AI Science Institute Postdoctoral Fellow, United States - BCG X at boston consulting group

Washington, District of Columbia, United States -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

20 Jun, 26

Salary

158400.0

Posted On

22 Mar, 26

Experience

0 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Machine Learning, Simulation, Optimization, GenAI, Research Initiatives, Scientific Domains, Problem Framing, Model Development, Data Strategy, Scalable Workflows, Scientific Ambassador, Materials Discovery, Scientific Foundation Models, Physics-Informed ML, Quantum Algorithms, Algorithm–Hardware Co-design

Industry

Business Consulting and Services

Description

Locations: Boston | Chicago | Pittsburgh | New York | Brooklyn | Miami | Dallas | San Francisco | Seattle | Los Angeles | Manhattan Beach | Washington Who We Are Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we help clients with total transformation-inspiring complex change, enabling organizations to grow, building competitive advantage, and driving bottom-line impact. To succeed, organizations must blend digital and human capabilities. Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives to spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting along with technology and design, corporate and digital ventures—and business purpose. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, generating results that allow our clients to thrive. We Are BCG X We’re a diverse team of more than 3,000 tech experts united by a drive to make a difference. Working across industries and disciplines, we combine our experience and expertise to tackle the biggest challenges faced by society today. We go beyond what was once thought possible, creating new and innovative solutions to the world’s most complex problems. Leveraging BCG’s global network and partnerships with leading organizations, BCG X provides a stable ecosystem for talent to build game-changing businesses, products, and services from the ground up, all while growing their career. Together, we strive to create solutions that will positively impact the lives of millions. What You'll Do About the AISI Fellowship The Boston Consulting Group’s AI Science Institute (AISI) is launching a postdoctoral fellowship program designed to empower the next generation of applied science leaders. This elite, industry-adjacent program offers PhDs and early-career scientists the opportunity to work on some of the world’s most complex and high-impact scientific problems using cutting-edge AI, in collaboration with top-tier partners across aerospace, healthcare, energy, and materials science. Fellows will operate at the intersection of foundational research, real-world deployment, and strategic impact, helping shape breakthrough workstreams with AISI partners. Unlike traditional academic or big-tech postdocs, AISI fellows work on problems where the science, the data, and the deployment context are all partially undefined. Fellows are expected not only to advance models or methods, but to shape problem formulation, data strategy, and downstream impact alongside senior scientists, engineers, and industry leaders. What You'll Bring Lead or contribute to multi-disciplinary research initiatives that apply machine learning, simulation, optimization, or GenAI to real-world scientific domains. Collaborate with BCG X teams and external stakeholders, including scientists, engineers, business leaders, to frame and solve complex technical problems. Author internal and external research outputs, with opportunities to publish in top journals or co-develop IP with partners. Design reproducible, scalable workflows that translate state-of-the-art models into practical tools for discovery and experimentation. Serve as a scientific ambassador across AISI projects, bringing rigor, creativity, and a passion for impact. Engage directly, as appropriate, with client or partner R&D teams to translate research insights into deployable solutions, with support from senior BCG X leaders. Contribute to AISI priority research themes, which may include (illustrative, non-exhaustive): AI-accelerated materials discovery and optimization Scientific foundation models (biology, chemistry, climate, or physical systems) Simulation-augmented learning (e.g., physics-informed ML, RL + simulators) Compute-enabling technologies (chip design, process optimization, algorithm–hardware co-design) Quantum algorithms and hybrid classical–quantum workflows Who You'll Work With Program Details Duration: 24 months, with possibility of transition into full-time role at BCG X. Mentorship: Each fellow will be paired with a senior advisor and a technical/scientific lead from BCG X and a partner institution. Resources: Full access to BCG’s infrastructure, compute resources, research datasets, and partner ecosystems. Compensation: Competitive salary aligned with industry postdoc benchmarks, plus support for publishing, conference travel, and IP generation. Fellows are encouraged to publish in top-tier venues unless constrained by client confidentiality or strategic IP considerations; in such cases, alternative external-facing research outputs (e.g., methods papers, open-source tools, or delayed publications) will be supported. What Success Looks Like By Month 6 Leading or co-leading a defined AISI research workstream Delivering models, methods, or code integrated into an active project Establishing a clear publication and/or IP trajectory identified By Month 12 Producing at least one external-facing research output, such as a paper, preprint, workshop, or open-source contribution. Being recognized internally as a go-to contributor in a priority scientific domain. Actively collaborating with at least one external partner or client R&D team. By Month 24 Delivering multiple high-quality research outputs and/or patented IP. Establishing a clear path to a permanent role at BCG X or strong placement into a top-tier industry or research position. Additional info Why Join AISI? Work on projects that matter from geospatial intelligence to drug discovery to next-gen material discovery. Collaborate with leading researchers, product builders, and Fortune 500 clients shaping the frontier of AI-assisted scientific discovery. Design and explore high-upside ideas that align with your research vision and AISI’s strategic priorities. Help build the foundational talent model for AISI as it scales into a global scientific innovation engine. What This Fellowship Is Not A traditional academic postdoc with a single PI and a narrowly defined research agenda. A consulting role focused on slide production or short-term delivery. A pure ML engineering role detached from scientific problem-solving. How to Apply Submit your Resume/CV and a 1–2 page statement of interest attached to it (research background, domains of interest, and why AISI) Share any relevant links to publications, code, or personal projects You must live within a reasonable commuting distance of your home office. As a member of that office, it is expected you will be in the office as directed. This role puts you on an accelerated path of personal and professional growth and development and so, at times, requires extended working hours. Our work often requires travel to client sites. FOR U.S. APPLICANTS: BCG is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and is committed to a policy of administering all employment decisions and actions without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal laws, rules, or regulations. The first-year base compensation for this role is $158,400. At BCG, we are committed to offering a comprehensive benefit program that includes everything our employees and their families need to be well and live life to the fullest. We pay the full cost of medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees – and their eligible family members. * That’s zero dollars in premiums taken from employee paychecks. All our plans provide best in class coverage: Zero-dollar ($0) health insurance premiums for BCG employees, spouses, and children Low $10 (USD) copays for trips to the doctor, urgent care visits and prescriptions for generic drugs Dental coverage, including up to $5,000 in orthodontia benefits Vision insurance with coverage for both glasses and contact lenses annually Reimbursement for gym memberships and other fitness activities Fully vested Profit-Sharing Retirement Fund contributions made annually, whether you contribute or not, plus the option for employees to make personal contributions to a 401(k) plan Paid Parental Leave and other family benefits such as elective egg freezing, surrogacy, and adoption reimbursement Generous paid time off including 12 holidays per year, an annual office closure between Christmas and New Years, and 15 vacation days per year (earned at 1.25 days per month) Paid sick time on an as needed basis *Employees, spouses, and children are covered at no cost. Employees share in the cost of domestic partner coverage. Boston Consulting Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity / expression, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under national, provincial, or local law, where applicable, and those with criminal histories will be considered in a manner consistent with applicable state and local laws. BCG is an E - Verify Employer. Click here for more information on E-Verify.

Responsibilities

Fellows will lead or contribute to multi-disciplinary research initiatives applying advanced AI techniques to real-world scientific domains, collaborating with internal teams and external stakeholders to frame and solve complex technical problems. Responsibilities also include authoring research outputs, designing scalable workflows, and serving as a scientific ambassador across projects.