Data Scientist - AI

Title: Data Scientist - AI

Location: San Francisco

Department: Engineering

Employment Type: Full time

Location Type: Hybrid

Compensation: $150K – $215K • Offers Equity

Job Description:

Company Overview

Promise modernizes how government agencies and utilities support people in financial difficulty. We build technology that makes it simple for residents to receive benefits, engage with assistance programs, set up flexible payment plans, and stay on track—while helping agencies increase efficiency, recover revenue, and deliver services with dignity. Our mission is to transform public systems so they work better for everyone, especially the most vulnerable.

Our team includes experts from companies like Palantir, Google, Stripe , and esteemed government leaders. We work hard and believe deeply in what we do. We're looking for excellent people to build innovative, resilient technology.

Backed by over $50 million in funding from top investors – such as Reid Hoffman, Howard Schultz, Michael Seibel, Y Combinator, 8VC, The General Partnership, First Round Capital, Kapor Capital, XYZ Ventures, and Bronze Investments – Promise has been recognized as one of Fast Company's "World's Most Innovative Companies of 2022,” “Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2024,” and Y Combinator’s #1 GovTech startup.

About the Role

At Promise, we’re harnessing AI to make government services more accessible, efficient, and human-centered. As a Data Scientist (AI), you’ll experiment with and apply cutting-edge AI—from traditional ML models to the latest LLMs—to power applications that help families access essential services with dignity.

You’ll work across domains like OCR, document understanding, and classification, while also building generalist models that improve efficiency and reduce manual operations. This role blends research and application: sourcing from leading vendors and open-source projects, fine-tuning where needed, and deploying models into production systems that directly impact millions of lives.

What You’ll Do

• Experiment & build: Train, fine-tune, and evaluate ML models and LLMs for real-world government use cases.

• Apply AI in the field: Tackle challenges like OCR, document parsing, and classification to streamline services.

• Bridge research and impact: Source, adapt, and operationalize models from both open-source and vendor ecosystems.

• Improve efficiency: Enhance automation, reduce manual processes, and boost system performance across the platform.

• Shape the future: Push forward scalable, ethical AI solutions that redefine how people access public support.

What Will Help You Succeed

• Experience: 5+ years in machine learning and statistical analysis; 1+ year working directly with deep learning or LLMs.

• Technical expertise: Hands-on experience with model training, fine-tuning, and validation for classification/regression tasks (ROC AUC, Precision, Recall, F1).

• Tools of the trade: Proficiency with frameworks like PyTorch, MLFlow, LightGBM, or similar.

• Mindset: Detail-oriented, rigorous, and adaptable—comfortable navigating a high-impact, evolving environment.

• Mission alignment: Passion for Promise’s work and a commitment to building ethical, transparent AI solutions.

• Bonus: Experience in applied AI for fintech, govtech, or other regulated industries.

Who Thrives at Promise

You’ll love it here if:

• You are energized by big, complex challenges and the opportunity to solve them.

• You want your work to have a real, measurable impact on people’s lives.

• You take ownership and run toward problems, not away from them.

• You value clear, candid, and constructive communication.

Promise is not for you if:

• You prefer hierarchy and rigid structures. We operate with freedom and responsibility.

• You are uncomfortable with change. We move fast, adapt often, and expect agility.

• You want a typical corporate culture. We are mission-driven, ambitious, and direct.

• You believe efficiency means “doing less.” We believe efficiency means doing better.

How We Support Our People

• 100% paid health coverage

• Generous PTO and sick leave

• Lunch, snacks, and coffee provided

• Company retreats

• Opportunities to travel and see the impact of your work

• Hybrid Work: We deeply value in-person collaboration and are in-office or on-site at least four days a week.

Promise is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any applicant or employee because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or military or veteran status. Additionally, the Company complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every jurisdiction in which it operates. Promise is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace.