Staff Research Scientist

Visa is hiring a Staff Research Scientist in Foster City, United States. It pays $169k-$271k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Visa.

Level's read on this job

On Level's scale, this research scientist role is Builds AI ●●●●: the job is building AI systems.
The posting mentions ChatGPT, Copilot and Microsoft Copilot among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a lead role.
Visa has 822 other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

Conduct advanced research in generative AI, LLMs, and agentic workflows to develop innovative payment and commerce technologies.

ChatGPTCopilotMicrosoft Copilot

ragai-agentsai-researchgenerative-aimachine-learninglarge-language-modelspython

About Us
Visa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale — tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world.

Join Visa and do work that matters – to you, to your community, and to the world. Progress starts with you.

Job Description

Initiates the design, development, execution, and implementation of technology research projects. Plans and executes research on Generative AI and long-term research agenda in large-scale Gen AI and machine learning. Delivers innovative technologies. Participates in development and integration of Gen AI infrastructure. Collaborates with industry and government on key initiatives to advance Gen AI research agenda. May participate in development of patent applications.

All roles require digital fluency, including the ability to work with emerging technologies such as Generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot) to support everyday work.
Key Responsibilities:

Conduct research in Generative AI, with focus areas including agentic coding, agentic commerce, AI agents, large language models, reasoning, planning, and retrieval-augmented generation.
Design and explore innovative AI model architectures, algorithms, and agentic workflows to improve reasoning, autonomy, reliability, efficiency, and task performance.
Develop prototypes and proof-of-concepts that translate research ideas into practical AI capabilities for developer productivity, commerce experiences, and intelligent workflow automation.
Review academic literature and emerging industry work to identify relevant methods, tools, benchmarks, and research opportunities in GenAI and agentic systems.
Collaborate with senior researchers, engineers, and product teams to advance research projects from early exploration toward scalable product or platform opportunities.
Contribute to technical documentation, research reports, publications, and patents, clearly communicating methods, results, limitations, and recommendations. .

Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.

Qualifications

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

PhD in Computer Science, Operations Research, Statistics, or highly quantitative field with strength in Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Statistical or other mathematical analysis
Extensive experience in machine learning, deep learning, and generative models
Strong publication record in top-tier conferences and journals

Preferred Qualifications:

Proficiency in programming languages such as Python and expertise in deep learning frameworks and large language models
Experience in Generative AI or Agentic AI
Proven track record of leading research projects and delivering innovative solutions
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a team
Experience in payments or related industry is a plus.

Information for US Applicants

For roles located in the US, the estimated salary range for this position is $169,100.00 to $ 270,800.00 USD per year, which may include potential sales incentive payments (if applicable). Salary may vary depending on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this position may be eligible for bonus and equity.Visa has a comprehensive benefits package for which this position may be eligible that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.

Work Hours

Varies upon the needs of the department.

Travel Requirements

This position requires travel 5-10% of the time.

Mental/Physical Requirements

This position will be performed in an office setting. The position will require the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, frequently operate standard office equipment, such as telephones and computers.

Visa is an EEO Employer

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protect veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.

How we rate this

Staff Research Scientist at Visa rates 90 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Builds AI (AI Level 4 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Builds AI. The job is building AI systems.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Staff Research Scientist is an open job at Visa.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The listed salary is $169k-$271k a year.
The role is based in US - Foster City, CA.
The job was posted on September 10, 2026.
Seniority: lead.
Applications are handled by Visa. Apply on Visa

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

RAGAI agentsAI ResearchGenerative AIMachine learningLarge Language ModelsPythonChatGPT

Also common in research scientist jobs at this level

PyTorch Reinforcement learning C++Computer vision CUDA Fine-tuning

Pay

This job starts at: $169k
Typical research scientist job: $190k

This posting starts 11% below the typical research scientist job. See research scientist jobs

Questions you could be asked

How would you design a retrieval step so the model answers from real data instead of guessing?
How do you decide when an AI agent can act on its own versus asking for approval first?
Tell me about a research question you investigated. What did you find?
Tell me about a project where generative ai was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where machine learning was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: RAG, AI agents, AI Research, Generative AI, and Machine learning. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
Lead with what you built, trained or shipped. This role is judged on the AI system itself, not the tools around it.

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