ML Researcher
Run the world, before you run it.
Every complex system gets tested before deployment. Aircraft. Semiconductors. Drugs. Self-driving cars. Except one — the economy. The architecture is already laid out in a paper; now we need to turn it into a core model that runs and backtests.
Loka is building an Economic World Model — a differentiable simulator of economic reality that "pre-runs" major economic and public-policy decisions before they happen. The core is not yet another forecasting model, but an orchestration of causal reasoning, multi-agent dynamics, and time-series & behavioral modeling that outputs a set of possible futures plus actionable levers. Our Founding Scientist is Joseph Sifakis, recipient of the Turing Award and pioneer of formal verification. First deployment scenario: public funding / aid allocation decisions.
Turn the architecture into a model that runs.
- Design and implement the time-series models (evolution of economic / social indicators) and behavioral models (multi-agent responses to interventions).
- Integrate these models into the overall world-model framework — causal layer, state representation, interventions & counterfactuals.
- Get an end-to-end pipeline running in a bounded scenario (NGO / public funding allocation) and backtest it against historical data.
- Deliver on a stable weekly cadence and participate in key reviews.
- PhD (in progress or completed) in ML, Statistics, Computational Economics, Complex Systems, or a related field.
- Strong capabilities in time-series modeling and/or multi-agent / behavioral modeling.
- Able to independently turn research ideas into runnable, backtestable code (Python / PyTorch, etc.).
- Critical: a reliable weekly time investment and on-time delivery. Part-time is fine, but the delivery rhythm must be dependable — outputs on schedule, presence at required reviews. We are results-oriented, but we need predictable output.
- Any of: graph neural networks; causal inference (SCM / do-calculus); agent-based modeling.
- Background in modeling economic, financial, policy, or social systems.
- Relevant publications or demonstrable modeling projects.
- Work alongside Turing Award laureate Joseph Sifakis and the founding team on a direction almost no one has explored.
- Help define the core model of a new category.
- Competitive part-time compensation plus early-stage equity.
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