Home / Jobs / Researcher - Lean 4 & Formal Proof Systems
Researcher - Lean 4 & Formal Proof Systems
City of EdinburghSource: WhatJobs
£55,000–£124,000
Researcher – Lean 4 & Formal Proof Systems (AI Training)
About The Role
What if your mathematical expertise could directly shape how AI reasons about proofs — pushing the boundary of what machines can understand and verify? We're looking for mathematicians and formal verification specialists to translate sophisticated human-written arguments into precise, machine-checkable Lean 4 proofs for cutting-edge AI research.
This is a fully remote, flexible contract role designed for researchers who thrive on rigor, structure, and working at the frontier of mechanized mathematics.
Organization: Alignerr
Type: Hourly Contract
Location: Remote
Commitment: 10–40 hours/week
What You'll Do
Translate informal mathematical proofs into Lean 4 (and related proof systems) with an emphasis on clarity, correctness, and structural elegance
Analyze domain-specific proofs to identify gaps, hidden assumptions, and formalizable sub-structures
Construct formalizations that probe the limits of existing proof assistants — especially where automation breaks down
Collaborate with AI researchers to design, refine, and evaluate strategies for improving formal verification pipelines
Develop readable, reproducible proof scripts aligned with mathematical best practices and proof assistant idioms
Provide expert guidance on proof decomposition, lemma selection, and structuring techniques for formal models
Investigate where automated provers fail and articulate why — complexity, missing lemmas, insufficient libraries, or structural issues
Create Lean proofs that surface deeper patterns or generalizations implicit in the original mathematics
Who You Are
Master's degree or higher in Mathematics, Logic, Theoretical Computer Science, or a closely related field
Strong foundation in rigorous proof writing across areas such as algebra, analysis, topology, logic, or discrete mathematics
Hands‑on experience with Lean (Lean 3 or Lean 4), Coq, Isabelle/HOL, Agda, or comparable formal systems — Lean 4 strongly preferred
Able to translate informal mathematical arguments into clean, structured formal proofs
Deep enthusiasm for formal verification, proof assistants, and the future of mechanized mathematics
Nice to Have
Familiarity with type theory, the Curry‑Howard correspondence, and proof automation tooling
Experience contributing to large‑scale formalization projects such as Mathlib
Exposure to theorem provers where automated reasoning frequently requires manual scaffolding
Prior experience with data annotation, evaluation systems, or AI training workflows
Strong communication skills for explaining formalization decisions, edge cases, and reasoning strategies
Why Join Us
Work on cutting‑edge AI research alongside leading labs and research teams
Fully remote and flexible — work when and where it suits you
Freelance autonomy with the structure of meaningful, intellectually demanding work
Contribute directly to advancing what AI can understand, verify, and reason about in mathematics
Potential for ongoing work and contract extension as new projects launch
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