Perplexity Research Fellowship 2027

The Perplexity Research Fellowship 2027 is a paid research opportunity for exceptional early career researchers, engineers, and analysts interested in contributing to the development of advanced artificial intelligence systems. The programme is designed for people with strong technical or quantitative backgrounds who want to apply their expertise to frontier AI research.

The fellowship is offered by Perplexity as a talent development programme within its AI Research and Systems team. Fellows work full time and are considered short term employees for the duration of the fellowship. The programme is intended to give early career STEM talent an opportunity to contribute to research while working alongside teams developing new AI systems.

Research areas may include multi agent planning, continual learning, pre training, human AI interaction, interdisciplinary research and other areas connected to the advancement of AI systems. Perplexity is particularly interested in applicants who bring strong technical expertise from disciplines beyond traditional AI research.

About the Fellowship

The Perplexity Research Fellowship is focused on bringing talented researchers from diverse technical and quantitative disciplines into AI research. The programme recognizes that important contributions to AI can come from people whose academic and professional backgrounds are not traditionally centred on artificial intelligence.

Fellows are expected to bring analytical ability, technical depth, curiosity and a willingness to learn rapidly. Perplexity is looking for people who can apply rigorous thinking to complex problems and communicate their ideas effectively within interdisciplinary research teams.

The fellowship is particularly relevant to applicants with backgrounds such as physics, cognitive science, quantitative finance, theoretical mathematics and other rigorous analytical fields. Applicants do not necessarily need to have spent their entire careers working in AI, provided they demonstrate technical excellence and a strong interest in developing beneficial AI systems.

Fellowship Benefits

• Annualized base salary of $180,000 for Predoctoral Research Fellows

• Annualized base salary of $220,000 for Postdoctoral Research Fellows

• Full time employment for the fellowship period

• Health insurance

• Dental insurance

• Vision insurance

• Immigration and visa sponsorship support based on individual circumstances

• Opportunity for strong performing fellows to transition into full time research focused positions

• Opportunity to contribute to frontier AI research

• Experience working with interdisciplinary AI research teams

• Potential to develop research expertise across emerging areas of artificial intelligence

Programme Areas

The fellowship can involve research across a broad range of AI topics, including:

• Multi agent planning

• Continual learning

• Pre training

• Human AI interaction

• Interdisciplinary AI research

• Frontier intelligence

• Emerging AI systems and research directions

Applicants are encouraged to bring expertise from their own technical or quantitative discipline and explore how that expertise can contribute to new AI research directions.

Eligibility Criteria

• Be an early career researcher, engineer or analyst with strong technical or quantitative abilities

• Demonstrate strong mathematical and analytical foundations

• Have technical depth in a rigorous technical or quantitative discipline

• Demonstrate the ability to tackle complex problems in your area of expertise

• Be able to apply knowledge and skills to new research domains

• Demonstrate curiosity and willingness to learn rapidly

• Communicate complex ideas clearly

• Work effectively with interdisciplinary teams

• Demonstrate technical excellence and genuine interest in developing beneficial AI systems

• Predoctoral applicants should demonstrate exceptional early career potential in a technical or quantitative discipline

• Postdoctoral applicants should have recently completed a PhD in a technical or quantitative discipline

Perplexity specifically welcomes applicants whose expertise comes from disciplines outside conventional AI research. Examples mentioned in the fellowship description include physics, cognitive science, quantitative finance and theoretical mathematics, although applicants from other rigorous analytical disciplines are also encouraged to apply.

Selection Focus

Perplexity is looking for applicants who demonstrate:

• Strong analytical thinking

• Mathematical foundations

• Technical depth

• Expertise in a technical or quantitative discipline

• Ability to approach complex problems

• Curiosity about new research domains

• Capacity for rapid learning

• Strong written and verbal communication

• Ability to collaborate across disciplines

• Commitment to developing beneficial AI systems

The programme is intended for people who can bring perspectives and methods from their existing fields into AI research rather than limiting applicants to traditional AI career pathways.

How to Apply

1. Review the Perplexity Research Fellowship description and determine which fellowship track matches your background.
2. Prepare your application materials according to the instructions provided by Perplexity.
3. Highlight your technical or quantitative expertise, research experience and ability to tackle complex problems.
4. Explain your research interests and demonstrate how your existing expertise can contribute to AI research.
5. Complete the application through the official Perplexity careers application portal.
6. Submit your application by September 30, 2026 to receive priority consideration.
7. Monitor your application and remain available for the recruitment process.
8. If selected, expect to begin the fellowship within approximately eight weeks of acceptance.

The Perplexity Research Fellowship is currently accepting applications on a rolling basis, with September 30, 2026 identified as the priority consideration date.