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Ask HN: Mid-career researcher wanting to move to Internet scale company

12 points by brutus1213 ↗ HN
I'm a mid career research scientist (15 years post-PhD) with expertise in cloud computing and AI (mostly vision). I currently work at an industry research lab (almost a decade at my current employer) The work I have done has resulted in papers at top IEEE and ACM conferences, and I am in a quasi management position at my current employer (lead a team of 6; mix of scientists and engineers).

While being a success in an industry lab setting, I am interested in moving to an Internet scale company. I have a very hard time selling myself. The work I have done has not made it into products .. just papers and patents. I could probably move to a professor job as I have reputation in my subfield with a strong publication record, on the program committees of key conferences, etc.

I am extremely passionate about technology. I am also pretty decent as a manager (be it as a coach or where I am representing my part of the lab to other parts of the business). I also feel a bit of faker syndrome. I have a high salary (350K USD), which is problematic .. it makes going to small companies hard to stomach (I see engineering managers get paid 150K in some small companies) and the larger companies (FANG-Amazon) pay a lot more but seem impossible for me to get into. I did try getting into such companies when I was fresh out of school but flunked the interviews.

One other issue .. I feel at home coding but my currently role leave me nearly no time to code. I do management stuff and lead research projects.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

11 comments

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trifit
What makes you not content at your current role? The grass is always greener on the other side, till it isn’t.
brutus1213
I see three issues in my current role. (i) I keep getting additional responsibilities, which has increased my workload tremendously (without increased compensation). I raised the compensation issue but was told research labs are cost centers (hence, limited budget with little room for significant increase in comp). (ii) I am dissatisfied that my work is not making into products. A decade into the company, and it is not for lack of trying. Most projects have failed to go the next step mainly due to politics. I do not see the situation improving on this matter. (iii) I am mid-career and have the feeling if I do not switch employer's now, this is basically it for me (career growth wise). I see no opportunity to go higher in my current lab.
yakak
I don't really get why you are making a distinction between internet scale companies and working for another research lab. There are people in the ACM who work for Oracle Labs, IBM Research, etc, but 2 of 3 of these issues would also be solved by any new employer.

Certainly there is a risk in a new lab that your projects go nowhere, but you can research their success before joining one and choose one that is better connected to production you consider successful at using it's in house innovation if that is what you want to prioratize.

otras
> I did try getting into such companies when I was fresh out of school but flunked the interviews.

Have you tried preparing and interviewing since? The process is less opaque these days, though the algorithm interview game is still prevalent.

I’m only a mid-level engineer at one of the large companies, but it sounds like you would be a very strong candidate for senior+ roles with your background and experience.

brutus1213
Thank you. This is a good point. I have not had a FAANG interview in ages (have done a few mgmt interviews and some principal engineer roles at mid-tier companies). I should just do it and see how it goes. I recognize I need to study seriously for it and that has made me hesitant to respond to those recruiters until I felt I was ready.
sjg007
You have a previous comment on another post about roles above $250k being about politics; I am not sure a FAANG would solve that problem for you.

I wouldn't worry about products per se. I've found that the way to get things done at that level is basically through EQ and influencing people. You have to sell your idea as if it was there idea. You want them to take ownership of it. The way you do that is help other people solve their problems.

In terms of work, you may be more effective hiring more people to work for you and reduce the extra workload that way. Also if you can say no or push back asking for prioritization.

Also you are not who you were 15 years ago and presumably the job you want has different interview criteria. Since you have papers in IEE and ACM conferences etc.. I think one option is to reach out to LeCun, Hassabis, or Hinton directly. Maybe start with a collaboration. You are at another level but don't expect the front door through recruiters or a job posting to be the best path in.

brutus1213
Thank you. All very astute comments that resonate.

Regarding politics, I definitely don't get phased by it. I understand this is something to contend with in any large org, when faced with finite resources and subjective goals. My last few papers could have been the foundation for major first-of-a-kind features in my companies products. The sad reality I have recently accepted is that getting the feature into product is less about technical excellence or market appreciation, and more about where the innovation is coming from (i.e. specific product group). Out of 6 areas my research lab works on (I lead one), only 1 of the six has had a product impact (not the one I lead).

bradknowles
There are definitely cloud/AI/vision system data scientist jobs at Amazon and AWS that are going unfilled. Your description sounds like you could be a Principal scientist in a role like that, either working on warehouse management systems, the Amazon Go store technology, automated last-mile delivery systems, most anything to do with Ring cameras, and so forth.

As I see it, the biggest problem might actually be the salary. I think matching $350K might be a challenge, even for Amazon, unless you land in a senior VP type of role.

I would try again at Amazon, if you're willing to work for them. And if you can't find anything through obvious public channels, I'd be happy to do some research and see if there's anything where I can provide you a referral.

Our own group is hiring in the Seattle, Austin, and Atlanta areas, but it's mostly SDEs, TPMs, etc.... I don't know that we have any data scientist type positions open.

Good luck!

eatonphil
Have you considered starting a company? It's a bad financial choice in the short-term but it gives you significant flexibility and potential to get to a high salary within a few years whether you succeed or not (since you'll then have industry experience you can pivot from into big tech). Your background would be an easy fit for getting funding IMO.

Happy to talk more about it if you're interested and introduce you to some circles that might help, phil@multiprocess.io.

thisarticle
> I have a high salary (350K USD), which is problematic .. it makes going to small companies hard to stomach (I see engineering managers get paid 150K in some small companies) and the larger companies (FANG-Amazon) pay a lot more but seem impossible for me to get into.

My condolences. Ooof.

faangiq
Should be no problem to get a job at FAANG but you may have to check your ego and come in at a level that doesn’t match your expectations.