Staff Research Scientist

Visa•Foster City, CA

56d•$169,100 - $270,800•Hybrid

About The Position

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. 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.

Requirements

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
Digital fluency, including the ability to work with emerging technologies such as Generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot) to support everyday work.

Nice To Haves

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.

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.