Senior Research Engineer - Experimental Engineering

About this role

<div class="content-intro"><h2><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">WHO WE ARE</span></h2> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to a fair and just marketplace for all. CR is known for our rigorous testing and trusted ratings on thousands of products and services.  We report extensively on consumer trends and challenges, and survey millions of people in the U.S. each year. We leverage our evidence-based approach to advocate for consumer rights, working with policymakers and companies to find solutions for safer products and fair practices. </span>  </p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our mission starts with you. We offer medical benefits that start on your first day as a CR employee that include behavioral health coverage, family planning and a generous 401K match. <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/careers/landing-page/index.htm">Learn more about how CR advocates on behalf of our employees.</a></span></p></div><p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><strong>OVERVIEW</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Experimental Engineering team leads the engineering R&D efforts in new and emerging products at Consumer Reports.  </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We're seeking a highly capable Senior Research Engineer to join our team and drive forward exploratory research engineering with particular focus on innovative applications of AI, machine learning, and emerging technologies. In this role, you’ll embark on ambitious early-stage engineering efforts, validate concepts through rapid prototypes, and translate timely experiments into actionable insights that guide Consumer Reports' strategic initiatives. Research engineers operate 6+ months ahead of product roadmaps. Your work will be essential to identifying opportunities and pushing our technological boundaries.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is a full-time remote opportunity, with hybrid work available for candidates local to Consumer Reports offices in New York or Washington, D.C. This position is not eligibale for sponsorship or relocation assistance.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>How You'll Make An Impact</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Consumer Reports’ Experimental Engineering team is dedicated to rapidly exploring and prototyping solutions that empower consumers. As a Sr. Research Engineer on our team, you will:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lead exploratory spikes, proof-of-concept projects, and early-stage prototyping end-to-end to test high-impact, forward-looking ideas.</span></li> <li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Identify strategic opportunities in emerging technologies (notably AI/ML) and translate these opportunities into actionable prototypes</span></li> <li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Serve as a technical leader on AskCR, our RAG chatbot built on Consumer Reports' product testing, journalism, and advocacy work and own architectural decisions on retrieval, evaluation, and orchestration</span></li> <li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Collaborate closely on technical planning, architecture, and implementation efforts for AskCR, our RAG chatbot built on Consumer Report’s product testing, journalism and advocacy work.</span></li> <li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Work collaboratively across cross-functional teams (Digital Product, Product Testing, User Research, Data Engineering, Advocacy) to share insights and ensure learnings are leveraged broadly across Consumer Reports.</span></li> <li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Establish and refine practices for documenting experiments and synthesizing research outputs to maximize their organizational impact.</span></li> <li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mentor engineers and raise the technical bar across the team.</span></li> <li style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cultivate a culture…