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Principal Applied Scientist Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Principal Applied Scientist

Nashville, TN

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

... scientific process, including modeling approaches, evaluation techniques, and data collection strategies. Solution Development - Applied Research: -Develops and pilots research proofs-of-concept ...

Principal Applied Scientist - Robotics

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

The IC4 Applied Scientist for Robotics, Perception, and Embodied AI will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for defining, prototyping, and delivering AI capabilities for commercially ...

Principal Applied Scientist - Robotics

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

The IC4 Applied Scientist for Robotics, Perception, and Embodied AI will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for defining, prototyping, and delivering AI capabilities for commercially ...

Principal Applied Scientist - Robotics

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

The IC4 Applied Scientist for Robotics, Perception, and Embodied AI will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for defining, prototyping, and delivering AI capabilities for commercially ...

Principal Applied Scientist - Robotics

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

The IC4 Applied Scientist for Robotics, Perception, and Embodied AI will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for defining, prototyping, and delivering AI capabilities for commercially ...

Principal Applied Scientist - Robotics

Santa Clara, CA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

The IC4 Applied Scientist for Robotics, Perception, and Embodied AI will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for defining, prototyping, and delivering AI capabilities for commercially ...

Showing results 41-60

Principal Applied Scientist information

See salary details

$68.5K

$144K

$190.5K

How much do principal applied scientist jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 17, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal applied scientist in the United States is $144,009.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $117,500.00 and $169,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a principal applied scientist?

Principal Applied Scientists are senior-level experts who lead the development and application of advanced scientific and analytical techniques to solve complex real-world problems. They often work in industries such as technology, healthcare, or engineering, using their expertise in areas like machine learning, data science, or physics. In addition to conducting research, Principal Applied Scientists guide project teams, mentor junior scientists, and help shape the strategic direction of scientific initiatives within an organization.

How does a principal applied scientist typically collaborate with cross-functional teams in a tech organization?

Principal Applied Scientists often work closely with data engineers, product managers, and software developers to translate business objectives into innovative machine learning solutions. They are usually responsible for guiding technical direction, mentoring junior scientists, and ensuring that research prototypes are scalable for production. Regular collaboration involves participating in strategy meetings, code reviews, and presenting research findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Effective communication and leadership skills are crucial for aligning scientific advancements with broader organizational goals.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a principal applied scientist, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Principal Applied Scientist, you need deep expertise in data science, statistical modeling, machine learning, and typically a PhD or advanced degree in a quantitative field. Proficiency with programming languages like Python or R, cloud platforms, and frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch is commonly required. Exceptional problem-solving abilities, leadership, and the capacity to communicate complex concepts to diverse stakeholders distinguish top performers in this role. These skills are crucial for driving innovation, leading technical teams, and delivering impactful solutions to complex business challenges.

What is the difference between Principal Applied Scientist vs Senior Data Scientist?

AspectPrincipal Applied ScientistSenior Data Scientist
Required CredentialsAdvanced degrees (PhD or Master’s), extensive experience in applied researchTypically a Master’s or PhD, strong analytical skills, less emphasis on applied research leadership
Work EnvironmentResearch-focused, leadership in projects, cross-functional collaborationData analysis, model development, supporting business decisions
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, R&D departments, AI/ML teamsTech firms, finance, healthcare, more operational roles

The Principal Applied Scientist is a senior role emphasizing leadership in applied research and innovation, often requiring advanced degrees and extensive experience. In contrast, a Senior Data Scientist focuses more on data analysis and model building with less emphasis on research leadership. Both roles are common in tech and industry settings, but the Principal Applied Scientist typically leads projects and guides research strategies.

More about Principal Applied Scientist jobs

What states have the most Principal Applied Scientist jobs?

States with the most job openings for Principal Applied Scientist jobs include:

Infographic showing various Principal Applied Scientist job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 89% Full Time, 9% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 94% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 4% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $144,009 per year, or $69.2 per hour.

