Research Scientist

Position Overview

We’re looking for an experienced Research Scientist to push the boundaries of applied machine learning and AI at Opendoor. This role will have a significant impact on our valuation systems, ensuring we provide the most accurate and transparent pricing possible, but the scope goes well beyond pricing. You’ll work across a range of challenging ML problems, from multi-modal modeling to operational optimization, helping us rethink how we use structured and unstructured data to make better decisions for our customers.

What You'll Do

• Design and deploy architectural improvements to our deep neural network (DNN)-based home valuation models.
• Build interpretable ML models that can help us explain pricing decisions to customers.
• Incorporate unstructured data — like images, videos, or text — into our forecasting and valuation pipelines using cutting-edge AI models (LLMs, VLMs, etc.).
• Collaborate with Engineering and Ops to enhance our human-in-the-loop pricing systems.
• Improve the feature engineering and model training pipelines that power our production systems.
• Rethink our risk and optimization models using real-world data and domain insight.

We’re a small, nimble team — there’s ample opportunity to work across the entire research and modeling stack.

Requirements

• Strong software engineering and coding skills in Python, with experience contributing to production codebases.
• 5+ years of experience developing and deploying ML models end-to-end — from research and prototyping to implementation in production systems.
• Hands-on experience with deep learning architectures, including ConvNets, Transformers, or similar.
• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in computer science, statistics, mathematics, or a related quantitative field.
• Solid foundation in statistics and experimental design.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills — you’re comfortable working with cross-functional stakeholders and can communicate technical ideas clearly.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with Pyspark and distributed data processing.
• Background in search, recommendation systems, or personalization.
• Experience working with large language models (LLMs) or vision-language models (VLMs).
• A genuine interest in real estate — no prior experience required, but you'll engage deeply with housing data.

Compensation

The base pay range for this position is $176,000-$221,000 annually, plus RSUs and bonuses. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on your qualifications, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer a comprehensive package of benefits including unlimited PTO, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, and 401(k) to eligible employees.

About Opendoor

Founded in 2014, Opendoor’s mission is to power life’s progress one move at a time. We believe the traditional real estate process is broken and our goal is simple: build a digital, end-to-end customer experience that makes buying and selling a home simple and certain.

• To learn how we are reinventing the Real Estate industry check out our website.
• Hear about our culture directly from team members by visiting The Muse.
• Discover what we are building for our customers by reading our blog.

Company Values & Equal Opportunity

Opendoor Values Openness. We believe that being open about who we are and what we do allows us to be better.

Individuals seeking employment at Opendoor are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or other protected status under all applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances. We collect, use, and disclose applicant personal information as described in our personnel privacy policies. To learn more, you can find the policy details for California residents here and for other residents here.