Principal Applied Scientist, Generative AI

As a Principal Applied Scientist, you will set the scientific direction for the large language models behind Zillow's AI assistant and lead the scientists who build them. You will get to:

• Define the research agenda for LLM post-training, reward modeling, and evaluation of our agentic systems
• Lead and grow a group of applied scientists, providing technical direction, mentorship, and a high bar for scientific rigor
• Drive ambiguous, high-impact problems end to end, from a product vision to the experiments, models, and data needed to get there
• Translate state-of-the-art research in generative AI into practical improvements in a product used by millions of home shoppers
• Communicate scientific strategy and results to executives and cross-functional partners

In Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia the standard base pay range for this role is $185,800.00 - $296,800.00 annually. The base pay range is specific to these locations and may not be applicable to other locations.

At Zillow, we’re reimagining how people move—through the real estate market and through their careers. As the most-visited real estate platform in the U.S., we help people navigate buying, selling, financing and renting with greater ease and confidence. Whether you're working in tech, sales, operations, or design, you’ll be part of a company reshaping an industry and helping more people make home a reality.

How we work is a key part of that transformation. Through Cloud HQ, our strategic approach to distributed work, most employees have the flexibility to work from wherever they’re most productive—enabling us to move fast, stay connected and deliver on our people promise. 

Zillow is honored to be recognized among the best workplaces in the U.S. Zillow was named one of FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2026, and included on TIME’s America’s Best Companies 2026 list, reflecting our commitment to creating an innovative, inclusive, and engaging culture where employees are empowered to grow.

No matter where you sit in the organization, your work will help drive innovation, support our customers, and move the industry—and your career—forward, together.

Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. 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. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact your recruiter directly.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable state and local law.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Must-haves

• PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field, or a master's degree with equivalent research experience
• Deep, hands-on expertise in large language models or foundation models, including post-training (SFT, DPO, RLHF, RFT/GRPO), reward modeling, or LLM evaluation
• A track record of leading others: either managing teams of scientists or engineers while staying technically hands-on, or leading a research group with a strong publication record
• Ability to independently scope and solve ambiguous problems and influence technical direction across teams
• Proficiency in Python and ML frameworks such as PyTorch, with the ability to read, debug, and guide experimental code

Nice-to-haves

• Publications at top venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, or EMNLP
• Experience applying LLMs in consumer-facing products at scale
• Experience with agentic AI systems and their evaluation
• Background in reinforcement learning or preference learning