AI Research Engineer

AI Research Engineer Full-time · Remote (Dallas preferred) About Vantage Compute Vantage Compute is a Physical AI platform for industrial manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and energy. We help organizations capture expert know-how on video, transform it into dynamic work instructions, and drive verified execution on the front line. Our platform spans three pillars: knowledge capture and sharing, AI-powered verification (Smart Compare and photo/video validation), and time-and-motion intelligence through guided workflows, SOP adherence, and real-time execution visibility. We partner with some of the world’s most demanding enterprises, taking them from knowledge capture all the way to verified execution. The Role We’re looking for an AI Research Engineer to drive innovation across our AI platform by researching, developing, and evaluating next-generation models and techniques. You’ll work at the intersection of multimodal AI — vision-language models, computer vision, speech, and LLMs — turning cutting-edge research into practical solutions for industrial environments. This role is ideal for someone who loves experimenting with new models and advancing the state of the art, while staying grounded in real-world impact. You’ll collaborate closely with product, engineering, and AI teams to take research from prototype to production. What You’ll Own Research and development of AI models for industrial knowledge capture, verification, and workflow intelligence. Experimentation with LLMs, vision-language models (VLMs), speech models, and multimodal systems — including evaluation of open-weight and proprietary models for customer-specific constraints. Design and evaluation of advanced RAG architectures, agentic workflows, and reasoning systems. Model training, fine-tuning, and optimization pipelines. Benchmarking, evaluation, and experimentation frameworks that measure both model quality and business impact. Assessment of emerging AI techniques and their applicability to Vantage Compute’s platform and roadmap. Collaboration with engineering to transition research prototypes into scalable production systems. Internal research write-ups, technical documentation, and best practices. What You’ll Bring Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI, or a related technical field — or equivalent practical experience. 3+ years of experience in AI/ML research, applied AI, or machine learning engineering. Strong Python skills with deep expertise in PyTorch (or TensorFlow) and the Hugging Face / Transformers ecosystem. Hands-on experience training, fine-tuning, and evaluating foundation models. Practical experience with LLMs and VLMs, prompt engineering, RAG systems, and rigorous model evaluation methodologies. Familiarity with vector databases and embedding systems. Experience with large datasets and distributed training and inference environments. Strong grasp of ML fundamentals, deep learning, and modern AI architectures, plus solid experiment design and statistical analysis. A track record of translating research concepts into shipped product features. Nice to Have Experience with video understanding, computer vision, speech recognition, or other multimodal AI. Familiarity with reinforcement learning, agentic systems, or reasoning models. Experience with MLflow, Kubeflow, Ray, Airflow, or similar ML platforms. Publications, patents, open-source contributions, or active participation in AI research communities. Experience deploying AI systems on GCP or AWS. Background in manufacturing, industrial automation, workforce training, or operational technology. Experience building AI products in an enterprise SaaS environment. Why Vantage Compute Work on real-world AI challenges that directly impact frontline workers and industrial operations. Help shape the future of Physical AI and multimodal intelligence. Access to cutting-edge AI technologies, hardware, and research opportunities. High ownership, rapid experimentation, and fast decision-making. A talented, mission-driven team applying AI to problems that matter. Influence over the AI roadmap, from research through production. Vantage Compute is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.