[Hiring] Senior Applied Scientist, Agentic AI @Zillow

Role Description

Zillow is looking for a Senior Applied Scientist on the Applied Reasoning team within the Agentic AI organization to research and develop advanced LLM-powered reasoning systems specialized in the real estate domain. In this role, you'll take a hands-on approach to prototyping, evaluating, and deploying agents capable of deep, multi-step reasoning, accurate use of tools/skills, and contextual decision-making tailored to real estate use cases. Your work will focus on eliciting deep reasoning and strong information synthesis from LLMs through test-time scaling and targeted post-training, supported by rigorous evaluation frameworks to improve the reliability and quality of agent responses in real estate use cases.

• Design, prototype, and build advanced agentic systems capable of highly autonomous, context-aware, and adaptive interactions across diverse real estate use cases.
• Apply test-time scaling and post-training techniques to develop agents that can reason, collaborate, compete, or negotiate in dynamic, goal-driven environments to fulfill user needs.
• Define and refine evaluation and experimentation processes for LLM-driven applications.
• Stay at the forefront of agentic AI research and innovation, bringing emerging techniques into practical application to shape product direction.
• Contribute to the broader scientific community through publications, conference presentations, and internal knowledge sharing.
• Mentor and guide junior scientists and engineers, promoting best practices in applied research, scalable agentic architecture, and responsible AI development.

Qualifications

• A Ph.D. or equivalent experience in Computer Science or a related field, with a focus on LLM, Agentic System, or Machine Learning.
• 2+ years of experience in building large-scale, high-impact ML solutions, particularly in areas such as NLP, agent-based systems, or multi-agent collaboration or similar paradigms.
• Experience in developing and working with LLM reasoning models or AI agents capable of multi-step reasoning and context-rich decision-making.
• Strong background in rigorous experimental design and evaluation, including benchmark creation, ablation studies, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and principled measurement of reasoning quality, generalization, and safety.
• Track record of publishing high-impact research in top AI/ML venues.

Requirements

• This role has been categorized as a Remote position. “Remote” employees do not have a permanent corporate office workplace and, instead, work from a physical location of their choice, which must be identified to the Company.
• In California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington state, and Washington DC the standard base pay range for this role is $160,900.00 - $257,100.00 annually.
• In Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont the standard base pay range for this role is $152,900.00 - $244,300.00 annually.
• In addition to a competitive base salary, this position is also eligible for equity awards based on factors such as experience, performance, and location.

Benefits

• Employees in this role will not be paid below the salary threshold for exempt employees in the state where they reside.

Company Description

Zillow is honored to be recognized among the best workplaces in the country. Zillow was named one of FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2025, and included on the PEOPLE Companies That Care® 2025 list, reflecting our commitment to creating an innovative, inclusive, and engaging culture where employees are empowered to grow.