Application Guide
How to Apply for FirstPrinciples Research Fellow
at Firstprinciples
🏢 About Firstprinciples
FirstPrinciples is a unique non-profit organization building an autonomous AI Physicist to fundamentally understand reality's underlying structure and laws. Unlike typical AI research labs, they're creating a system that actively contributes to physics research by exploring theoretical frameworks and generating novel insights across disciplines. This mission-driven approach offers the rare opportunity to work on humanity's deepest unsolved questions with direct production impact.
About This Role
As a FirstPrinciples Research Fellow, you'll own a well-scoped research direction that directly enhances the AI Physicist's ability to reason about physics, with your work going straight into production rather than just papers. You'll design, test, and implement state-of-the-art methods that improve Theo's scientific outputs, specifically targeting scientifically sound, high-quality results for 2026. This role bridges abstract theory and computational systems to shape how scientific research is performed.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day involves collaborating with both research and engineering teams to design experiments that test new reasoning methods for the AI Physicist, analyzing results from Theo's latest outputs, and implementing improvements that directly enhance the system's physics reasoning capabilities. You might spend mornings developing mathematical frameworks for representing physical concepts computationally, afternoons coding implementations of these frameworks, and evenings reviewing how your changes affect Theo's scientific soundness across different problem domains.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Firstprinciples Is Looking For
- Holds a PhD or postdoc in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Theoretical Physics, or closely related field with a track record in either: (1) model architectures, representation learning, or reasoning systems (CS/ML path) OR (2) mathematical/physical/formal reasoning applied to fundamental problems (physics path)
- Demonstrates proven ability to translate abstract theoretical concepts into testable computational systems that can be implemented practically
- Comfortably operates across disciplinary boundaries, combining insights from AI, physics, and symbolic reasoning to tackle complex problems
- Thrives in a mission-driven environment where research has immediate production impact rather than remaining purely academic
📝 Tips for Applying to Firstprinciples
Explicitly connect your research background to either the 'CS/ML path' (model architectures, representation learning, reasoning systems) OR 'physics path' (mathematical/physical/formal reasoning) mentioned in requirements, don't try to cover both unless you have strong credentials in both
Showcase specific examples where you've translated abstract theory into testable computational systems - include metrics or outcomes from these projects
Demonstrate your understanding of what makes FirstPrinciples unique by referencing their autonomous AI Physicist mission and how your work would contribute to Theo's 2026 goals
Highlight interdisciplinary experience where you've worked across CS/ML and physics boundaries, as this is explicitly mentioned in the requirements
Emphasize production-oriented research experience since this is 'not a paper-only fellowship' - show how your work has been implemented or could be implemented practically
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
["Your specific research direction proposal that could enhance Theo's ability to reason about physics, connecting it to the 2026 output goals", 'Demonstrated ability to translate abstract theory into computational systems with concrete examples from your background', 'Why the FirstPrinciples mission resonates with you personally and how your interdisciplinary approach aligns with their cross-boundary work', 'How your track record in either CS/ML architectures or physics reasoning directly addresses their core objectives']
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Investigate what 'Theo' (their AI Physicist) currently does and its limitations by searching for any published information about FirstPrinciples' technical approach
- → Research the team's background through LinkedIn or publications to understand their interdisciplinary composition and research focus areas
- → Understand the specific 'deepest unsolved problems in physics' they're targeting and how autonomous AI could contribute differently than human researchers
- → Look for any talks, blog posts, or presentations by FirstPrinciples founders about their vision for how AI will transform physics research
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Presenting yourself as purely theoretical without demonstrating ability to implement computational systems - they explicitly want translation into testable systems
- Focusing only on paper publications without showing how research could have production impact - this is 'not a paper-only fellowship'
- Being too generic about interdisciplinary work without specific examples of crossing CS/ML and physics boundaries in practice
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Firstprinciples!