Senior AI Research Scientist

Your research will typically span questions like: 

• What are the best neural network architectures to solve real world vision problems in industrial manufacturing? 

• How can we make neural networks run faster on low-powered devices? 

• How can we adapt neural networks to new tasks and products quickly in low data settings? 

• How can we adopt the latest trends in the fields of speech and natural language processing and apply them to computer vision problems? 

• How can we combine traditional computer vision algorithms with deep learning technology, to solve a wider range of problems? 

• How do we productize advanced technology while making it easy for non-data-scientists to deploy on their production lines? 

Within the team, development is primarily done in Python. Engineers in this group typically have experience with deep learning, image analysis, machine vision, statistical learning, or signal processing. Success in this role has the potential to lead to increased responsibility at Cognex. 

The Role: 

This group is seeking scientists with a passion for innovation to lead deep learning research and development in industrial machine vision as well as those who have the aptitude and interest to work with an exceptional development team. 

Essential Functions: 

• Research, develop and evaluate modern deep learning algorithms for computer vision, with a focus on algorithms with low power, low latency and data efficiency requirements 

• Translate business requirements into quick working prototypes in order to demonstrate capabilities to internal and external stakeholders  

• Collaborate closely with software and hardware engineering teams as well as product teams to transition prototypes to scalable and user-friendly implementations in Cognex products 

• Keep abreast of the latest research in industry and academia and propose algorithmic advancements applicable to Cognex products 

• Demonstrate thought leadership and drive complex research projects with a high degree of ambiguity 

• Mentor junior engineers of the team 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:  

• Industry or academic experience developing and optimizing deep learning algorithms in one or more relevant technical areas - computer vision, natural language processing, speech recognition 

• Deep understanding of convolutional neural networks and transformer architectures  

• Proficiency with at least one deep learning framework such as PyTorch or TensorFlow

• Strong programming skills

• Creative, motivated, and looking to work hard for an aggressive growth company

• Demonstrated experience in incubating and productizing new technology from ideation to scalable implementation 

Minimum education and work experience required:  

• PhD in deep learning from a top engineering school in CS, EE or equivalent

• 3+ years industrial work experience in deep learning or data science