Prototype Researcher

We are building AI to simulate the world through merging art and science.

We believe that world models are at the frontier of progress in artificial intelligence. Language models alone won’t solve the world’s hardest problems – robotics, disease, scientific discovery. Real progress requires models that experience the world and learn from their mistakes, the same way that humans do. And this kind of trial and error can be massively accelerated when done in simulation, rather than in the real world.

World models offer the most clear path to general-purpose simulation, changing how stories are told, how scientific progress is made and how the next frontiers of humanity are reached.

Our team consists of creative, open minded, caring and ambitious people who are determined to change the world. We aspire to continuously build impossible things and our ability to do so relies on building an incredible team. If you are driven to do the same, we'd love to hear from you.

*Titles posted to our careers page are updated regularly to best advertise the role and expected seniority, but internally we have a flat titling system with two types of titles: one for individual contributors and one for people managers.

ABOUT THE ROLE

*Open to hiring remote across the US — we also have offices in New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.

We are looking for a Prototype Researcher to join Runway Labs — our research and exploration team pushing the frontier of AI video and General World Models. You’ll imagine, design, and build experimental experiences that make emerging AI capabilities tangible and communicate a compelling vision for where the technology is heading.

This role combines creative thinking, hands-on prototyping, and storytelling. You should be able to develop an original idea, build a working prototype, and shape it into a clear, memorable demonstration. Your work will help people understand new AI systems through experiences they can see, use, and engage with.

Working closely with researchers, engineers, and designers, you’ll explore new interfaces and interaction paradigms for AI-generated video, world models, and agentic systems. The focus is on research explorations that express our vision, reveal new possibilities, and strengthen the company’s position as a full-stack research organization.

We’re looking for a motivated self-starter with strong creative judgment, technical fluency, and a portfolio that shows both what you can build and how well you can communicate an idea.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Develop original concepts that explore the possibilities of emerging AI systems, from interactive video and world models to agentic experiences.

• Design and build working prototypes that turn research capabilities into engaging, understandable experiences.

• Shape each project’s story: what it explores, why it matters, and what it suggests about the future.

• Package explorations into polished demos, films, and interactive experiences that communicate our research and vision.

• Collaborate with researchers and engineers to understand new capabilities and identify compelling ways to demonstrate them.

• Move quickly through experimentation, using prototypes to test ideas and refine both the experience and its narrative.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• A portfolio of original projects that demonstrates creative thinking, design craft, technical execution, and strong storytelling.

• The ability to take an idea from an early concept to a working prototype and a compelling presentation.

• Hands-on experience building interactive experiences with code, with the judgment to choose the right tools for each experiment.

• Strong visual and interaction design skills, with an eye for detail and an instinct for making complex ideas accessible.

• Genuine curiosity about AI video, world models, agentic systems, and emerging generative media.

• Comfort working in ambiguous research environments, defining your own direction, and learning new tools as the work evolves.

• The ability to explain the purpose and potential of your work clearly, through writing, visuals, demos, or film.

Runway strives to recruit and retain exceptional talent from diverse backgrounds while ensuring pay equity for our team. Our salary ranges are based on competitive market rates for our size, stage and industry, and salary is just one part of the overall compensation package we provide.

There are many factors that go into salary determinations, including relevant experience, skill level and qualifications assessed during the interview process, and maintaining internal equity with peers on the team. The range shared below is a general expectation for the function as posted, but we are also open to considering candidates who may be more or less experienced than outlined in the job description. In this case, we will communicate any updates in the expected salary range.

Lastly, the provided range is the expected salary for candidates in the U.S. Outside of those regions, there may be a change in the range, which again, will be communicated to candidates.

WORKING AT RUNWAY

Great things come from great teams. [link for members] We’d love to hear from you.

We’re committed to creating a space where our employees can bring their full selves to work and have equal opportunity to succeed. So regardless of race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, origin, ability, age, veteran status, if joining this mission speaks to you, we encourage you to apply.

More about the company

• Universal World Simulator [link for members]

• GWM-1 [link for members]

• Gen-4.5 [link for members]

• General World Models [link for members]

• Robotics SDK [link for members]

• Conversational Real-time Agents [link for members]

• Runway Studios [link for members]

We're excited to be recognized as a best place to work

Crain's [link for members] | InHerSight [link for members] | BuiltIn NYC [link for members] | INC [link for members]