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Technical Research Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

FAR.AI

$158K - $204K/yr

Research is dedicated to delivering the novel technical breakthroughs needed to mitigate the potential risks posed by frontier AI. As a non-profit research institute, we leverage our unique ...

Vishay

Senior Director R&D

San Jose, CA

Implements overarching research strategy, and designs specific scientific or technical research programs and projects. Plans and allocates budgets and resources, and monitors progress of ...

Anthropic

Recruiter, AI Research

San Francisco, CA

Have 5+ years of experience in full life cycle recruiting supporting technical research teams * Have a passion for AI's potential to positively impact the world and realistic assessment of its risks ...

Tais 2026

Senior Research Manager

Berkeley, CA · On-site

$160 - $200/hr

Experienced professionals in the fields of technical research, governance research, and/or research management Experienced team managers, especially those with technical or governance backgrounds AI ...

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All JobsTechnical Research JobsTechnical Research Jobs in California

Technical Research information

See California salary details

$29.6K

$154.3K

$203.3K

How much do technical research jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 20, 2026, the average yearly pay for technical research in California is $154,301.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $114,500.00 and $202,300.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is technical research?

Technical research involves the systematic investigation and study of technical subjects, such as engineering, information technology, or scientific processes, to develop new knowledge, solve complex problems, or improve existing technologies. Professionals in this field often collect and analyze data, review existing literature, and conduct experiments or simulations. The goal is to provide insights or innovations that can lead to advancements in their specific area of expertise.

What are some common challenges faced by professionals in technical research roles?

Technical Research professionals often encounter challenges such as staying current with rapidly evolving technologies and managing complex data from diverse sources. Balancing deep technical analysis with clear communication to non-technical stakeholders can also be demanding. Additionally, prioritizing research tasks in a fast-paced environment and collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams require strong organizational and interpersonal skills. These challenges, however, provide excellent opportunities for continuous learning and professional growth.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a technical researcher, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Technical Researcher, you need strong analytical abilities, subject-matter expertise, and a relevant degree in a technical field such as engineering, computer science, or physics. Familiarity with research methodologies, data analysis tools (such as Python, MATLAB, or R), and scholarly databases is typically required. Curiosity, critical thinking, and effective communication skills help distinguish top performers in this role. These competencies enable Technical Researchers to generate valuable insights, solve complex problems, and effectively share their findings with stakeholders.

What is the difference between Technical Research vs Data Analyst?

AspectTechnical ResearchData Analyst
Required CredentialsBachelor's or higher in Engineering, Science, or related fields; technical certificationsBachelor's in Statistics, Mathematics, or related fields; data analysis certifications
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, R&D departments, technical firmsBusiness environments, data-driven departments, consulting firms
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, manufacturing, R&D institutionsFinance, marketing, healthcare, retail
Common Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding technical research roles, career paths, skillsData analysis tasks, tools, career differences

Technical Research involves conducting in-depth scientific or engineering investigations to develop new technologies or improve existing ones. Data Analysts focus on interpreting data to support business decisions. While both roles require analytical skills, Technical Research emphasizes experimental and technical problem-solving, whereas Data Analysts concentrate on data interpretation and reporting.

What does a technical researcher do?

A technical researcher investigates and analyzes technical topics, such as emerging technologies, scientific data, or industry trends, to support product development, innovation, or problem-solving. They often gather data, perform experiments, and use tools like specialized software or laboratory equipment, typically working in research labs or technical environments. Strong analytical skills and knowledge of relevant technical fields are essential for this role.

What are the most commonly searched types of Technical Research jobs in California?

The most popular types of Technical Research jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Technical Research jobs in California?

For Technical Research jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Technical Research jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Technical Research jobs in California are:

Technical Research jobs near you
Infographic showing various Technical Research job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 91% Full Time, 5% Part Time, 2% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 88% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $154,301 per year, or $74.2 per hour.

