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Reinforcement Learning Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

Responsibilities : โ€ข Design, train, and deploy ML models for robotic control, quality prediction, and process optimization โ€ข Develop reinforcement learning and imitation learning systems for ...

Reinforcement Learning Engineer | San Francisco I'm currently supporting a fast-growing AI company working at the intersection of frontier AI, healthcare and drug discovery, and they're looking for ...

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Develop reinforcement learning and imitation learning systems for robot task planning * Build predictive maintenance models using sensor data to anticipate equipment failures * Implement anomaly ...

Research Scientist Senior

Chicago, IL ยท On-site +1

$101K - $129K/yr

Develops scalable machine learning and reinforcement learning systems that improve healthcare outcomes, operational efficiency, and member experience through adaptive learning and advanced analytics.

Research Scientist Senior

Chicago, IL ยท On-site +1

$101K - $129K/yr

Develops scalable machine learning and reinforcement learning systems that improve healthcare outcomes, operational efficiency, and member experience through adaptive learning and advanced analytics.

AI Engineer

Peoria, IL ยท On-site

$75K - $110K/yr

Familiarity with NLP, computer vision, reinforcement learning, and large language models (LLMs). * Knowledge of data privacy, model interpretability, and ethical AI practices. * Contributions to open ...

AI Engineer

Peoria, IL ยท On-site

Familiarity with NLP, computer vision, reinforcement learning, and large language models (LLMs). * Knowledge of data privacy, model interpretability, and ethical AI practices. * Contributions to open ...

AI Engineer

Peoria, IL ยท On-site

Familiarity with NLP, computer vision, reinforcement learning, and large language models (LLMs). * Knowledge of data privacy, model interpretability, and ethical AI practices. * Contributions to open ...

Senior Research Scientist

Mundelein, IL ยท On-site

$100K - $128K/yr

Train and fine-tune models using SFT, RLHF, DPO, LoRA, and reinforcement learning and build the evaluation frameworks to measure what matters * Optimize for production: latency, throughput ...

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Reinforcement Learning information

See Illinois salary details

$27.6K

$56.5K

$77.5K

How much do reinforcement learning jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 24, 2026, the average yearly pay for reinforcement learning in Illinois is $56,539.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $48,900.00 and $65,900.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a reinforcement learning?

A Reinforcement Learning (RL) job involves designing, developing, and optimizing algorithms that enable machines to learn from interactions with their environment. RL professionals work on applications in robotics, finance, gaming, and autonomous systems, leveraging techniques like deep reinforcement learning and policy optimization. Responsibilities often include researching new models, implementing RL algorithms, and improving AI performance. Strong programming skills, knowledge of machine learning frameworks, and an understanding of mathematical concepts like probability and optimization are essential.

What does a reinforcement learning professional do?

A typical day for a Reinforcement Learning professional involves designing and implementing learning algorithms, running experiments, analyzing data, and iterating on models to improve performance. You might collaborate closely with data scientists, software engineers, and product managers to integrate your solutions into broader systems or products. Regular activities also include reading recent research literature and participating in team meetings to discuss progress and obstacles. This dynamic role often balances deep technical work with teamwork to drive innovative applications in areas such as robotics, recommendation systems, or autonomous systems.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the reinforcement learning position?

To thrive in a Reinforcement Learning role, you need a solid background in mathematics, statistics, machine learning, and programming (commonly with Python), typically supported by a relevant degree such as in computer science or engineering. Experience with frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, OpenAI Gym, and familiarity with large-scale computing systems are highly valued. Strong problem-solving abilities, curiosity, and effective collaboration and communication skills help you excel in multidisciplinary research and project teams. These capabilities are crucial for designing, implementing, and refining complex algorithms that learn from interaction to solve real-world problems.

What can you do with reinforcement learning?

Reinforcement learning is used in roles such as reinforcement learning engineer or researcher to develop algorithms that enable systems to learn optimal actions through trial and error. It is applied in areas like robotics, game playing, autonomous vehicles, and recommendation systems, often requiring skills in programming, data analysis, and understanding of machine learning frameworks. Professionals in this field design, train, and evaluate models to improve decision-making processes in complex environments.

What are the most commonly searched types of Reinforcement Learning jobs in Illinois?

The most popular types of Reinforcement Learning jobs in Illinois are:

What are popular job titles related to Reinforcement Learning jobs in Illinois?

For Reinforcement Learning jobs in Illinois, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Reinforcement Learning jobs in Illinois look for?

The top searched job categories for Reinforcement Learning jobs in Illinois are:

Infographic showing various Reinforcement Learning job openings in Illinois as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 80% Full Time, 18% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $56,539 per year, or $27.2 per hour.

Research Scientist/Research Engineer, Reinforcement Learning

Socket.dev

Chicago, IL โ€ข On-site

$200 - $350/hr

Other

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 2 days ago

New


Job description

Jump Trading Group is committed to world-class research. We empower exceptional talents in Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science to seek scientific boundaries, push through them, and apply cutting-edge research to global financial markets. Our culture is unique. Constant innovation requires fearlessness, creativity, intellectual honesty, and a relentless competitive streak. We believe in winning together and unlocking unique individual talent by incentivizing collaboration and mutual respect. At Jump, research outcomes drive more than superior risk-adjusted returns. We design, develop, and deploy technologies that change our world, fund start-ups across industries, and partner with leading global research organizations and universities to solve problems.

Our team is a group of quantitative researchers, engineers, and ML experts leading reinforcement learning research and trading at Jump. Our mission is to combine emerging techniques and original research to learn optimal decision-making policies from financial market data and monetize them globally. We are building the future of ML-powered trading through breakthrough reinforcement learning, and we're looking for an exceptional Research Scientist/Research Engineer to join our team.

What Youโ€™ll Do

As a Research Scientist/Research Engineer working on RL, you'll be at the forefront of applying reinforcement learning to markets. You'll conduct original research and own the systems that turn it into production trading: designing and evaluating policy architectures, reward formulations, and objective horizons with rigorous out-of-sample benchmarking; partnering with trading and research teams to source, integrate, and validate their alpha signals within the RL framework; ensuring simulation fidelity against live trading by modeling market microstructure, fill dynamics, liquidity, and latency; building efficient tooling to store, process, and analyze very large volumes of market and signal data; and communicating findings to technical and trading audiences. This isn't incremental optimization; we're pushing the boundaries of what reinforcement learning can do at scale, where your improvements directly impact live trading.

Other duties as assigned or needed.

Skills Youโ€™ll Need
  • 5+ years of experience developing reinforcement learning and/or deep learning systems with measurable impact in industry and/or academia
  • Depth in reinforcement learning, including experience designing reward formulations, policy architectures, and evaluation, and taking RL methods from research into production
  • Proficiency in Python and/or C++
  • Familiarity with ML libraries/frameworks such as PyTorch (preferred), TensorFlow, and/or JAX
  • Strong foundation in mathematics and statistics
  • PhD or Master's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics (or a related subject)
  • Strong publication record at ICML, ICLR, AAAI, NeurIPS, CVPR, or equivalent
  • Ability to thrive in a collaborative, team-oriented environment
  • Creative thinkers who are driven, self-motivated, and eager to solve challenging problems
  • Reliable and predictable availability
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
Benefits
  • Discretionary bonus eligibility
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • HSA, FSA, and Dependent Care options
  • Employer Paid Group Term Life and AD&D Insurance
  • Voluntary Life & AD&D insurance
  • Paid vacation plus paid holidays
  • Retirement plan with employer match
  • Paid parental leave
  • Wellness Programs

Annual Base Salary Range $200,000 โ€” $350,000 USD

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