Principal Applied Scientist

Oracle

Nashville, TN

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 24 days ago


Oracle rating

8.7

Company rating: 8.7 out of 10

Based on 152 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

55th of 244 rated software companies


Job description

Independently partners with engineering, product, and security teams to translate complex identity and public safety needs into ambitious research plans and production-ready AI solutions. Leads end-to-end applied research across next-generation facial recognition, including face verification and multi-face recognition, as well as defenses against deepfakes, presentation attacks, and other adversarial threats. Explores advanced approaches such as agentic video analysis and multimodal AI to enable broader public safety and security applications and expand Oracle's portfolio. Surveys the state of the art, builds high-quality datasets, runs rigorous experiments and POCs, and designs, trains, evaluates, and optimizes models for real-world deployment. Writes reliable, well-documented code and collaborates closely to ship, monitor, and improve models in production. Advances Oracle's scientific leadership through publications, patents, white papers, peer review, and engagement with the broader research community, pushing the boundaries of secure identity and public safety AI.

Only Oracle brings together the data, infrastructure, applications, and expertise to power everything from industry innovations to life-saving care. And with AI embedded across our products and services, we help customers turn that promise into a better future for all. Discover your potential at a company leading the way in AI and cloud solutions that impact billions of lives.

True innovation starts when everyone is empowered to contribute. That's why we're committed to growing a workforce that promotes opportunities for all with competitive benefits that support our people with flexible medical, life insurance, and retirement options. We also encourage employees to give back to their communities through our volunteer programs.

We're committed to including people with disabilities at all stages of the employment process. If you require accessibility assistance or accommodation for a disability at any point, let us know by emailing accommodation-request_mb@oracle.com or by calling 1-888-404-2494 in the United States.

Oracle is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans' status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Oracle will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records pursuant to applicable law.

Disclaimer:
Certain U.S. based or U.S. customer or client-facing roles may be required to comply with applicable requirements, such as immunization/occupational health mandates, and/or drug testing requirements.
Range and benefit information provided in this posting are specific to the stated locations only
US: Hiring Range in USD from: $126,200 to $264,100 per annum. May be eligible for bonus, equity, and compensation deferral.
Oracle maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions and locations, as well as reflect Oracle's differing products, industries and lines of business.
Candidates are typically placed into the range based on the preceding factors as well as internal peer equity.
Oracle US offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes the following:
1. Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including expert medical opinion
2. Short term disability and long term disability
3. Life insurance and AD&D
4. Supplemental life insurance (Employee/Spouse/Child)
5. Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts
6. Pre-tax commuter and parking benefits
7. 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match
8. Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits. For employees working at least 35 hours per week, the vacation accrual rate is 13 days annually for the first three years of employment and 18 days annually for subsequent years of employment. Vacation accrual is prorated for employees working between 20 and 34 hours per week. Employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are not eligible for vacation.
9. 11 paid holidays
10. Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire. Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.
11. Paid parental leave
12. Adoption assistance
13. Employee Stock Purchase Plan
14. Financial planning and group legal
15. Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance
The role will generally accept applications for at least three calendar days from the posting date or as long as the job remains posted.

Career Level - IC4


Key Responsibilities

Solution Identification:
-Independently collaborates with engineering, product, security, and other cross-functional teams to identify business and product needs, create and implement solutions, promote innovation, and drive model implementations.
-Independently performs literature reviews and state-of-the-art analyses in areas such as advanced computer vision, facial biometrics, video understanding, and multimodal AI to understand the problem that needs to be solved.
-Creates a science plan to address product and/or business problems in secure identity, public safety, and related application areas.
-Serves as a leading contributor in identifying solutions based on the scientific process, including modeling approaches, evaluation techniques, and data collection strategies.

Solution Development - Applied Research:
-Develops and pilots research proofs-of-concept (POCs) or research experiments to demonstrate the feasibility of proposed solutions, gather supporting evidence, and secure resources for applied research.
-Independently identifies and prepares image, video, and multimodal datasets for use in applied research. Ensures datasets meet quality standards and identifies gaps in coverage, representation, and evaluation.
-Contributes to the design of and conducts research on new theories, tools, and methodologies to transfer and apply state-of-the-art technologies, including agentic video analysis and advanced facial recognition, into products and services or make advancements in the field.

Solution Development:
-Designs, develops, and optimizes AI artifacts: including model training and fine-tuning, computer vision pipelines, multimodal systems, and computation optimizations.
-Designs and reviews the architecture of ML and AI solutions, including data, model, training, inference, and evaluation components, employing best practices for scalable and reliable deployment.

Solution Development - Articulating Research Insights:
-Independently identifies meaningful insights from data and metadata sources through analysis and experimentation.
-Interprets and communicates insights and findings to cross-level and cross-functional audiences.
-Creates patents, white papers, publications, or other technical documentation related to applied research outcomes in biometrics, video intelligence, secure identity, and public safety AI.

