Senior Applied Research Scientist - Foundation Models

The role

You will build the next generation of foundation models for computer vision. This involves full-cycle model development including pre-training, fine-tuning, and applying distillation and compression techniques.

What you will do

• Design and optimize transformer-based vision-language models for real-time inference.
• Own the full training pipeline from pre-training to fine-tuning for physical security use cases.
• Apply distillation, quantization, and pruning to reduce model size and latency for edge deployment.
• Use and extend state-of-the-art open-source models.
• Prototype new architectures and training methods.
• Work with engineering and product teams to integrate models into the platform.
• Iterate based on real-world feedback and deployment data.
• Stay current with vision, NLP, and multimodal AI research.
• Design experiments to test new algorithms.

Required qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master’s in CS, EE, or related field
• Proficient in Python/C++ and deep learning frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow
• Comfortable with large-scale training pipelines
• Hands-on experience with CNNs, Transformers, and Vision Transformers (ViT)
• Strong understanding of vision-language models and how to fine-tune or adapt them
• Proven skills in model training and optimization, including fine-tuning on large datasets and applying distillation, quantization, or similar techniques
• Strong problem-solving ability: quick prototyping, diagnosing failure cases, and iterating on solutions

Nice to have

• Ph.D. preferred or Master’s with strong experience
• Experience with foundation or multimodal models is a plus
• Startup experience preferred

Benefits

• Stock options
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life
• EAP
• Legal Services
• 401k plan
• Flexible time off
• Winter Break
• Cutting-edge equipment and branded gear

About the company

Ambient.ai is the category creator and leader in Agentic Physical Security. Founded in 2017, the company uses a reasoning Vision-Language Model to unify monitoring, access control, threat assessment, response, and investigations.