[cool-RR]

I wonder why various outlets, including DeepMind's blog, say that John Jumper is a "Senior Research Scientist". That's L5 which sounds like quite a low rank for a Nobel prize winner. I checked his LinkedIn and he's a director, which is around L8. I thought that maybe he was L5 during the publishing of the results, but no, he was either L6 or L7.

[jltsiren]

Maybe "Senior Research Scientist" sounds more respectable among the intended audience. A research scientist is usually an independent researcher rather than someone working in another person's team, while "senior" indicates that they have been in an independent role for a while. A director, on the other hand, is someone who failed to avoid administrative duties, and it doesn't imply any degree of seniority.

[tsimionescu]

L5 doesn't mean anything to anyone outside of whatever organization you're talking about (Google?). A Senior Research Scientist means "a person who is a scientist, works in research, and is very experienced in that role". Even if this is not the title he holds in his organization, it is an objective title that applies to him.