Lead Research Scientist (Open Science)

About Oumi

Why we exist: Oumi is on a mission to make frontier AI truly open for all. We are founded on the belief that AI will have a transformative impact on humanity, and that developing it collectively, in the open, is the best path forward to ensure that it is done efficiently and safely. By providing the safest, highest quality, and most flexible AI, we aspire to unlock positive impact for every individual, enterprise, and humanity overall.

What we do: Oumi provides an all-in-one platform to build state-of-the-art AI models, end to end; from data preparation to model training, evaluation and production deployment, empowering innovators to build cutting-edge models at any scale. Oumi also advances open foundation models in collaboration with academic collaborators and the open community.

Our Approach: Oumi is built on a foundation of open source, with open collaboration at the heart of everything we do. Our work is:

• Research-driven: We conduct and publish original AI research, working closely with academic research labs and collaborators across the globe.

• Community-powered: We believe in the strength of open collaboration and actively welcome contributions from researchers and developers worldwide.

• Accessibility-focused: We design Oumi to help any organization—regardless of size or resources—effectively build, deploy, and benefit from AI by lowering barriers to access, experimentation, and adoption.

Role Overview

As a seasoned expert in GenAI research, you will spearhead our commitment to transparent, collaborative, and accessible AI research. You will lead initiatives  focused on advancing state-of-the-art models for Large Language Models (LLMs), Vision Language Models (VLMs), and related technologies. You'll collaborate with cross-functional teams, and lead research efforts across dozens of academics from dozens of universities, drive open-source innovation, and contribute to the development of our all-in-one platform.

What you’ll do:

• Research Leadership: Lead research initiatives on LLM/VLM development, focusing on training, evaluation, data curation, benchmarking, and optimization techniques.

• Strategic Research Planning: Develop and execute strategic plans for advancing AI/ML capabilities within Oumi's open-source platform.

• Research Publication: Publish high-impact research in top-tier conferences and journals (e.g. NeurIPS, ICML, ACL, ICLR, …), contributing significant advancements to open AI.

• Academic Collaboration: Develop and maintain partnerships with academic institutions, research labs, and individual scholars to create a robust network of open science contributors.

• Mentorship & Guidance: Mentor junior researchers and engineers on best practices, sharing expertise to foster growth and development within the team.

What you’ll bring:

• Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science or related field (Machine Learning/AI).

• Publication Record: Extensive publication history in top-tier AI/ML conferences and journals

• Leadership Skills: Proven leadership skills, having led research efforts and managed projects to successful outcomes.

• Technical Expertise: Deep understanding of machine learning concepts (deep learning frameworks like PyTorch). Familiarity with large language models (LLMs) and/or vision language models (VLMs).

• Open Source: Strong familiarity with open-source projects, a passion for contributing to the community.

• Initiative & Ownership: Self-starter who can work independently, take ownership of initiatives, and drive results.

• Values: Share Oumi's values: Beneficial for all, Customer-obsessed, Radical Ownership, Exceptional Teammates, Science-grounded.

Benefits

• Equity in a high-growth startup

• Comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance

• 21 days PTO

• Regular team offsites and events

Location: 

• Hybrid work environment, with offices in: 

  • San Mateo, CA

  • Seattle, WA

  • New York, NY