AI Research Director

webAI•Austin, TX

53d

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