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Vals AI
Independent third-party evaluation/benchmarking of frontier AI models on real-world professional tasks
Last verified August 19, 2026 · Updated daily
What Vals AI is building
Vals works with domain experts to turn real legal, finance, tax, healthcare and coding workflows into rigorous graded benchmarks, then builds automated grading systems that evaluate model output against an expert standard. Products: Vals Smith (build coding benchmarks from GitHub repos), frontier-risk suite (cybersecurity, mental health, AI safety), and Vals Index 2.0.
Why this matters
a16z's lead signals conviction that AI needs an independent 'scorekeeper' the way finance has auditors and Moody's. The 8x revenue growth and tripled team make it critical infrastructure. Krishnan (ex-Palantir) and Nashold (ex-Meta/NVIDIA/HRT) bring enterprise-deployment and quant-trading rigor.
Open roles at Vals AI
6 positions we're tracking. Roles are re-checked daily and removed when filled.
Member of Technical Staff–Platform
First seen today
MTS–Research
First seen today
Head of AI
First seen today
Founding Product Engineer
First seen today
Security Engineer
First seen today
Head of Operations
First seen today
Know when Vals AI is hiring before anyone else
A role stays uncontested for about four days. Here's the window — and where we put you in it.
From $9/month, cancel any time.
Watching Vals AI
0 applicantsRole spotted & verified
1You get the alert
1You've applied
~8Hits the job boards
250+Hiring outlook
Team tripled in six months and the round explicitly funds team expansion and benchmark infrastructure. Founder tweeted the Ashby board directly.
Working at Vals AI
Vals AI is Independent third-party evaluation/benchmarking of frontier AI models on real-world professional tasks, founded in and now people. What this means for you: opportunity to shape your role based on the company stage.
San Francisco is where most Vals AI positions are located.
How to actually get hired at Vals AI
Why applying the normal way doesn't work
Vals AI has an ATS but the real pipeline is referrals → sourced → recruiter picks → cold apps. You can still get through, but know where you stand.
Who to contact at Vals AI
What to show them
Published benchmark design, RL/eval tooling, or reproducible model-comparison work; experience detecting benchmark contamination/saturation.
A cold email that works at Vals AI
What Vals AI screens for
Reference the ETH Zurich/Stanford study finding 29 of 60 public LLM benchmarks saturated, and that frontier models fail ~52% of real finance-analyst tasks.
Tailor your CV to the specific Vals AI role rather than sending a general one. Applications that mirror the language of the job description clear automated filters at a materially higher rate.
Don't make these mistakes
Don't confuse with generic 'eval' wrappers or leaderboard sites. Vals' differentiation is expert-built, private, domain-specific benchmarks with automated grading. Don't attribute the lead to Yoko Li — it was Jennifer Li.
Mistakes that kill Vals AI applications
Don't send the same CV you sent everywhere else. At people it's obvious, and it's the fastest rejection there is.
Lead with their problem, not your ambition. Vals AI is focused on a16z's lead signals conviction that AI needs an independent 'scorekeeper' the way finance has auditors and Moody's — show you understand that.
Most AI applications get ghosted. A day-five follow-up can double your response rate.
Applying to Vals AI? Get the contact, not the form.
The Vals AI interview process
4 stages · 14 days typical · take-home: yes · modelled from similar companies
We don't yet have verified candidate reports for Vals AI. What follows is the typical process for a -person AI company — treat it as a model, not confirmed detail.
Interview stages
Recruiter Screen
Phone or video · 30 min
Basic qualification and logistics
Recruiter or HR
Hiring Manager Interview
Video call · 45 min
Role fit and experience deep-dive
Hiring manager
Technical/Functional Round
Video call · 60 min
Skills assessment and problem-solving
Team members
Final Round
In-person or video · 60 min
Culture fit and cross-functional alignment
Senior leadership
Vals AI take-home assignment
Vals AI includes a take-home exercise in their interview process. For AI roles, this typically involves a practical problem that takes 2-4 hours. Focus on clean, working code over premature optimization. They're evaluating how you think and communicate, not just the solution.
Vals AI interview timeline
Vals AI runs about days from first contact to offer. The median for AI companies at people is 14 days, so Vals AI is about average than most.
Interviewed at Vals AI?
Tell us how it went — stages, questions, timeline. Takes 90 seconds and it's how this page stays accurate for the next person.
Submit your Vals AI interview experience →Vals AI jobs, frequently asked questions
How many jobs does Vals AI have open?
We're tracking 6 active openings at Vals AI (verified August 2026).
Does Vals AI hire remotely?
Currently, Vals AI only has in-office roles in San Francisco.
What roles is Vals AI hiring for?
Vals AI is hiring across Engineering, Other, Data, Operations. The most recent opening is Member of Technical Staff–Platform.
How do I apply for a job at Vals AI?
Click through to apply, or see our detailed guide on landing a job at Vals AI.
Does Vals AI respond to cold emails?
We haven't verified response rates at Vals AI yet.
Who is the hiring manager at Vals AI?
At this size, hiring is usually run by the hiring manager.
How competitive is it to get hired at Vals AI?
Roles at -person AI companies typically draw 100-250 applicants in the first two weeks. Applying inside 72 hours of a posting going live is the single biggest lever you control.
How many rounds is the Vals AI interview?
4 stages: Recruiter Screen, Hiring Manager Interview, Technical/Functional Round, Final Round.
Is the Vals AI interview hard?
The interview emphasizes technical depth and system design over abstract problems. Hardest stage: Technical Interview.
Does Vals AI give a take-home task?
Yes, Vals AI includes a take-home assignment.
How long does Vals AI take to get back to you?
Around 14 days across the full process.
What should I prepare for the Vals AI interview?
Study technical depth and system design. At this size (), they care about self-sufficiency over textbook knowledge.
Where is Vals AI based?
Vals AI is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
Get Vals AI roles before they're posted
A role stays uncontested for about four days. Here's the window — and where we put you in it.
From $9/month, cancel any time.
Watching Vals AI
0 applicantsRole spotted & verified
1You get the alert
1You've applied
~8Hits the job boards
250+