Technical Program Manager, Research

FAR.AI

On-site, Remote

$158K - $204K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 6 hours ago

Job description

About Us
FAR.AI is a non-profit AI research institute working to ensure advanced AI is safe and beneficial for everyone. Our mission is to facilitate breakthrough AI safety research, advance global understanding of AI risks and solutions, and foster a coordinated global response.
Since our founding in July 2022, we've grown to 45+ staff, published 40+ academic papers including an ICML 2026 Outstanding Paper Honorable Mention, and convened leading AI safety events. Our work is recognized globally, with publications at premier venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, and ICLR, and features in the Financial Times, Nature News and MIT Technology Review. We conduct pre-deployment testing on behalf of frontier developers such as OpenAI and independent evaluations for governments including the EU AI Office. We help steer and grow the AI safety field through developing research roadmaps with renowned researchers such as Yoshua Bengio; running FAR.Labs, an AI safety-focused co-working space in Berkeley housing 40 members; and supporting the community through targeted grants to technical researchers.
About Research at FAR.AI
FAR.AI conducts research to address fundamental artificial intelligence (AI) safety challenges. We rapidly explore a diverse portfolio of technical research agendas, de-risking and scaling up only the most promising solutions. We share our research outputs through peer-reviewed publications, via partnerships with governmental AI safety institutes, and through red-teaming engagements for leading AI companies.
FAR.Research is dedicated to delivering the novel technical breakthroughs needed to mitigate the potential risks posed by frontier AI. As a non-profit research institute, we leverage our unique flexibility to focus on critical research directions that may be too large or resource-intensive for academia and often overlooked by the commercial sector due to their lack of immediate profitability.
About the Role
We are looking for Technical Program Managers to define programs for both our foundational research and research infrastructure teams. Our Research organization is scaling up by expanding our portfolio of research agendas, including model deception, applied interpretability, evaluation awareness, pre-training filtering, and open-weight safety. As our Research portfolio expands, our Research Infrastructure needs will also scale up to meet these needs. You'll find the highest-leverage problems and own them end to end, building the processes, systems, and tooling that help our researchers and engineers move faster.
What You'll Do
  • Take complex technical programs from idea to delivery: scope the plan and milestones, then keep complex, multi-team work moving efficiently, transparently, and to a high technical bar.
  • Prioritize across competing demands in partnership with research teams so the teams' effort lands on the highest-impact work.
  • Build and maintain compute and resource roadmaps by surfacing bottlenecks and trade-offs, finding ways to accelerate progress and build relationships with potential external partners.
  • Partner with researchers to package their work effectively to get our research into the hands of people who can act on it by transferring findings, methods, and tools to frontier labs and other stakeholders.
  • Connect research and engineering with our internal partners in Operations, Events and Communications giving each the timelines, results, and context they need to plan, resource, and communicate our work.

This role is a great fit if you
  • Are a fast learner and comfortable with ramping up quickly on unfamiliar technical domains to hold your own in discussions with researchers and engineers.
  • Can reason about technical trade-offs in depth (e.g. measuring quality of agent output balanced against credit spend, compute efficiency, and training and inference infrastructure) to facilitate clear decisions by stakeholders.
  • Enjoy 0-to-1 work by building the processes, systems, and structure where none exist, rather than inheriting them.
  • Thrive in an ambiguous, fast-paced environment that is scaling quickly.
  • Hold a deep commitment to ensuring safe and beneficial AI.

This role is a poor fit if you
  • Have no technical background. You don't need to code, but you do need to understand AI/ML well enough to hold your own in discussions with researchers and follow the substance of the work.
  • Want to inherit a mature TPM function rather than help build one.
  • Are looking for a product management role with a product roadmap, rather than driving programs, processes, and delivery across research and infrastructure.
About You
Strong candidates typically have many (but not all) of the following skills:
  • A strong technical background, either in ML, software engineering, or another scientific or research field, with 4+ years building technical programs from scratch
  • Practical domain experience in AI/ML such as coordinating model releases, procuring or managing datasets, or supporting evaluations
  • A track record of delivering complex technical programs while managing tradeoffs and strategic priorities
  • Have successfully facilitated technology transfer of foundational and applied research into production environments
  • Strong communication and stakeholder management skills

It is a plus (but not required) if you have experience with:
  • Delivery at a frontier AI lab or AI safety institute
  • Scientific computing cluster management
  • Public storytelling through interactive demos or blog posts
  • Supporting hiring processes for technical staff
Logistics
If based in the USA, you will be an employee of FAR.AI (501(c)(3) research non-profit / non-profit CLG). Outside the USA, you will be employed via an EOR organization (employment contract) on behalf of FAR.AI or as a contractor.
  • Location: Remote U.S. or Bay Area in-office. We can sponsor US visas.
  • Hours: Full-time. 10% travel may be required.
  • Compensation: USD 125,000-190,000, depending on experience. Exceptional candidates may be offered more.

If you're uncertain whether your background fits but are excited by the mission and challenges, we encourage you to apply - we're looking for excellence and potential, not a perfect resume match.

Apply