Barret Zoph joins Google as VP of research after brief stint at OpenAI and departure from Thinking Machines

Aug 27, 2026

Barret Zoph rejoins Google DeepMind as vice president of research to focus on reinforcement learning and post-training for Gemini. Zoph's appointment follows a turbulent period, including his firing from Thinking Machines Lab in January 2026 after a dispute with CEO Mira Murati, and a brief five-month return to OpenAI. His hiring coincides with a broader leadership restructuring at Google DeepMind, where Demis Hassabis recently stepped aside as chief executive, amid industry-wide executive turnover.

Zoph Google VP appointment

▪Google spokesperson Thomas Schoenfelder confirmed Barret Zoph's hire and stated the company looks forward to Zoph bringing his reinforcement learning and post-training expertise to Gemini.
▪Barret Zoph announced on August 26, 2026, that he is joining Google DeepMind as vice president of research to work on reinforcement learning and post-training.
▪Barret Zoph previously worked at Google as a research scientist from 2016 through 2022 before leaving to join OpenAI.

Thinking Machines departure dispute

▪Prior to his firing, Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz confronted Mira Murati to request that Zoph be given authority over all technical decision-making at Thinking Machines Lab.
▪Mira Murati fired Barret Zoph from Thinking Machines Lab in January 2026, telling employees he had performance, conduct, and trust issues, including an undisclosed relationship with an employee.
▪Barret Zoph co-founded Thinking Machines Lab with Mira Murati and others in early 2025, serving as its chief technology officer.
▪Barret Zoph disputed the framing of his termination, claiming Mira Murati only fired him after he had already informed her of his plans to leave Thinking Machines Lab.

OpenAI five-month tenure

▪Luke Metz, who returned to OpenAI with Barret Zoph in January 2026, has also left OpenAI and is reportedly joining Meta.
▪After leaving Thinking Machines Lab, Barret Zoph returned to OpenAI in January 2026 alongside co-founders Luke Metz and Sam Schoenholz.
▪Barret Zoph spent less than six months at OpenAI during his second stint, leading efforts to drive business adoption of Codex and AI enterprise sales before departing in June 2026.

AI executive turnover patterns

▪Thinking Machines Lab has lost roughly a third of its founding team, including two co-founders who returned to OpenAI in January 2026, while raising capital at valuations climbing from $12 billion toward $50 billion.
▪OpenAI has experienced a high rate of executive departures over an eight-month period in 2026, including its chief operating officer Brad Lightcap, its product chief, its Sora lead, and a top data center executive.

DeepMind leadership restructuring

▪Google's AI organization has recently seen high-profile departures, including longtime veteran Jeff Dean, Character.AI co-founder Noam Shazeer, and Nobel laureate John Jumper.
▪Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis stepped aside in early August 2026 to become chairman of Google DeepMind and chief scientist of Alphabet.