Manager, Applied Science for Data

Adobe Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 211,800 - 306,625; Full time

Job summary

Adobe Inc. is seeking an experienced Applied Science Manager in San Jose, California, to lead the training data ecosystem for generative AI models. This pivotal role focuses on building scalable data strategies that underpin innovative features in Adobe's products.

Ideal candidates will have a Master’s or Ph.D. in a related field along with over 5 years of engineering leadership experience. The role also demands a strong grasp of ML data lifecycles and ethical AI principles, offering a salary range between $211,800 and $306,625 annually.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in engineering leadership.
• Deep understanding of ML data lifecycles, particularly for generative models.
• Excellent leadership and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a distributed team focused on training data for generative AI.
• Define and execute the strategy for acquiring large-scale datasets.
• Build and maintain scalable, efficient data pipelines across the training data lifecycle.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Machine Learning (ML) data lifecycles

Data privacy and security

Cross-functional collaboration

Synthetic data creation

Education

Master’s or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, AI/ML, or equivalent experience

Job description

The Firefly Foundry team is seeking an experienced Applied Science Manager to lead and evolve the training data ecosystem that powers our generative AI models for content synthesis and editing across multiple modalities, including imaging and video. This role is pivotal to building and scaling the science, pipelines, and data strategies essential to developing the next generation of creative tools.

As a Manager for Applied Science at Adobe, you will develop novel data‑centric solutions that advance creativity through features in Adobe’s products, reaching millions of people worldwide.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a distributed team focused on training data for generative AI.
• Define and execute the strategy for acquiring, processing, curating, annotating, versioning, and ensuring the quality of large‑scale datasets for Custom Foundation Models.
• Build and maintain scalable, efficient data pipelines across the training data lifecycle.
• Collaborate with researchers, ML engineers, and product managers to align on data needs for foundation models.
• Champion data diversity, bias mitigation, and ethical AI practices.
• Evaluate and integrate tools and methodologies that enhance infrastructure and workflows.
• Influence model development through insights on data quality and availability.
• Provide technical leadership and foster a culture of innovation.
• Partner across teams to align data priorities and share best practices.

Qualifications

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, AI/ML, or a related field – or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in engineering leadership.
• Deep understanding of ML data lifecycles, particularly for generative models.
• Experience in the science and algorithms underpinning data for generative AI.
• Experience with synthetic data creation and curation.
• Strong grasp of data privacy, security, and ethical AI principles.
• Excellent leadership and cross‑functional collaboration skills.
• Experience working with large‑scale image and video datasets.

Expected Pay Range

The U.S. pay range for this position is $172,500 – $306,625 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience.

California: $211,800 – $306,625

Washington: $201,000 – $291,150

Equal Employment Opportunity

Adobe is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

State‑Specific Notices

California: Adobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.

Colorado: If this role is open to hiring in Colorado, the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time, in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location, no specific application window applies, and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.

Massachusetts: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.