At a Glance
- Tasks: Join a pioneering team to develop real human behavioural data for AI training.
- Company: Exciting pre-seed AI company with significant funding and innovative projects.
- Benefits: Competitive salary of £130,000 plus equity, hybrid work options, and a dynamic environment.
- Other info: Limited positions available; apply now to secure your spot in this groundbreaking team.
- Why this job: Be at the forefront of AI innovation and make a real impact in the industry.
- Qualifications: Experience in RL environments, evaluation-to-training loops, and fine-tuning foundation models.
The predicted salary is between 130000 - 130000 £ per year.
Hybrid | Amsterdam / London / Paris | £130,000 + Founding Equity
The best AI engineers aren't waiting for a job ad. They're waiting for the right moment. This might be it. Anthropic leadership has discussed spending over $1 billion on RL environments in the next year alone. The market is moving - fast and at scale. One pre-seed company just closed a round at a valuation most Series A companies would envy, with frontier AI labs already as paying clients and acquisition interest already on the table (x2). The reason? They cracked something the rest of the market hasn't.
Most teams build RL environments from synthetic data - easy to demo, easy to commoditise, brittle. This team mines real human behavioural data - how domain experts actually reason, decide, and solve complex tasks over long-horizon workflows. 10-100+ step environments. Closed-loop systems where environments, data, training, and evaluation are tightly integrated. Not proxies. Not short cuts. 25-30% uplift in model task success rates. 50-65% more training signals. Evals that reflect how humans actually work.
The funding just landed. Second time founders. The founding team is being built right now. There are very few seats. Are you going to be in one of them?
£130,000 + founding equity at a ~$40M seed valuation. Frontier AI labs as paying clients from day one. Environment design treated as a first-class problem - not an afterthought. London / Paris hybrid with some remote options. Get in now - before this role disappears and you're watching from the outside.
You'll love this if…
- You've built the evaluation-to-training loop - environments, rollouts, reward signals feeding post-training - at a serious RL or AI company.
- You've fine-tuned foundation models, and done it on smaller open-weight models rather than just throwing scale at the problem.
- You think turning real human expertise into training signal is one of the most underrated problems in AI right now.
- Your RL is the genuinely hard kind - non-trivial reward design, long-horizon, multi-agent - not moving data from A to B.
- You move fast, think in first principles, and thrive without a playbook.
- You want to work at the forefront of innovation with frontier labs already paying to use what you build.
Roles like this don't stay open. Because great teams are Built Different.
Founding Research Engineer employer: BUILT DIFFERENT
Built Different is an exceptional employer that fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration, making it an ideal place for AI engineers looking to make a significant impact. With a competitive salary of £300,000 plus equity, employees benefit from flexible remote work options and the opportunity to be part of a pioneering team at the forefront of AI technology. The company prioritises employee growth and development, ensuring that team members are equipped with the skills and experiences needed to thrive in their careers.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Founding Research Engineer
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at BUILT DIFFERENT or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to BUILT DIFFERENT.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like BUILT DIFFERENT.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like BUILT DIFFERENT that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Founding Research Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at BUILT DIFFERENT.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at BUILT DIFFERENT and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at BUILT DIFFERENT
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If BUILT DIFFERENT uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
