Research Engineer / Research Scientist (Pre-training)

Ideogram; Toronto; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech company in Toronto seeks an experienced researcher to advance visual generative models. The ideal candidate has a PhD or Master’s in Computer Science and 5+ years in AI research, including publications at top-tier conferences. Join a talented team driven by curiosity and collaboration while enjoying competitive compensation and flexible remote options.

Benefits

Competitive compensation and equity

4 weeks of vacation

Comprehensive health, vision, and dental coverage

RRSP/401(k) with employer match

Top-of-the-line tools and tech

Culture of learning and growth

Fully remote flexibility

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in AI research, including training, fine-tuning, and experimenting with foundation models.
• Track record of first-author publications at top-tier AI conferences.

Responsibilities

• Push the frontier of visual generative models.
• Work on large-scale pre-training for text-to-image foundation models.

Skills

AI research

Deep learning frameworks

Programming languages knowledge

Research communication

Education

PhD or Master’s degree in Computer Science

Tools

JAX

PyTorch

Job description

About Ideogram

Ideogram’s mission is to make world-class design accessible to everyone, multiplying human creativity. We build proprietary generative media models and AI native creative workflows, tackling unsolved challenges in graphic design. Our team includes builders with a track record of technology breakthroughs including early research in Diffusion Models, Google’s Imagen, and Imagen Video. We care about design, taste, and craft as much as research and engineering – shipping experiences that creatives actually love.

We’ve raised nearly $100M, led by Andreessen Horowitz and Index Ventures. Headquartered in Toronto with a growing team in NYC, we're scaling fast, aiming to triple over the next year. We're a flat team with a culture of high ownership, collaboration, and mentorship.

Explore Ideogram 3.0, Canvas, and Character blog posts, and try Ideogram at ideogram.ai.

The Opportunity

In this role, you'll push the frontier of visual generative models. You’ll work on large-scale pre-training for our text-to-image foundation models, shaping objectives, algorithms, data, and systems, and turn novel ideas into models that power products used by millions of users. You'll work with a creative and ambitious team of researchers and engineers who are building the future of the creative economy.

What We’re Looking For

• PhD or Master’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent industry experience.
• 5+ years of experience in AI research, including training, fine-tuning, and experimenting with foundation models beyond black-box use.
• Track record of first-author publications at top-tier AI conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ECCV, ICCV, ACL, EMNLP).
• Strong proficiency in one or more deep learning frameworks (e.g., JAX, PyTorch).
• Experience communicating complex research to peers.
• Solid knowledge of programming languages and experience in developing, debugging, and optimizing beyond ML systems.

Our Culture

We’re a team of exceptionally talented, curious builders who love solving tough problems and turning bold ideas into reality. We move fast, collaborate deeply, and operate without unnecessary hierarchy, because we believe the best ideas can come from anyone.

Everyone at Ideogram rolls up their sleeves to make our products and our customers successful. We thrive on curiosity, creativity, and shared ownership. We believe that small, dedicated teams working together with trust and purpose can move faster, think bigger, and create amazing things.

Ideogram is committed to welcoming everyone — regardless of gender identity, orientation, or expression. Our mission is to create belonging and remove barriers so everyone can create boldly.

What We Offer

💸Competitive compensation and equity designed to recognize the value and impact of your contributions to Ideogram’s success.
🌴 4 weeks of vacation to recharge and explore.
🩺 Comprehensive health, vision, and dental coverage starting on day one.
💰 RRSP/401(k) with employer match up to 4% to invest in your future from the moment you join.
💻 Top-of-the-line tools and tech to fuel your creativity and productivity.
📍 Toronto HQ perks: Steps from Union Station and the PATH, with team lunches every Tuesday and dinners every Thursday.
🔍 Autonomy to explore and experiment — whether you’re testing new ideas, running large-scale experiments, or diving into research, you’ll have access to compute/resources you need when there’s a clear business or creative use case. We encourage curiosity and bold thinking.
🌱 A culture of learning and growth, where curiosity is encouraged and mentorship is part of the journey.
🏡 Fully remote flexibility across North America, with regular in-person team meetups and collaboration opportunities.