Head of Applied AI

Our vision is to build the next-generation platform for fast and easy creation of audio and video content. In November 2022, we took a huge leap forward by launching Storyboard, the video editing foundation that we’re excited to build atop AI capabilities like Overdub, Studio Sound, and other generative AI capabilities in the near future. We're used by some of the world's top podcasters and influencers as well as businesses such as BBC, ESPN, Hubspot, Shopify and Washington Post for communicating via video. We've raised $100M from some of the world's best investors like Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI Startup fund, Redpoint Ventures and Spark Capital.

We're looking for a strategic leader with deep technical and product expertise to drive our AI strategy and lead our Applied AI Research team. This role requires staying at the forefront of AI advancements to shape our product and business for the future. You'll manage a talented team of AI researchers specializing in generative models and deep learning, reporting directly to the VP of Engineering.

Some of our research publications:

• SampleRNN: An Unconditional End-to-End Neural Audio Generation Model.
• Char2Wav: End-to-end Speech Synthesis.
• ObamaNet: Photo-realistic lip-sync from text.
• MelGAN: Generative Adversarial Networks for Conditional Waveform Synthesis.
• Chunked Autoregressive GAN for Conditional Waveform Synthesis
• Wav2CLIP: Learning Robust Audio Representations From CLIP

This role can be in SF Bay Area or remote in the US.

Job Responsibilities

The Head of Applied AI will drive our AI strategy and lead the Applied AI Research team in developing and applying cutting-edge AI technologies to Descript. Responsibilities include:

• Defining and executing research strategies aligned with business goals
• Staying at the forefront of AI advancements and applying them to our work
• Leading research initiatives and ensuring timely execution
• Collaborating cross-functionally to integrate AI into products
• Managing, mentoring, and growing a team of AI researchers and engineers
• Representing Descript in the AI community to attract top talent and foster industry partnerships
• Showcasing our AI advancements at conferences and industry events

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have:

• PhD or Master’s degree in Deep Learning, AI, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 3+ years leading AI teams and 8+ years developing deep learning models
• Proven track record of leading research initiatives and deploying models in production
• Experience mentoring and managing research scientists and engineers
• Deep expertise in generative models, including architectures, training techniques, and real-world applications
• Strong communication and leadership skills, with the ability to align AI research with business strategy