2024-04-08T17:41:26-04:00 X, The Moonshot Factory
2024 PhD / Masters Residency - Machine Learning / Finance
Internship
Mountain View, CA

X is Alphabet’s moonshot factory. We are a diverse group of inventors and entrepreneurs who build and launch technologies that aim to improve the lives of millions, even billions, of people. Our goal: 10x impact on the world’s most intractable problems, not just 10% improvement. We approach projects that have the aspiration and riskiness of research with the speed and ambition of a startup.

X is Alphabet’s moonshot factory. We are a diverse group of inventors and entrepreneurs who build and launch technologies that aim to improve the lives of millions, even billions, of people. Our goal: 10x impact on the world’s most intractable problems, not just 10% improvement. We approach projects that have the aspiration and riskiness of research with the speed and ambition of a startup.

X's Residency Program:

This project aims to push the limits of science and modeling as we know them and to prove how ML can radically accelerate our understanding of the world

  • Location: X's headquarters in Mountain View, CA
  • Start Date(s): Year-round rolling basis
  • Duration: a flexible 4 mo. to 1 year program based on project team needs and your availability

Throughout your AI Residency you can expect:

  • To be embedded into one of our confidential or public X projects
  • To get paid competitively and receive benefits
  • To be a part of a lively community of AI and ML Residents
  • To attend tech-talks with AI leaders from across X

What you'll be working on:

In this role you will support our team in developing financial models and analyses of complex real-world situations related to climate change that are not traditionally addressed by the financial industry. You will evaluate possible strategies to represent real-world events and decisions in terms of their risks and profits, as well as design strategies for optimizing them. You will use your ML, data science and software engineering skills to instantiate your ideas as software modeling/optimization artifacts and will collaborate with our engineering and ML team to apply your ideas to real-world problems.

What you should have: 

  • Collaborate with X project team to experiment and build novel insights to finance, risk management, portfolio management, and derivatives valuation problems
  • Rapidly develop prototypes of artificial intelligence, machine learning models applied to sustainability and finance problems
  • Apply the latest in data science techniques to build and deploy data pipelines and exploratory data analysis on large-scale datasets
  • Develop value chain maps, evaluate capital markets, and assess regulatory constraints to assess and recommend areas in which to de-risk the project
  • Work cross-functionally with experts across, X, Alphabet, and academia

It’d be great if you also had these: 

  • Masters or PhD student in a STEM field (financial engineering, risk management, operations research, math/statistics or other quantitative field) 
  • Strong knowledge of financial and probabilistic theory, as applied to financial markets
  • 5 years experience with simulations of real-world phenomena (e.g., physical, biological, ecological, sociological)
  • Understanding of decarbonization and carbon removal technologies, as well as carbon markets
  • Fluent in Python, C++, SQL, databases, scripting, Matlab/R, SAS, and data visualization
  • Strong knowledge of statistical or machine learning modeling techniques, including Large Language Models. 
  • Experience in using distributed computing resources, such as GCP, AWS, Azure or HPC clusters
  • Very strong strategy and analytical skills. Ability to gather and analyze large quantities of information, and turn them into insightful business recommendations
  • Good at problem stating and problem solving, and turning ambiguous problem spaces into radical solutions. Must be able to break down problems independently
  • Can do attitude, willing to learn new tools and content to become an effective thought partner with project teams
  • Excellent communication skills i.e experience writing strategy docs, experience delivering presentations, and a general openness to liaise with senior external partners
  • Motivated by making the world a better place through technology, and wanting to be part of a team that makes this happen

Additional public information:

https://www.wired.com/video/watch/astro-teller-captain-of-moonshots-at-x-speaks-at-wired25

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-10-10/alphabet-x-s-astro-teller-on-bloomberg-studio-1-0-video

PLEASE NOTE:

This role requires exposure to technologies subject to heightened controls under US export laws.  Due to our immediate need to fill this role and the lengthy process required to obtain export licenses, we will not be able to move forward with anyone requiring a license for such technologies.  This applies to individuals ineligible for license exception "TSR" (commonly described as "controlled-country nationals") under the US Commerce Department's Export Administration Regulations.  As of July 2018, a controlled country national is anyone who is a national of one of the following countries (excluding US green card holders and US citizens with dual citizenship):  Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Cuba, the People's Republic of China, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Libya, Macau, Moldova, Mongolia, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.  Please review up-to-date information about the Commerce Department's export regulations, including the current list of countries, here.  

At X, we don't just accept difference - we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products and our community. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact us at: x-accommodation-request@x.team.

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