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Senior Public Sector Research Scientist, Machine Learning

Washington DC (Remote)

About Clarifai

Clarifai is a leading, compute orchestration AI platform specializing in computer vision and generative AI. We empower organizations to transform unstructured image, video, text, and audio data into actionable insights, significantly faster and more accurately than manual processes. Founded in 2013 by Matt Zeiler, Ph.D., Clarifai has been at the forefront of AI innovation since achieving the top five placements in the 2013 ImageNet Challenge. Our diverse, globally distributed team operates across the United States, Canada, Estonia, Argentina, and India.

We have secured $100M in funding, including a $60M Series C round, backed by industry leaders such as Menlo Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Lux Capital, NEA, LDV Capital, Corazon Capital, Google Ventures, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Osage.

Clarifai is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace committed to building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive team.

The Opportunity

As a Senior Research Scientist at Clarifai, you'll contribute to applied research initiatives, converting the latest academic insights into production-ready solutions. You'll collaborate closely with our MLOps, Engineering, Business Development, and Product teams to rapidly prototype and deliver innovative capabilities, particularly within the national security domain. Your deep expertise in Computer Vision, GenAI, and multi-modal AI will drive strategic advancements and customer success.

We seek individuals passionate about impactful AI applications, committed to collaboration, and skilled in managing multi-phase projects from initial proof-of-concept through deployment. Continuous learning and active participation in academic and industry forums are core elements of our research environment.

Key Responsibilities

  • Train, evaluate, and optimize machine learning models for high performance, scalability, and robustness.
  • Contribute to R&D in object detection and multi-object tracking for remote sensing, including Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and rapidly prototype proof-of-concept systems.
  • Leverage and build AI data engines—scalable feedback systems that integrate model inference, human-guided labeling, and automated evaluation—to accelerate dataset growth and model refinement.
  • Design and deliver production-grade, maintainable code while managing multi-phase development aligned to technical and customer objectives.
  • Collaborate across teams and stakeholders—especially in national security and defense—to ensure effective knowledge transfer and mission-aligned innovation.

Impact

Your work as a Senior Research Scientist will significantly influence Clarifai’s capability to deliver innovative AI solutions to the national security and intelligence communities. You will directly contribute to strategic projects that enhance Clarifai’s reputation and position as a market leader in AI-driven geospatial analysis.

Requirements

  • 3+ years of hands-on experience developing neural networks, focusing particularly on Computer Vision and/or GenAI.
  • Expertise in Python, with strong proficiency in libraries such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Jax.
  • Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or related fields.
  • Active Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance or eligibility to obtain one.

Great to Have

  • Experience working with government, defense, or intelligence community R&D projects.
  • Experience developing solutions for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) analysis.
  • Familiarity with remote sensing data sources, including commercial satellite imagery, UAS video, and NTM.
  • Experience with LLMs, RAG, PEFT, and multi-modal applications (e.g., Captioning, VQA, cross-modal retrieval).
  • Familiarity with the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and its use in structured agent communication, task orchestration, and context management across multi-agent systems.
  • Published research in Computer Vision, NLP, or multi-modal AI.
  • PhD in Machine Learning or related disciplines.

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