Google has hired AI researcher Barret Zoph as vice president of research, adding him to the team working on Gemini after a brief return to OpenAI earlier this year. Zoph previously co-founded Thinking Machines Lab with former OpenAI technology chief Mira Murati and has also worked at Google before.
A Google spokesperson confirmed the appointment to The Wall Street Journal, saying the company expects Zoph to bring his reinforcement learning and post-training expertise to Gemini. Zoph previously worked at Google as a research scientist from 2016 to 2022.
Zoph Returns to Google After Brief OpenAI Role
Zoph joined OpenAI after leaving Google and spent about two years at the AI company before departing in October 2024 to help establish Thinking Machines Lab.
He left Thinking Machines in January 2026 alongside fellow co-founder Luke Metz and returned to OpenAI. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Zoph had been fired from Thinking Machines following disputes involving his performance and conduct.
After returning to OpenAI, Zoph was appointed to lead the company’s push into enterprise AI sales. His second period at OpenAI lasted about five months before he left in June.
Google has not provided further details about Zoph’s responsibilities beyond his research title and planned work involving Gemini.
AI Companies Continue to See Senior Leadership Changes
Zoph’s appointment comes during a period of senior personnel changes across several major AI companies. Google has also recently reorganized parts of its AI leadership, while OpenAI has experienced several executive departures during 2026.
OpenAI longtime chief operating officer Brad Lightcap left the company in August, while other senior employees involved in data center infrastructure and technical development have also departed.
Zoph’s latest appointment brings him back to a company where he spent six years earlier in his career. His research has included reinforcement learning, neural architecture development, and post-training techniques used to refine the behavior of AI models.
TechCrunch reported that both Google and OpenAI were contacted for additional details about the appointment. Google has so far limited its public comments to confirming Zoph’s return and his role working on Gemini.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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