AI Research Scientist

AI Researcher – Prop Trading – UAE – $200,000-$250,000 USD base + Bonus

There are very few roles in the world where you can state-of-the-art AI research such as LLMs, transformers, deep neural networks to live financial markets, with access to serious compute infrastructure and a team assembled from some of the best minds in both fields. This is one of them.

A globally recognised name, the UAE office is a central part of the research expansion — small today, growing quickly, and already home to senior researchers, quant leads, and strategy leadership.

The team publishes. Researchers here have been widely cited in top-tier peer-reviewed journals, and the culture is collaborative. AI and trading expertise are shared openly across the team rather than siloed. If you want to do real research that also has commercial impact, this is a rare setup.

Why you’d want this role

• One of the few environments where foundational model research directly feeds live trading systems
• Access to dedicated compute infrastructure
• A culture built around publishing – the firm actively supports and values research contributions to the broader scientific community
• Flat structure with direct exposure to leadership from day one
• Work alongside researchers and engineers recruited from the very top of the field globally

Why Abu Dhabi

• Consistently ranked among the safest and most liveable cities in the world
• One of the fastest-growing hubs for buy-side finance and AI in the region
• Significant tax advantages over London, New York, or Singapore
• The most sought-after neighbourhoods are a 10–20 minute drive from the office — no tube strikes, no packed commutes, and a cab is around £8 each way
• Year-round sunshine and world-class infrastructure

What you’ll be doing

Researching and developing novel AI-driven quantitative trading strategies,

• ing the latest advances in LLMs, transformers, and deep neural networks to real market problems
• Exploring large volumes of market and alternative data to discover and capitalise on new trading opportunities
Inventing and
• ing next-generation methods in prompt engineering, signal processing, and time-series analysis
• Contributing to a research culture where your findings may be published and recognised beyond the firm

What you’ll bring

• A Master’s or PhD in a quantitative discipline: Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Quantitative Finance, or similar
• Deep, practical knowledge of large language models and deep neural networks, applied to real problems in NLP, vision, signal processing, or related domains
• Strong experience analysing large datasets using rigorous ML and statistical methods – classification, regression, time-series analysis, Bayesian methods, neural networks, and more
• Proficiency in Python and relevant ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow; C++ experience a plus
• A track record of generating impactful research, whether in academia or industry
• Curiosity about financial markets – prior finance experience is not required, just the appetite to learn

We recognise that great researchers don’t always fit neatly into a checklist. If this sounds like the kind of work you want to be doing, reach out directly — even if you’re unsure whether you’re the right fit. josh@durlstonpartners.com

If this role isn’t right for you but you know someone who’d be a great fit, we have a market-leading referral scheme in place to thank anyone who refers a candidate who successfully passes probation.