Research Scientist, AI for Graphics and Gaming - New College Grad 2026

NVIDIA•Santa Clara, CA

6d•$168,000 - $264,500

About The Position

NVIDIA is seeking a Research Scientist in Generative AI for Graphics and Gaming to conduct research and develop technologies that improve real-time graphics and enable new interactive experiences. The role is part of the Applied Deep Learning Research team, which works on AI technologies for graphics and gaming, including neural rendering, real-time image and video generation, world models, AI-driven characters, and LLM-powered game experiences. The researcher will have access to NVIDIA GPU compute for experiments and large-scale model training, and will work across organizations to advance research into products used by players. The position involves conducting cutting-edge research, training advanced models, prototyping in real-time engines, and collaborating with product, driver, hardware, engine, and platform teams. The goal is to deliver substantial, user-visible improvements and bring promising ideas into graphics applications and games. The expected base salary range is USD 168,000–264,500. The position is also eligible for equity and benefits. Applications will be accepted at least until November 3, 2026. The posting is for an existing vacancy.

Requirements

Pursuing a PhD in Computer Science or Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
Deep learning experience in image or video generation, graphics, computer vision, or a related field, with a solid understanding of core deep learning fundamentals.
Hands-on experience training large models on multi-GPU clusters, including hundreds to thousands of GPUs, and building robust distributed training pipelines and debugging at scale.
Strong proficiency in PyTorch.
Proven track record of impactful research and shipped ideas, such as leading publications, production features, or widely used tools.
Strong communication and collaboration skills in cross-functional teams.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with GPU architecture, CUDA abstractions, and efficiency techniques such as distillation, pruning, and low-precision training or inference.
Background in graphics, such as rendering pipelines or game engines.
Experience with generative models, neural rendering, or reconstruction.

Responsibilities

Research and develop AI models to improve real-time graphics quality, robustness, performance, and latency, and enable interactive experiences such as world models, LLM-driven gameplay, and AI-driven characters.
Design and run large-scale pre-training and post-training for graphics and gaming foundation models using NVIDIA GPU infrastructure.
Build and own data pipelines and datasets for foundation-model training, using synthetic data, in-engine captures, and real-world content.
Develop and prototype models for real-time image, video, and 3D content generation in modern game engines and graphics frameworks.
Create demonstrations that clearly show player-visible benefits.
Stay current on AI and graphics research and collaborate with product, driver, hardware, engine, and platform teams to bring promising ideas into shipping features.