Research Scientist (AI Agent Economies)

Job Description

Research Scientist (AI Agent Economies) naptha.ai

About this role

We are seeking an exceptional Agent Economics Researcher to study and design incentive structures and economic systems for large-scale AI agent networks. This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of AI agent infrastructure at a massively ambitious scale, backed by industry veterans and technical leaders through NVIDIA Inception, Google for Startups, and Microsoft for Startups.

We're building the foundational infrastructure for the next wave of AI companies, enabling frontier AI developers (many leaving labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepMind) to build products powered by enormous networks of highly capable next-generation AI agents. As our Agent Economics Researcher, you'll develop the theoretical and practical frameworks for how agents cooperate, compete, and create value within complex networks.

Core Responsibilities

Design and study economic mechanisms for agent networks

Research incentive structures for agent collaboration

Develop frameworks for resource allocation and optimization

Study economic behavior patterns in agent systems

Create models for agent value creation and exchange

Research market dynamics in agent networks

Design experiments to validate economic theoriesResearch Areas

Mechanism design for agent systems

Game theory in multi-agent networks

Resource allocation optimization

Market design for agent economies

Incentive alignment in agent networks

Economic efficiency in distributed systems

Value creation and capture in agent networksYou're a good fit if you have:

PhD or equivalent experience in Economics, Computer Science, or related field

Strong background in mechanism design and game theory

Experience with multi-agent systems or markets

Understanding of distributed systems economics

Strong mathematical and analytical skills

Interest in both theoretical and applied research

Ability to translate economic theory into practical systemsRequired Experience:

Research experience in economics or mechanism design

Strong mathematical and modeling skills

Programming ability for economic simulations

Track record of novel research contributions

Understanding of distributed systems

Experience with experimental designAbout the hiring process:

Research presentation

Economic design challenge

Technical discussion

Team collaboration interview

Vision and strategy workshopCompensation & Benefits:

Highly competitive salary and significant equity stake

Remote-first work environment

Full medical, dental, and vision coverage

Flexible PTO policy

Research conference budget

Publication support

Learning and development budgetAdditional Notes:

Must be comfortable with ambiguity and rapid iteration typical of pre-seed startups

Strong bias for practical implementation of research ideas

Passion for advancing the field of multi-agent systems

Interest in open source contribution and community engagement

This is a unique opportunity to shape the economic foundations of future AI systems, designing the mechanisms and incentives that will govern how agents interact and create value at scale.

Full-time

Hybrid remote