---
title: 'Research Scientist, Program Synthesis & Neuro-symbolic Methods at Basis Research Institute'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/research-scientist-program-synthesis-neuro-symbolic-methods-basis-research-yw82mzv4975d'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Research Scientist, Program Synthesis & Neuro-symbolic Methods at Basis Research Institute

- **Company:** Basis Research Institute
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2025-11-23
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/basis-research/2b5fcfdb-0017-4e05-9ed3-1d65a6c44cc6

## Job description

## About Basis

[Basis](https://www.basis.ai) is a nonprofit applied AI research organization with two mutually reinforcing goals. The first is to understand and build intelligence. This means to establish the mathematical principles of what it means to reason, to learn, to make decisions, to understand, and to explain; and to construct software that implements these principles. The second is to advance society’s ability to solve intractable problems. This means expanding the scale, complexity, and breadth of problems that we can solve today, and even more importantly, accelerating our ability to solve problems in the future. To achieve these goals, we’re building both a new technological foundation that draws inspiration from how humans reason, and a new kind of collaborative organization that puts human values first.

## About the Role

Research Scientists on the MARA (Modeling, Abstraction, and Reasoning Agents) project develop computational theories of scientific reasoning applied to robotics and embodied intelligence. You will advance the frontiers of world modeling, reinforcement learning, program synthesis, and robotic control to create systems that can learn, reason about, and interact with the physical world. We are looking for exceptional researchers with expertise in Program Synthesis & Neuro-symbolic Methods. The ideal candidate has a strong publication record in relevant venues, combines theoretical depth with practical implementation skills, and is excited about building systems that learn like scientists—forming hypotheses, conducting experiments, and building models of how the world works. You will work as part of an interdisciplinary team tackling fundamental questions: How can agents learn causal models from interaction? How do we bridge high-level reasoning with low-level control? How can we generate interpretable, verifiable control programs rather than black-box policies? Basis is a collaborative effort, both internally and with our external partners; we are looking for people who enjoy working with others on problems larger than ones they can tackle alone.

We expect you to:

- Have demonstrated an ability to do scientific research that is of high quality. Possible ways to demonstrate this include publications at top venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, POPL, PLDI), technical reports, and impactful software projects.
- Possess deep expertise in Program Synthesis & Neuro-symbolic Methods:
- Domain-specific languages, program induction, verifiable control, neuro-symbolic integration.
- Experience with combining neural networks with symbolic reasoning or program generation.
- Have strong mathematical and computational foundations including probability theory, optimization, linear algebra, and the ability to implement complex algorithms from first principles.
- Be comfortable working across the research-to-deployment pipeline, from theoretical development through experimental validation.
- Progress with autonomy and intellectual curiosity. You can identify valuable research directions within the broader MARA mission, design experiments, and drive projects to completion.
- Value collaboration and knowledge transfer. You actively share insights across specialization boundaries and help integrate diverse approaches into coherent systems.
- Be excited about solving real-world problems through embodied intelligence that advances our ability to understand and interact with the physical world.

In addition, the following would be an advantage:

- PhD (or equivalent experience) in technical areas including: robotics, machine learning, computer vision, control theory, cognitive science, or physics.
- Experience at leading robotics or AI labs (academic or industry).
- Track record of algorithms deployed on physical robot systems.
- Contributions to major open-source projects in robotics or ML.
- Experience with both theoretical research and systems engineering.
- Background spanning multiple specialization areas.

## Responsibilities

- Develop computational theories of intelligence specific to program synthesis and neuro-symbolic methods, focusing on synthesizing control programs, learning interpretable models, or bridging symbolic reasoning with neural learning.
- Design and implement novel algorithms that push the boundaries of sample efficiency, generalization, interpretability, or robustness in embodied AI systems.
- Collaborate across specializations to integrate world modeling with planning, symbolic reasoning with neural learning, and high-level objectives with low-level control.
- Validate research on physical systems by working with hardware engineers to test algorithms on real robots, addressing the sim-to-real gap and practical deployment challenges.
- Work with domain experts inside and outside Basis to identify impactful applications of MARA technology in scientific discovery, manufacturing, or other domains.
- Distill insights from problem-solving into general mathematical and computational theories that advance our understanding of intelligence.
- Develop and maintain open-source software that enables reproducible research and broader community engagement with MARA technologies.
- (Optionally) Publish and present findings in journals and conferences to establish thought leadership in embodied AI and scientific reasoning.
- Contribute to the culture and direction of Basis by modeling scientific rigor, creative problem-solving, and commitment to advancing societal capabilities.

## Role Details

Exceptional candidates who may not meet all of the following criteria are still encouraged to apply.

- FT/PT: This is a full-time position
- In-person Policy: We are in the office four days a week. Be prepared to attend multi-day Basis-wide in-person events.
- Location: This role is in-person in either New York City or Cambridge, MA.
- Salary range: Competitive salary.
- Start date: Immediate start possible.

Non-Discrimination Notice Basis Research Institute provides equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or genetics and prohibits discrimination based on all protected characteristics.

