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
The base salary range for this role is $265,000- $350,000/year. Final offer amounts will carefully consider multiple factors, including prior experience, expertise, location, and may vary from the amount above.
Descript is building a simple, intuitive, fully-powered editing tool for video and audio — an editing tool built for the age of AI. We are a team of 150 — with a proven CEO and the backing of some of the world's greatest investors (OpenAI, Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint Ventures, Spark Capital).
Descript is the special company that's in possession of both product market fit and the raw materials (passionate user community, great product, large market) for growth, but is still early enough that each new employee has a measurable influence on the direction of the company.
Benefits include a generous healthcare package, catered lunches, and flexible vacation time. Our headquarters are located in the Mission District of San Francisco, CA. We're looking to hire people who are local and able to join us at the office when needed. We're flexible, and you're an adult—we don't expect or mandate that you're in the office every day. But we do believe there are valuable and serendipitous moments of discovery and collaboration that come from working together in person.
Descript is an equal opportunity workplace—we are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. We believe in actively building a team rich in diverse backgrounds, experiences, and opinions to better allow our employees, products, and community to thrive.
What We Do
Descript builds simple and powerful collaborative tools for new media creators. We strive to eliminate the tedious work that often stands between an idea and its expression, so that creators can focus on developing their craft instead of their usage of tools.
Descript is a next generation digital media platform that offers a new "engine" that lets you edit audio by editing text (instead of waveforms).
That means it does transcription (both automated and human-powered, whichever you prefer), but more interestingly, it lets you move the audio around by simply editing the transcript.
If you're new to editing audio, you'll find it far easier - it's basically like using a word processor. If you're experienced, Descript is faster than waveform editing - and more fun.
If you work with voice audio (as opposed to music), Descript is what the future looks like...join us and change the world.
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