webAI · 1 month ago
AI Research Director
Austin, TX
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
8+ years expwebAI is pioneering the future of artificial intelligence by establishing the first distributed AI infrastructure dedicated to personalized AI. The AI Research Director will lead advanced research initiatives across large language models, multimodal systems, edge inference, and distributed AI, driving the scientific vision behind core technologies and overseeing research teams to shape webAI's platform.
Computer Software
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
Qualification
Required
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
Preferred
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
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
Company
webAI
webAI is designed to streamline the training, deployment, and execution of AI models by offering a unified execution layer for AI that seamlessly integrates cloud-based services and local devices.
51-200 employees
H1B Sponsorship
webAI has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (9)
2024 (2)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageLeadership Team
David Stout
Founder and CEO
James Meeks
Co-founder & Chairman
Recent News
Google Patent
2024-04-16
Company data provided by crunchbase