Lead Scientist

, we're pioneering the future of ethical, AI-powered hiring. With millions of candidates engaging with our Chat Interview every year, we are redefining how talent is discovered, assessed, and nurtured. Our products are trusted by some of the world's most innovative companies, and we're just getting started.

We've assessed 8M+ candidates across 47 countries, and we're innovating faster than ever, building next-gen assessment tools powered by Gen AI, validating new competency models, and helping global enterprises make fairer, smarter hiring decisions.

We need someone who can design rigorous validation studies, explain the "why" behind our methodology to enterprise clients, and partner with our Product and Data Science teams to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI-powered assessments.

It's a role for scientists who don't just quote theory; you roll up your sleeves, dive into data, experiment with Gen AI tools, and build frameworks that matter.

• Drive Scientific Rigour: Design and execute validation studies for our Gen AI-powered assessment tools. Conduct adverse impact analyses, psychometric evaluations, and ensure our AI remains fair and scientifically sound.
• Be Customer-Facing: Present confidently to enterprise clients (CHROs, Talent Acquisition leaders, procurement teams) about our methodology. Run job analyses and competency modelling engagements that build trust and demonstrate value.
• Partner with Product & Data Science: Collaborate closely with engineering and data science teams to improve model performance. Translate research findings into actionable product improvements and contribute to strategic decisions about assessment innovation.
• Get Hands-On with Data: Work directly with our massive behavioural dataset. You don't need to ship production code, but you should be comfortable exploring data, running analyses, and experimenting with tools (i.e. independently running predictive validity studies).
• Shape Thought Leadership: Publish research, present at conferences (e.g. SIOP), and contribute to white papers that establish Sapia.ai as a leader in responsible AI for hiring.
• Experiment with Gen AI: Stay curious about how Large Language Models can advance people science. Test hypotheses, prototype new approaches, and help us innovate at the intersection of I/O psychology and AI.

• A minimum of an MSc in I/O Psychology, Organisational Psychology, or related field (PhD strongly preferred).
• Deep expertise in psychometrics, validation methods, test theory, and assessment design. You can confidently explain concepts like construct validity, adverse impact, criterion-related validity, and reliability to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Customer-facing consulting skills: You've worked directly with clients or stakeholders, translating complex science into clear, confident recommendations. You build trust through expertise, not jargon.
• Genuine curiosity about AI/ML and Gen AI: You don't need to be a data scientist, but you should be excited to understand how AI works, eager to learn technical skills, and comfortable experimenting with new tools.
• Startup mindset: You thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments. You're comfortable with rapid iteration, rolling up your sleeves, and solving problems without perfect information.
• Strong analytical thinking: You bring data to every discussion. You are familiar with statistical analysis using tools such as SPSS, R Studio, etc. You can design studies, interpret complex data, identify limitations, and make evidence-based recommendations.

• Experience with Python, R, or SQL for data analysis and visualisation.
• Prior work with AI-powered assessments, NLP, or machine learning in a talent context.
• Publications or conference presentations in I/O psychology or related fields.
• Experience conducting job analyses or building competency frameworks for enterprise clients.

We believe there's more to you than your CV. So, we start with a chat interview, our very own, designed to uncover your potential and give you the space to share who you are in your own words. You'll answer 5-6 role-relevant questions over chat. It's untimed and mobile-friendly. Afterwards, you'll get personalised insights from the interview, based on your written responses.

Our hiring team will reach out to you directly if they'd like to move forward.