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Industry Postdoc Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Scout AI

Senior AI Researcher

PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, or a related field plus 4+ years of applied research experience (industry, postdoc, or lab), or 8+ years of equivalent industry research ...

Scout AI

Senior AI Researcher

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site +1

$200K - $400K/yr

PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, or a related field plus 4+ years of applied research experience (industry, postdoc, or lab), or 8+ years of equivalent industry research ...

GO-Energy Geosciences

Postdoctoral Scholar

Bodega Bay, CA · On-site

$69K - $107K/yr

... and Industry. The goal: Develop high-throughput approaches to predict new material reaction ... Postdoctoral positions are paid on a step schedule per union contract and salaries will be ...

Statistics Interest Group

$60 - $80/hr

Postdoc will receive mentorship in method development, biological collaboration, grant writing, and career development. The goal is to help trainees grow into future leaders in academia or industry.

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Industry Postdoc information

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$25K

$59K

$83.5K

How much do industry postdoc jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 9, 2026, the average yearly pay for industry postdoc in the United States is $59,022.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $49,000.00 and $66,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is an industry postdoc?

An Industry Postdoc is a temporary research position offered by companies to PhD graduates, allowing them to further develop their research skills in a corporate setting. Unlike traditional academic postdoctoral positions, industry postdocs focus on projects with direct commercial or product-driven applications. These roles offer exposure to business practices, product development, and teamwork in interdisciplinary environments. Industry postdocs often serve as a bridge to full-time roles in industry and can provide valuable networking opportunities. The positions typically last 1–3 years and may lead to permanent employment within the company.

What are some common challenges industry postdocs face when transitioning from academia to a corporate research environment?

Industry postdocs often encounter challenges such as adapting to faster-paced project timelines, aligning research goals with business objectives, and collaborating with cross-functional teams that may include non-scientists. Unlike academia, where research can be more exploratory, industry projects typically prioritize practical applications and measurable outcomes. Learning to communicate scientific findings to stakeholders with varying technical backgrounds is also a key adjustment. However, these challenges can provide valuable skills and broaden career prospects in both research and development roles.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an industry postdoc, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Industry Postdoc, you need a doctoral degree in a relevant scientific or technical field, strong research methodology, and data analysis skills. Familiarity with laboratory equipment, statistical software, and industry-specific tools (such as Python, MATLAB, or chromatography systems) is often required. Effective communication, teamwork, and adaptability are crucial soft skills for collaborating with diverse teams and aligning research with business objectives. These skills and qualities ensure impactful research outcomes, foster innovation, and support successful integration into fast-paced industry environments.

What is the difference between Industry Postdoc vs Research Scientist?

AspectIndustry PostdocResearch Scientist
Required CredentialsPhD in relevant field, postdoctoral experiencePhD, often with additional experience or publications
Work EnvironmentAcademic-style research labs within industryIndustry R&D departments, corporate labs
Employer & Industry UsageUniversities, research institutions, some companiesPrivate companies, biotech, tech firms
Common Search & ComparisonYesYes

Industry Postdocs are typically temporary research positions for recent PhDs to gain industry experience, often in academic-style labs. Research Scientists are more permanent roles focused on product development, innovation, and applied research within industry settings. While both require a PhD, Research Scientists usually have more industry experience and responsibilities.

What cities are hiring for Industry Postdoc jobs?

Cities with the most Industry Postdoc job openings:

What states have the most Industry Postdoc jobs?

States with the most job openings for Industry Postdoc jobs include:

What are popular job titles related to Industry Postdoc jobs?

For Industry Postdoc jobs, the most frequently searched job titles are:

Industry Postdoc jobs near you
Infographic showing various Industry Postdoc job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 78% Full Time, 14% Part Time, and 8% Contract. Highlights an 91% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 7% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $59,022 per year, or $28.4 per hour.

Advisor - Agent Research

San Diego, CA • On-site

Scorpion Therapeutics
51 - 200 employees
Learn more about Scorpion Therapeuticsexternal

$150 - $200/hr

Other

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 8 days ago

Job description

Position Summary
  • Design the learning layer of a scientific agent platform to enable agents to improve from experimental feedback; translate wet-lab and computational endpoints into trainable signals.
Responsibilities
  • Partner with scientists to build autonomous agents for molecule discovery tasks.
  • Design and build reinforcement learning (RL) environments with appropriate state/action/termination semantics.
  • Curate and engineer reward functions from noisy scientific signals.
  • Post-train domain models (SFT, DPO/GRPO/PPO, reward modeling, distillation) on chemistry and biology tasks.
  • Integrate learned policies with domain tools (RDKit, molecular graph ML, ELN/LIMS APIs, instrument drivers) to execute DMTA tasks.
  • Build evaluation infrastructure: task suites, scoring harnesses, regression and experiment tracking (e.g., MLflow).
  • Represent Frontier AI in the AI research community (publish, talks, reviews) and scout trends.
  • Evaluate external vendors, open-source projects, and academic collaborations.
Basic Qualifications
  • PhD (or MS + 3 yrs / BS + 5 yrs equivalent) in Machine Learning, Bioinformatics, Cheminformatics, Computer Science, or related field with demonstrated wet-lab collaboration/hands‑on experience.
  • ~1–2 years applying AI/ML in scientific disciplines (industry postdoc counts).
  • Hands‑on experience training/post‑training AI models.
Additional Preferences
  • Python; deep learning frameworks (PyTorch/TensorFlow/JAX/HuggingFace).
  • RL/post‑training methods (PPO, GRPO, DPO, reward modeling, RLHF/RLAIF) and libraries (TRL/verl or equivalent).
  • Molecular representation learning, generative chemistry, or protein/nucleic acid models.
  • Agentic AI systems (OpenAI/Anthropic Agent SDK, Langchain, Smol agents).
  • Cloud end‑to‑end systems; AWS/Azure; Nextflow/Argo on Kubernetes.
  • Publications in relevant ML/NLP venues; mentoring experience.
Application/Benefits
  • None explicitly included beyond compensation/benefits: $151,500–$222,200 + potential company bonus; comprehensive benefits including 401(k), pension, vacation, medical/dental/vision/prescription, flexible benefits, life insurance, time off/leave, and well‑being benefits.
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