Creative Technologist

Aquent (United States); San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent is seeking a Founding Creative Technologist to define aesthetic standards and architect image-generation pipelines that preserve identity while achieving striking portraits. You will shape how millions capture and view themselves, collaborating directly with engineering without bottlenecks.

You will design, test, and deploy visual styles, evaluate model performance, and help scale creative outputs for a consumer-facing platform.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in photography, retouching, visual effects, generative imaging, or related field.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating high-end portraiture, retouching, or lighting.
• Hands-on generative pipeline experience with node-based tools and production models.
• Experience shipping consumer-facing visual effects at scale.
• Ability to detect artifacts and preserve identity in images.

Responsibilities

• Set aesthetic standards for images, balancing flattering visuals with identity preservation.
• Build, optimize, and maintain node-based generative pipelines and prompts.
• Create evaluation frameworks and benchmarking for model performance.
• Launch new visual styles in collaboration with engineering teams.
• Translate user preferences into technical specifications.

Skills

Photographic eye

Generative imaging

Node-based pipelines

ComfyUI

Image quality assessment

Tools

ComfyUI

LoRAs

AI model workflows

Job description

We build intelligent camera and imaging technology designed to turn everyday photos into portraits people genuinely love. A great portrait must be beautiful, flattering, and unmistakably authentic to the person in it. We are looking for a (Founding) Creative Technologist to be the aesthetic heartbeat and technical architect behind the images our platform creates.

In this role, you will define the aesthetic standards for light, skin tone, color, composition, and style, while leveraging node-based workflows and generative pipelines to bring that vision to scale.

Why Join Us?

• Experienced Founding Team: Founded by leaders and researchers from top platforms with deep backgrounds in creator ecosystems, computer vision, and generative AI.
• Early Traction & Backing: Well-funded by top venture firms and industry leaders, with rapid consumer adoption and significant runway to define the category.
• Direct Impact: You will work side-by-side with engineering without administrative layers or sign-off bottlenecks, directly shaping how millions of people capture and see themselves.

Responsibilities

• Set the Aesthetic Standard: Define what makes an image or portrait exceptional, balancing flattering visual enhancements with strict identity preservation.
• Build Generative Pipelines: Design, optimize, and maintain node-based workflows, model architectures, LoRAs, and prompt systems behind production generative outputs.
• Establish Evaluation Frameworks: Create structured benchmarking systems, visual comparisons, and quality-review processes to objectively assess and iterate on model performance.
• Launch New Visual Styles: Partner closely with full-stack and mobile engineers to curate, test, and ship creative looks and portrait modes to production.
• Champion the User Perspective: Maintain deep insight into how real users want to be photographed and represented, translating nuanced human preferences into technical specifications.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience across photography, retouching, visual effects, generative imaging, or related creative-technical disciplines.
• Photographer’s Eye: Strong portfolio demonstrating high-end portraiture, retouching, or lighting, with an intuitive understanding of human features and expressions.
• Hands-on Generative Pipeline Expertise: Proven track record building with node-based tools (such as ComfyUI) and deploying state-of-the-art image/video generation models.
• Consumer-Scale Creative Output: Experience designing filters, lenses, avatars, or visual effects that have shipped to large consumer audiences at scale.
• Identity Preservation Instinct: Keen ability to detect subtle visual artifacts, anatomical inconsistencies, or facial deviations that alter a subject’s likeness.
• Technical Agility: Hands-on familiarity with modern developer tools and AI coding workflows to automate pipelines, test scripts, and accelerate development.

Preferred Qualifications & Bonus Points

• Experience training custom LoRAs and implementing identity-preserving model techniques (e.g., ControlNet, IP-Adapter).
• Background in developing structured quality review (evals) frameworks for generative AI.
• Exposure to mobile app development, iOS/SwiftUI prototyping, or AV/camera pipelines.
• Experience working with generative video models.

Culture & Values

• High Ownership: You treat the product like your own, operate with a startup mindset, and move quickly from idea to execution.
• Articulable Taste: You can clearly explain the “why” behind aesthetic choices in both creative and technical terms.
• Collaborative & Adaptable: You communicate directly, embrace continuous feedback, and enjoy wearing multiple hats on a lean team.