Staff Applied Research Scientist at ServiceNow

Company Description

It all started under the sun of San Diego, California, in 2004, when a visionary engineer, Fred Luddy, saw the potential to transform the way we work. Today, ServiceNow positions itself as a global market leader, bringing AI-enhanced innovative technology to more than 8,100 customers, including 85% of the Fortune 500®. Our cloud-based intelligent platform seamlessly connects people, systems, and processes to help organizations find smarter, faster, and better ways of working. But this is only the beginning of our journey. Join us in pursuing our goal of making the world better for everyone.

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.

Join us to put AI to work for people.

Job Description

As a Staff Applied Research Scientist, you will work on loosely defined problems for which no proven method yet exists. ServiceNow AI Research observes how AI agents behave in complex, large-scale enterprise environments. Your mission is to turn the ambiguous challenges of this picture into concrete, testable directions. You will decide which questions are worth exploring, propose the models and techniques to answer them, and then build, train, and evaluate the agents yourself to determine whether they work.

You will validate new concepts before the rest of the organization commits to them. This involves prototyping quickly, stress-testing assumptions, and collaborating closely with the Forward Deployed Engineering team to validate ideas in real customer workflows. When a prototype fails in the field, you will be the one who understands why and determines what comes next. Your findings will guide the research program, the product roadmap, and the evaluation practices on which the team relies.

You will also set the technical direction for applied projects within the broader program of the team, mentor researchers and interns, and represent the work through publications, conferences, and contributions to open-source projects.

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As a Staff Applied Research Scientist, you will work on problems that are vaguely defined and have no playbook yet. ServiceNow AI Research sees how AI agents behave in complex enterprise environments at scale, and your job is to turn ambiguous challenges in that picture into concrete, testable directions. You will decide which questions are worth pursuing, propose the models and techniques to answer them, and then build, train, and evaluate the agents yourself to find out whether they work.

You will derisk new concepts before the rest of the organization commits to them. That means prototyping quickly, stress-testing assumptions, and working side by side with the Forward Deployed Engineering team to validate ideas against real customer workflows. When a prototype fails in the field, you will be the one who understands why and what to do next. Your findings will shape the research agenda, the product roadmap, and the evaluation practices that the team relies on.

You will also set technical direction for applied projects within the team's broader agenda, mentor researchers and interns, and represent the work through publications, talks, and open-source contributions.

Qualifications

PhD in computer science, machine learning, or a related field, or equivalent research or applied experience
At least three years of experience after the PhD, including work on systems in production or used by real users
Ability to break down an ill-defined problem into its components, formulate hypotheses, and design experiments to test them
Hands-on experience implementing, training, and evaluating LLM-based systems and agent architectures, including tool use, planning, and multi-step workflows
Experience designing evaluations: defining metrics, creating test sets, and analyzing failure modes
Practical knowledge of security and safety issues in AI systems, such as prompt injection, data leakage, or malicious use
Strong software development skills in Python and the main machine learning frameworks, with reproducible and maintainable code
Comfort working directly with engineers and customer-facing teams, and the ability to translate results into clear recommendations for product and executive audiences
Experience mentoring researchers, engineers, or interns
Advanced use of agentic tools in your own work

Nice to have

Publications or open-source contributions in agent evaluation, AI security, or agent reliability
Experience with AI systems in enterprise environments, including compliance, governance, and scale constraints
Experience building benchmarks, red-teaming pipelines, or monitoring for deployed models
Background in a discipline that teaches rigorous decomposition, such as systems engineering, security research, or formal methods

Additional Information

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories assigned to ServiceNow employees based on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact globaltalentss@servicenow.com for assistance.

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Accommodations

Export Control Regulations

Staff Applied Research Scientist

About the role

Company Description

Job Description

Qualifications

Additional Information

About ServiceNow

Staff Applied Research Scientist

About the role

Company Description

Job Description

Qualifications

Additional Information

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About ServiceNow