Location: San Francisco, CA (preferred) Type: Full-Time Team: Research

Overview

At Blok, we’re building the simulation engine powering the next generation of adaptive software. Our multi-agent system predicts how different types of users will respond to digital experiences before any code is shipped. Product teams use Blok to simulate onboarding flows, test risky design changes, and de-risk product bets without waiting weeks for live traffic.

We’re looking for a Behavioral Research Scientist to help shape the cognitive and behavioral foundations of our agents. You’ll join a team working at the intersection of AI, behavioral science, and product experimentation - bringing scientific depth to a system already being used by leading fintech and healthtech companies. This is a unique opportunity to apply cognitive and behavioral research at scale, shaping how the next generation of digital products are designed.

🌍 Our Vision

Software today is static. We believe the future is adaptive interfaces that evolve in real time based on the user's behavior, intent, and context.

Blok is building the behavioral foundation model to power that shift - starting with a simulation engine that helps product teams understand, predict, and personalize user experience before launch. In the long term, we’re building toward a world where software feels more like a conversation than a fixed experience.

🧪 What You’ll Work On

• Ground our AI agents in validated behavioral and cognitive frameworks - modeling decision-making, attention, heuristics, and risk
• Translate behavioral theories into practical agent architectures, helping define clusters and user personas
• Collaborate with ML researchers to embed behavioral traits, constraints, and variability into agents’ planning and reasoning
• Design in silico experiments to test how agents respond to interface or flow changes, and benchmark realism
• Analyze simulation data for emerging behavioral patterns and edge cases, informing future iterations
• Help evolve our agentic foundation model toward more realistic, adaptive simulations of human users

🎓 You Might Be a Fit If You:

• Are a PhD or postdoc in Cognitive Science, Behavioral Economics, Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field
• Have conducted original research on decision-making, learning, or behavioral modeling—especially in digital contexts
• Are passionate about applying your research to real-world systems without sacrificing depth or rigor
• Are comfortable interpreting data, collaborating with engineers, and working in a fast-moving environment
• Bonus: experience with agent-based modeling, RL, or AI safety/alignment