Advisory Research Software Engineer

IBM

IBM

Software Engineering

Cambridge, MA, USA · Tokyo, Japan

USD 203,010-239,300 / year + Equity

Posted on May 15, 2026
Your role and responsibilities

Advisory Research Software Engineer, IBM Corporation, Cambridge, MA (Up to 40% telecommuting permitted):

  • Design and implement AI systems that address complex SQL and data transformation tasks requiring multi-step reasoning beyond single-pass generation approaches.
  • Lead the technical development of the Query Planning Gym (QueryGym) framework to support structured reasoning and evaluation on enterprise-scale workloads.
  • Architect agent-based workflows within QueryGym to support planning, validation, critique, and repair as coordinated system components.
  • Integrate execution-aware tools into agent workflows to improve correctness, reduce retries, and optimize system efficiency.
  • Translate research concepts in reasoning and planning into product-compatible architectures, develop production-grade code, testing systems, benchmarking performance, and analyzing results.
  • Integrate and analyze benchmarks such as ELTBench against QueryGym for evaluating complex, real world SQL transformation workloads.
  • Develop algorithms and agentic systems that improve LLM reliability.
  • Collaborate with product teams to analyze production data transformation pipelines and identify schema drift and execution issues.
  • Develop remediation approaches that translate plan level failures into actionable configuration or transformation guidance for users, including validation using benchmarks.
  • Work on design and implementation of autonomous agents for AppWorld.
  • Prepare technical documentation, design specifications, and implementation guidance for downstream teams to operationalize developed systems.
  • Prepare research publications and end-to-end demonstrations to communicate system capabilities to internal and external audiences.
  • Design and implement a synthetic dataset and benchmark generation pipeline for long, complex SQL queries.
  • Utilize: Python, Transformer Architecture, Data & AI LLMs (Fine Tuning, Inference, Evaluation), Container Orchestration Platforms (Kubernetes, Docker, OpenShift), Data & AI Microservice deployment, Agentic AI frameworks, Natural Language Processing (NLP).

Required: Master’s degree or equivalent in Computer Science or related (employer will accept a Bachelor's degree plus five (5) years of progressive experience in lieu of a Master’s degree) and one (1) year of experience as a Research Software Engineer or related. One (1) year of experience must include utilizing Python, Transformer Architecture, Data & AI LLMs (Fine Tuning, Inference, Evaluation), Container Orchestration Platforms (Kubernetes, Docker, OpenShift), Data & AI Microservice deployment, Agentic AI frameworks, Natural Language Processing (NLP). $203010 to $239300 per year. Full time. AV217.

Required education
Master's Degree
Required technical and professional expertise

Master’s degree or equivalent in Computer Science or related (employer will accept a Bachelor's degree plus five (5) years of progressive experience in lieu of a Master’s degree) and one (1) year of experience as a Research Software Engineer or related. One (1) year of experience must include utilizing Python, Transformer Architecture, Data & AI LLMs (Fine Tuning, Inference, Evaluation), Container Orchestration Platforms (Kubernetes, Docker, OpenShift), Data & AI Microservice deployment, Agentic AI frameworks, Natural Language Processing (NLP).

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you’ll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you’ll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM’s greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we’re also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it’s time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

IBM offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits program. Eligible employees may have access to:

  • Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well being
  • Financial programs such as 401(k), the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long- term disability coverage, and opportunities for performance based salary incentive programs
  • Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy, and other Paid Care Leave programs. IBM also offers paid family leave benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law
  • Training and educational resources on our personalized, AI-driven learning platform where IBMers can grow skills and obtain industry-recognized certifications to achieve their career goals
  • Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences


We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.


This position was posted on the date cited in the key job details section and is anticipated to remain posted for 21 days from this date or less if not needed to fill the role.

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.

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