Applied ML Researcher

About the Role

We’re looking for an Applied ML Researcher to explore, evaluate, and extend the latest advances in video generation. You’ll track developments across papers, open-source models, and APIs, and rapidly prototype ideas that could unlock new user-facing workflows. Unlike purely academic research, this role is about combining rigor with practicality — experimenting with new techniques while grounding them in workflows that feel intuitive and valuable to end users. You’ll collaborate closely with engineers and product to turn generative models into experiences that are fast, interactive, and useful at scale.

What You’ll Do

• Keep pace with the latest research and open-source work in generative video, including diffusion, transformers, autoregressive models, and hybrid approaches.
• Prototype and evaluate new techniques, APIs, and conditioning methods to expand model capabilities.
• Design and test applied workflows on top of foundation models — e.g. controllable video editing, personalized transformations, or real-time interaction.
• Conduct experimental benchmarking to measure tradeoffs in latency, fidelity, and controllability.
• Collaborate with applied ML engineers to turn research prototypes into deployable, production-ready systems.
• Publish findings internally and externally where appropriate, helping define Darwin’s technical voice in the community.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong research background in computer vision, video generation, or multimodal ML.
• Experience working with diffusion, transformer-based, or autoregressive video models.
• Ability to implement and adapt state-of-the-art methods from recent papers or open source repos.
• Proficiency with PyTorch and familiarity with training/inference of large generative models.
• A focus on applied outcomes : turning prototypes into useful workflows.
• Bonus: experience with video editing, inpainting, or interactive media systems.
• Bonus: publications at top ML/vision conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCV, ECCV).

Why Join Us

We’re building a new kind of media company — one that combines creative freedom with cutting-edge ML. You’ll join a team of ex-founders, ICML-published researchers, and builders from unicorn startups and top UGC platforms, backed by a16z Speedrun and top angels in the video AI space. We’re still early, and this is your chance to shape both the technology and the culture from day one.