AI Researcher

Kitware; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Tuition reimbursement

6 weeks paid time off

401(k)

Life insurance

Bonus plan

Job summary

Kitware, a leader in AI research and development, is seeking a Research Engineer to contribute advanced algorithms and publish results. You will work on computer vision, NLP, and multimodal models, collaborating with government, industry, and academia.

The role emphasizes open research, collaboration, and opportunities to pursue funded research while advancing national and global security through innovative AI, video, image, and text analysis.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science or related AI field is required.
• Strong publication record in top-tier venues; list publications in CV.
• Innovative track record solving difficult CV, LLM, ML challenges.
• Experience collaborating in fast-paced, dynamic environments.
• Proficiency in Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow or related tools.
• US Citizenship required due to contractual requirements.
• Willingness to apply for TS/SCI security clearance if not already cleared.

Responsibilities

• Be part of Kitware's mission to advance AI, computer vision, and related fields.
• Develop robust AI solutions across CV, NLP, LLMs, VLMs, and Foundation Models.
• Create algorithms for object detection, classification, tracking, and 3D reconstruction from imagery.
• Present and publish work at national/international conferences (CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, WACV, 3DV).
• Pursue funding to grow and develop research areas if desired.

Skills

Python

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Education

PhD in Computer Science or related AI field

Tools

TensorFlow

Job description

life insurance, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, 401(k)

Kitware is a leader in cutting-edge research and algorithm development for artificial intelligence (AI), including automated image, video, text, and multimodal analysis. Our solutions embracing AI add measurable value to government agencies, commercial organizations, and academic institutions worldwide. We have developed a deep understanding in extracting useful, actionable information from multiple data sources like images, video, metadata, audio, and text, and we recognize the need for robust, affordable solutions. We seek to advance AI, computer vision, and other related fields through research and development and collaborative projects that can contribute to our open source software platforms, such as XAITK , NRTK , and ALIGN .

About the Projects:

Kitware's work involved applying state-of-the‑art artificial intelligence approaches to dynamic, real‑world problems. In this case, you will have the opportunity to contribute your skills to projects focused on national security, making a differnce on a daily basis to protecto ur country. Research and Development Engineers at Kitware also enjoy benefits commonly associated with academic positions, such as support and encouragement for publishing novel work.

We partner with premier government R&D agencies such as DARPA, IARPA, AFRL, NVESD, NOAA, ONR, other branches of the US military, and multiple members of the Intelligence community on a range of efforts including prime contracts, SBIRs, and STTRs. In addition, we provide commercial services to companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Kitware employs an open source business model to foster extended, collaborative communities, and to provide flexible, high‑quality technical solutions. If you've used CMake, ITK, or VTK, you know our work and the impact it has on the communities we help build.

Team Description:

Kitware is a leader in cutting‑edge research and algorithm development for artificial intelligence (AI), including automated image, video, text, and multimodal analysis. Our solutions embracing AI add measurable value to government agencies, commercial organizations, and academic institutions worldwide. We have developed a deep understanding in extracting useful, actionable information from multiple data sources like images, video, metadata, audio, and text, and we recognize the need for robust, affordable solutions. We seek to advance AI, computer vision, and other related fields through research and development and collaborative projects that can contribute to our open source software platforms, such as XAITK , NRTK , and ALIGN .

About the Projects:

Kitware's work involved applying state-of-the‑art artificial intelligence approaches to dynamic, real‑world problems. In this case, you will have the opportunity to contribute your skills to projects focused on national security, making a differnce on a daily basis to protecto ur country. Research and Development Engineers at Kitware also enjoy benefits commonly associated with academic positions, such as support and encouragement for publishing novel work.

We partner with premier government R&D agencies such as DARPA, IARPA, AFRL, NVESD, NOAA, ONR, other branches of the US military, and multiple members of the Intelligence community on a range of efforts including prime contracts, SBIRs, and STTRs. In addition, we provide commercial services to companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Kitware employs an open source business model to foster extended, collaborative communities, and to provide flexible, high‑quality technical solutions. If you've used CMake, ITK, or VTK, you know our work and the impact it has on the communities we help build.

In This Position You Will:

• Be part of Kitware's overall mission of positive social impact through work in areas such as environmental monitoring, national and global security, ethical and responsible AI, open science, scientific computing, and medical computing.
• Develop robust solutions in the various areas of AI, including Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Large Language Models (LLMs), Vision Language Models (VLMs), Foundation Models, etc.
• Develop algorithms to solve interesting, challenging technical problems: object detection, classification, and tracking; video/image understanding and search; 3D reconstruction from aerial imagery; reasoning and alignment in decision‑making; threat detection and decision alignment in cybersecurity; and many more.
• Enjoy support and encouragement for participation in national and international conferences (such as CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, WACV, and 3DV)
• Be encouraged to seek funding to grow and develop your own research areas, if you desire

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in Computer Science or related AI field
• Strong publication record in top‑tier research publications and conferences. Candidates should include a list of publications as part of their resume/CV.
• Highly innovative and demonstrated track record for solving difficult technical challenges in computer vision, foundation models, LLMs, machine learning, audio processing, or related areas
• Experience collaborating successfully with others and thriving in a fast‑paced and dynamic work environment
• Proficiency in Python, PyTorch, Tensorflow, or other related tools.
• Due to contractual requirements, only US Citizens will be considered for this position
• If not already cleared TS/SCI, willingness and ability to apply for and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with deep learning methods
• Experience with geospatial coordinates systems and transformation
• Experience with multiple large multimodal AI models, including image, text, and speech modalities

Company Description:

Kitware is a research and development software solutions provider with a mission to advance science, make a positive impact, and share our results all within a collaborative, employee‑focused work environment that is friendly, fair, and flexible. Our work is improving healthcare outcomes, increasing national security, and advancing our national computing infrastructure. Our customers and collaborators include top universities from around the world, government organizations, national research labs, medical device manufacturers, car manufacturers, financial institutions, and many others. Kitware is proud to be 100% employee‑owned, and Great Place to Work‑Certified.

Additional Information:

Our team members enjoy a small company environment, flexibility in work assignments, and high levels of independence and responsibility. Besides a great work environment, our comprehensive benefits package includes a competitive compensation plan, tuition reimbursement program, flexible working hours, six weeks paid time off, 401(k), health insurance, life insurance, short‑ and long‑term disability insurance, bonus plan, and free coffee, drinks, and snacks. For more information on our benefit offerings please visit: https://www.kitware.com/careers/. Kitware actively subscribes to a policy of equal employment opportunity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, protected veteran status, uniformed service member status, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law. Any unsolicited resume sent to Kitware, including to Kitware's mailing addresses, fax machines or email addresses, whether directly to Kitware employees or to Kitware's applicant tracking system, will be considered Kitware property. Kitware will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume, and will consider any candidate submitted by a recruitment agency without a fully executed contract with Kitware to have been referred free of any charges or fees. If you need assistance with applying or interviewing for a role due to a disability or special need, please reach out directly to our HR team at [e-mail] at any time during the hiring process.