, legal, and external vendors, making sure the right data reaches the right teams at the right time.

This role is ideal for a technical-leaning person who wants to get deep into the data world in service of an ambitious research agenda. You'll need to be comfortable context-switching between planning out the data needed for training runs and negotiating pricing with data vendors. Over time, you'll build the repeatable, scalable processes that allow our data operations to keep pace with the speed of our research.

What You'll Do

  • Drive and coordinate data procurement initiatives end-to-end, ensuring that complex sourcing efforts are executed efficiently, transparently, and with scientific rigor.
  • Partner closely with research teams to proactively understand data needs across pre-training, post-training, and evaluation workstreams, staying ahead of the roadmap rather than reacting to requests.
  • Source, evaluate, and onboard data providers, building and maintaining a pipeline of potential vendors across domains.
  • Negotiate pricing, licensing terms, and contract structures with data providers, working alongside legal to close agreements that serve our research goals.
  • Evaluate incoming data alongside researchers, assessing quality and coverage for intended training objectives.
  • Monitor and manage ongoing data deliveries, including tracking schedules, flagging issues, and ensuring what we receive matches what was agreed upon.
  • Build repeatable, scalable processes around the full data procurement lifecycle so that sourcing new data becomes faster and more systematic over time.
  • Translate technical data requirements into actionable plans with clear milestones, keeping teams aligned across research, infrastructure, legal, and external partners.
  • Synthesize and communicate progress across diverse stakeholders, ensuring the right people are informed at the right time and that nothing falls through the cracks.

Skills and Qualifications

Minimum qualifications:

  • Degree in computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, physics, engineering, or similar.
  • Experience in data pipelines, procurement, and operations, or a similar role.

Preferred qualifications — we encourage you to apply if you meet some but not all of these:

  • Masters or PhD in computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, physics, engineering, or similar.
  • Experience working with data at or for frontier AI labs, including sourcing, evaluating, and managing large-scale data pipelines.
  • Experience at a frontier or academic research lab, contributing to research in artificial intelligence.
  • Familiarity with the data provider landscape and the commercial, legal, and technical considerations involved in data licensing.
  • Ability to learn new technical domains quickly and operate comfortably in ambiguity.
  • Strong technical communication, written and verbal.

Logistics

  • Location: This role is based in San Francisco, California.
  • Compensation: Depending on background, skills, and experience, the expected annual salary range for this position is $175,000–$475,000 USD.
  • Visa sponsorship: We sponsor visas. While we can't guarantee success for every candidate or role, if you're the right fit, we're committed to working through the visa process together.
  • Benefits: Thinking Machines offers generous health, dental, and vision benefits, unlimited PTO, paid parental leave, and relocation support as needed.

As set forth in Thinking Machines' Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Thinking Machines Lab? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...

Please provide the URL to your LinkedIn; if you don't have one, please write "none".

Please provide the URL to your Github; if you don't have one, please write "none".

Please provide the URL to your personal website, Google Scholar, etc if you have one. Put "none" if you do not.

Please tell us the name of your current employer (today if you are employed). Put "none" if this does not apply to you; for example, if you are in school or not currently employed -- this does not disqualify you. Feel free to enter previous roles in the field below in "Past Company 1".

Please enter your current title at your current employer. If you are not currently employed (or in school etc) please enter "none" and feel free to enter previous roles in the field below in "Past Company".

Please enter the Company name of your most recent previous employer. If you have not worked at another company before your current one, please enter “none”. 

Please enter your title at your most recent previous employer. If you have not worked at another company before your current one, please enter “none”.

If you would like, please enter the Company name of your second previous employer. If you have not worked at another company before your current or previous one, please enter “none” or skip this question.

If you would like, please enter the Title or Job of your second previous employer. If you have not worked at another company before your current or previous one, please enter “none” or skip this question.

Please list 3 projects you're proud of, using 1 sentence each. Feel free to add a link if helpful. We will send this to the hiring team when reviewing your application.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Thinking Machines Lab’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.