Solution Delivery - Coding and Documentation:
-Develops efficient, medium-complexity code from scratch and properly maintains and organizes existing codebases.
-Implements best practices for version control, code review, and code delivery and deployment.
-Builds and maintains professional documentation for technical processes, including experimentation, data collection and analysis, model development, and evaluation.
-Tests and reviews code for bugs, performance issues, and reliability.

Solution Delivery:
-Collaborates with fellow technical teams to ensure the successful and timely delivery of solutions and integration of services.
-Collaborates with software engineers and machine learning engineers to deploy computer vision, biometric, and video analysis solutions into production environments.
-Participates in the peer review of solutions prior to delivery.
-Coordinates with team members for the delivery of solutions.
-Ensures delivered solutions successfully address product and/or business problems and meet applicable quality, security, and performance requirements.
-Independently collaborates with operational teams to evaluate and monitor solutions in production, including model accuracy, robustness, and evolving threat conditions.

Building Research Capability - Research Excellence:
-Demonstrates advanced knowledge in at least one business-critical applied research area, such as computer vision, facial biometrics, video understanding, multimodal AI, or adversarial machine learning.
-Applies advanced domain knowledge and industry best practices to applied research, with a focus on secure identity, public safety, and broader applications that expand Oracle's AI portfolio.

Building Research Capability - Research Community Presence:
-Leads the publication and presentation of research findings and papers at conferences and in research and industry outlets.
-Participates in the scientific community by providing peer review and feedback.
-Establishes collaborations with internal research labs and external research communities.

Core Responsibilities

Planning & Execution:
-Manages and coordinates moderately complex tasks, monitoring timelines and deliverables to ensure timely completion and adherence to requirements for a moderately sized project or initiative.
-Efficiently monitors, and prioritizes work across multiple projects, providing technical oversight and adjusting plans to address shifts in resources or timelines.

Collaboration & Partnership:
-Collaborates across the organization to align on expectations and achieve shared objectives.
-Leverages an understanding of business leaders, stakeholders, and customers to ensure proposed research and technical solutions meet their needs.
-Supports inclusivity by actively seeking and listening to diverse perspectives, ensuring others feel heard and respected.

Problem Solving:
-Identifies and addresses moderately complex scientific and technical issues by analyzing a wide range of data and information to identify solutions in accordance with standard practices.
-Proactively escalates unresolved or critical issues with a thorough assessment and suggests potential solutions.
-Reviews, contributes to, and documents problem-solving strategies.

Continuous Learning:
-Pursues learning opportunities to expand knowledge of emerging research, technologies, and tools, and stays abreast of the latest trends and best practices in computer vision, biometrics, video AI, and related fields.
-Proactively seeks and leverages ongoing feedback and training to improve skills.
-Coaches and mentors junior team members, fostering continuous learning and knowledge sharing within and across teams.

Continuous Improvement:
-Develops ideas, recommends updates, and collaborates on the implementation of process improvements to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of research, experimentation, development, and delivery workflows across teams, and evaluates the impact on key stakeholders.
-Solicits feedback from others on ideas for alternative approaches and methods for continued improvement.

Performance and Development:
-Contributes to the talent development pipeline by participating in candidate interviews, assessing candidates, and providing hiring recommendations.


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About Oracle

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

An Oracle career can span industries, roles, Countries and cultures, giving you the opportunity to flourish in new roles and innovate, while blending work life in. Oracle has thrived through 40+ years of change by innovating and operating with integrity while delivering for the top companies in almost every industry. In order to nurture the talent that makes this happen, we are committed to an inclusive culture that celebrates and values diverse insights and perspectives, a workforce that inspires thought leadership and innovation. Oracle offers a highly competitive suite of Employee Benefits designed on the principles of parity, consistency, and affordability. The overall package includes certain core elements such as Medical, Life Insurance, access to Retirement Planning, and much more. We also encourage our employees to engage in the culture of giving back to the communities where we live and do business. At Oracle, we believe that innovation starts with diversity and inclusion and to create the future we need talent from various backgrounds, perspectives, and abilities. We ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to successfully participate in the job application, interview process, and in potential roles. to perform crucial job functions. That's why we're committed to creating a workforce where all individuals can do their best work. It's when everyone's voice is heard and valued that we're inspired to go beyond what's been done before.

Industry

It services

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Redwood City, CA, US

Year founded

1977

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