Privacy Notice By submitting your application, you grant Basis permission to use your materials for both hiring evaluation and recruitment-related research and development purposes. Your information may be processed in different countries, including the US. You retain copyright while providing Basis a license to use these materials for the stated purposes. Read our full Global Data Privacy Notice [here](https://www.basis.ai/join-us/privacy-notice/).

## About Basis Research Institute

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Basis Research Institute is a nonprofit applied research organization advancing artificial intelligence through probabilistic modeling and causal inference to solve society's most intractable problems, building open-source software that draws inspiration from human reasoning.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Nonprofit 501(c)(3) Research Institute)
- **Headquarters**: New York City, New York, USA (with additional office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Zenna Tavares, Emily Mackevicius, and Eli Bingham

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Artificial Intelligence Research & Development
- **Target customers**: Municipal governments (via consulting), academic collaborators, for-profit companies (via contract work), and the broader open-source AI community
- **Mission**: Two mutually reinforcing goals: (1) advance basic scientific research in artificial intelligence to understand and build intelligence, and (2) help solve society’s intractable problems by expanding the scale, complexity, and breadth of problems that can be solved

## Products & Services
- **Core Technology Development**: Advanced probabilistic modeling and causal inference frameworks implemented as open-source software, including causal probabilistic programming languages
- **Applied Challenge Projects**:
  - **AI-Driven Robot Design**: Using AI to automate and accelerate robot design and control
  - **Dynamical Modeling for Biological Systems**: Modeling complex biological processes (e.g., neuroscience, cellular dynamics)
  - **Participatory City Modeling**: Consulting with municipal governments to model urban systems and support data-driven policy decisions
  - **Modeling, Abstraction, and Reasoning Agent (MARA)**: A research project focused on building AI agents capable of abstract reasoning and world modeling
- **Postdoctoral Fellowship Program**: A fellowship for early-career scientists to direct their own research within Basis’s mission
- **Open-Source Software Releases**: Publishing research tools and libraries for the broader AI community

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not applicable (nonprofit research organization)
- **Key Metric**: Funded through a combination of research grants, private philanthropy, and contract work with partners; specific funding amounts are not publicly disclosed
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Supported by an advisory board including Armando Solar-Lezama (MIT), Joshua Tenenbaum (MIT), Kevin Ellis (Cornell), Anthony Philippakis (Broad Institute), and Rui Costa (Columbia University). Collaborates with academic institutions (MIT, Columbia, Cornell, NYU) and municipal governments
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount has grown 41.7% year-over-year (LinkedIn data); active job postings increased 107.1% year-over-year; expanding into London with a GTM Lead role; 29 active job openings as of mid-2026

## Competitive Advantages
- **Nonprofit Structure**: Unlike for-profit AI labs, Basis is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, enabling it to prioritize open-source, public-good research over commercial outcomes
- **Unique Research Cycle**: A structured cycle between core technology development and applied challenge projects, where insights from real-world problems feed back into foundational research
- **Interdisciplinary Approach**: Combines insights from cognitive science (human reasoning), computer science (probabilistic programming), and domain expertise (biology, urban planning, robotics)
- **High-Profile Advisory Board**: Advisors from leading institutions (MIT, Cornell, Broad Institute, Columbia) provide deep academic and scientific credibility
- **Open-Source Commitment**: All software is released as open-source, building community trust and enabling broad adoption

## Strategic Focus
- **Core AI Foundations**: Advancing probabilistic modeling, causal inference, program synthesis, neuro-symbolic methods, reinforcement learning, and world models
- **Challenge-Driven Research**: Using applied projects (robotics, biology, city modeling) to identify shared bottlenecks that guide further methodological research
- **Collaborative Expansion**: Actively seeking partnerships with academia, government, social sector, and industry to tackle high-impact problems
- **Geographic Growth**: Opening presence in London (UK/EU GTM) and expanding roles in Ithaca, NY, while maintaining NYC and Cambridge hubs
- **Open-Source Ecosystem**: Building durable foundations that enable other researchers and practitioners to build upon Basis’s work

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Culture**: Employees work on problems that matter beyond publications, with impact on AI science and real-world societal challenges
- **Autonomy and Growth**: Organizational structure allows employees to see their autonomy and responsibilities grow with their projects, distinct from traditional career ladders
- **Collaborative Environment**: Work alongside researchers from top institutions (MIT, Columbia, Cornell) and domain experts from academia, government, and industry
- **Open-Source Impact**: Ship high-quality open-source software used by thousands, contributing to the broader AI community
- **Locations**: Offices in NYC (primary) and Cambridge, MA, with remote flexibility for some roles; London expansion underway
- **Notable Perks**: Postdoctoral fellowships available for early-career scientists; focus on human values and collaborative organization
- **Engineering Culture**: Emphasis on building durable foundations, shipping production-quality code, and working at the intersection of research and engineering

## Sources
1. [basis.ai/about](https://www.basis.ai/about/)
2. [basis.ai](https://www.basis.ai/)
3. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/basis-research](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/basis-research)
4. [basis.ai/join-us](https://www.basis.ai/join-us/)
5. [LinkedIn - Basis Research Institute](https://www.linkedin.com/company/basis-ri)

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