AI Research Specialist

AI Research Specialist

Collaborate with Innovative 3Mers Around the World

Choosing where to start and grow your career has a major impact on your professional and personal life, so it’s equally important you know that the company that you choose to work at, and its leaders, will support and guide you. With a wide variety of people, global locations, technologies and products, 3M is a place where you can collaborate with other curious, creative 3Mers.

This position provides an opportunity to transition from other private, public, government or military experience to a 3M career.

As an AI Research Specialist in 3M’s Corporate Research Laboratory, you will work on a team developing novel learning system frameworks. You will have the opportunity to tap into your curiosity and collaborate with some of the most innovative people around the world. We’re looking for a Python-focused software engineer who can work closely with scientists to implement experimental systems, simulation infrastructure, and architecture modifications. You’ll be writing code that’s used directly in the research process, so clarity, modularity, and responsiveness are critical.  This is a great fit for someone who enjoys clean problem-solving, iterative code design, and working closely with technical thinkers.

Here, you will make an impact by:

• Write modular, testable Python code to implement experiments, simulations, or architectural mechanisms.
• Work from whiteboards, specs, and conversations—not product docs.
• Extend an evolving codebase that supports structured learning experiments.
• Help organize internal interfaces for system components (e.g., experimental runners, memory modules, parameter schedulers).
• Write structured logging and diagnostic tools to support hypothesis-driven debugging.
• Collaborate with researchers who define the “what”; your job is to build the “how.”

Your Skills and Expertise

To set you up for success in this role from day one, 3M requires (at a minimum) the following qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, AI Science or Engineering, or a related field (completed and verified prior to start).
• Five (5) years of experience in fundamental AI research in academic, private, public, government, or military environment.
• Strong fluency in Python, including object-oriented programming and functional idioms.
• Experience working in scientific, data-intensive, or ML-related environments.

Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:

• Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, AI Science or Engineering, or a related field.
• Deep understanding of deep learning internals (embeddings, attention, optimization) and the ability to think critically about fundamental limitations of sub-symbolic representations.
• Experience working in deep learning frameworks and systems.
• Working knowledge of neuro-symbolic AI systems.
• Comfortable building and modifying systems from scratch.
• Interest in systems that involve simulation, learning, or recursive dynamics.
• Familiarity with fundamental concepts of causal inference (e.g., interventions, confounding, counterfactual reasoning).
• Able to work on a team where the problem is evolving, and code is shared.
• Curious, fast learner, solid communicator

Work location: Hybrid to Maplewood, MN preferred, remote is possible

Travel: May include <10% domestic or international

Relocation Assistance: May be authorized

Supporting Your Well-being 

3M offers many programs to help you live your best life – both physically and financially. To ensure competitive pay and benefits, 3M regularly benchmarks with other companies that are comparable in size and scope. 

Chat with Max

For assistance with searching through our current job openings or for more information about all things 3M, visit Max, our virtual recruiting assistant on 3M.com/careers.