Track A
Predoctoral Research Fellow
For exceptional early-career talent in technical or quantitative disciplines.
Perplexity Research Fellowship
Our flagship program for enabling the best early-career research talent across technical disciplines to shape the future of AI.
Apply now
Breakthroughs happen when brilliant minds with unique perspectives tackle the industry's biggest challenges together.
That's why we created the Perplexity Research Fellowship. We welcome exceptional early-career researchers, engineers, and analysts from any technical or quantitative discipline to help advance the impact of AI research.
We are aiming to advance the frontier of AI research, with creative paradigm-shifting ideas. This work spans multi-agent planning, continual learning, pre-training, human-AI interaction, interdisciplinary collaborations, and beyond. If you want to build the next generation of AI systems with us, we encourage you to apply.
Fellows join full-time, and top performers will be given the opportunity to convert to full-time, research-focused positions. For examples of our research projects, visit research.perplexity.ai.
Two tracks
Track B
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
For researchers who have recently completed a PhD in a technical or quantitative discipline.
Program overview
Program length
3 months, full-time commitment, with opportunities to extend or convert to a full-time role.
Compensation
$180,000 annualized base salary for predoctoral fellows and $220,000 for postdoctoral fellows.
Applications
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with priority consideration for submissions received by September 30, 2026.
Location
In-person at our San Francisco, Palo Alto, or New York City office.
Start date
Priority consideration will be given to applications for the November 2026 and January 2027 cohorts.
Visa support
Perplexity provides immigration and visa sponsorship support based on individual circumstances.
Who we're looking for
We're seeking exceptional early-career individuals who bring unique perspectives from disciplines outside traditional AI research. We're looking for:
Analytical Thinkers with strong mathematical foundations and proven ability to tackle complex problems in their field.
Experts Across Technical or Quantitative Disciplines who understand how people actually work, think, and seek information in their areas of expertise.
Technical Depth in your chosen field, whether that's physics, cognitive science, quantitative finance, theoretical mathematics, or any other rigorous quantitative and analytical discipline.
Curiosity-Driven Researchers who are excited about applying their expertise to new domains and learning rapidly.
Strong Communicators who can explain complex concepts clearly and collaborate effectively with interdisciplinary teams.
Demonstrated Commitment—you may be new to AI, but you show technical excellence and genuine drive to build beneficial AI systems.
What you can expect
Impactful research focus
You'll work on hard, critical problems that directly advance Perplexity's mission of organizing the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful. No side projects—every hour you spend will be dedicated to research that matters.
Mentorship & collaboration
You'll embed within R&D teams, surrounded by senior researchers and engineers from whom you'll learn both technical foundations and research strategy. You'll join a select community of fellows in the Bay Area and New York City, collaborating on projects, engaging in technical discussions, and translating your expertise into real-world impact.
Resources & impact
You'll work in an environment with state-of-the-art computational tools and resources, surrounded by some of the world's most valuable datasets. We're committed to advancing the broader AI research community. Fellows will be deeply involved in delivering publications and research artifacts that benefit the field at large.
Application process
Applications
Submit your application through our portal. Please carefully follow all instructions and make sure to let your technical excellence shine.
Timeline
We review applications on a rolling basis, with priority consideration for submissions received by September 30, 2026. Applications remain open until positions are filled.
Selection process
We review applications continually and will reach out to selected candidates for exploratory conversations to learn more about your background and interests. If there's a strong fit, you'll be invited for a series of interviews centered around your technical background and skillset.
Ready to apply?
The Perplexity Research Fellowship offers a unique opportunity to apply your expertise to some of the most important challenges in AI research today. If you're ready to bridge disciplines and help shape the future of how humans interact with information and artificial intelligence, we'd love to hear from you.
Apply now