AI Research Director
About The Position
The AI Research Director will lead webAI's advanced research initiatives across large language models, multimodal systems, edge inference, and distributed AI. This role drives the scientific vision behind our core technologies and works closely with engineering leadership to convert cutting-edge research into production-grade capabilities. You will oversee research teams, establish long-term research roadmaps, design novel model architectures, and push innovation that directly shapes webAI's platform, model performance, and differentiated technical position. This role is ideal for a hands-on, forward-thinking leader who wants to build what the future of private, distributed AI looks like.
Requirements
- You read papers on a daily basis
- 8+ years of experience in AI, machine learning research, deep learning, or related fields
- Experience leading research teams and delivering impactful ML innovations
- Expertise in modern AI architectures including transformers, diffusion models, multimodal systems, and reinforcement learning
- Experience designing, training, and optimizing large-scale ML models
- Strong understanding of distributed systems, edge inference, and model efficiency techniques such as quantization and pruning
- Proficiency in Python and ML frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or JAX
- Strong research background demonstrated through publications, patents, or deployed innovations
- Ability to communicate complex concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
Nice To Haves
- Master's or PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, AI, Mathematics, or related field
- Experience with privacy-preserving AI such as federated learning or secure execution
- Strong mathematical foundation in ML optimization and model theory
- Experience integrating novel research into production environments
- Ability to operate in fast-paced, high-growth startup environments
Responsibilities
- Lead webAI's AI and ML research strategy including long-term vision, experimentation roadmap, and architectural innovation
- Oversee research on LLMs, diffusion and multimodal models, inference optimization, and distributed execution
- Advance techniques for compression, quantization, distillation, and privacy-preserving learning for edge and on-device AI
- Collaborate with Engineering and Product teams to translate research breakthroughs into scalable production-ready capabilities
- Build, mentor, and lead a world-class research team fostering creativity, scientific rigor, and innovation
- Evaluate emerging technologies, academic research, and industry trends to influence strategic direction
- Design and evaluate experiments, benchmarks, and methodologies for model performance and efficiency
- Represent webAI in research discussions with customers, partners, and the broader AI community
- Ensure research initiatives align with customer missions, security requirements, and enterprise needs
Benefits
- Competitive salary and performance-based incentives.
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits package.
- 401k Match (US-based only)
- $200/mos Health and Wellness Stipend
- $400/year Continuing Education Credit
- $500/year Function Health subscription (US-based only)
- Free parking, for in-office employees
- Unlimited Approved PTO
- Parental Leave for Eligible Employees
- Supplemental Life Insurance
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Industry
Publishing Industries
Number of Employees
51-100 employees
