Research Engineer (AI + Sports)

YinzCam; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

YinzCam seeks exceptional Research Engineers to lead AI-driven video analysis and game analytics for professional sports. This onsite role in Pittsburgh blends publishable research with production-ready systems that reach millions of fans in real time.

You will collaborate with CMU researchers to translate academic innovations into applied sports AI, publishing in top venues while building scalable platforms and tools for fan experiences.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Vision, ML, CS or related field.
• Strong publication record in top-tier CV/ML venues.
• Deep expertise in modern CV: detection, segmentation, action recognition.
• Proficiency in PyTorch/TensorFlow and Python.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop AI systems for real-time video understanding of live sporting events (player detection, action recognition, spatial analysis).
• Build CV pipelines handling challenging footage (lighting, occlusion, multiple cameras).
• Develop analytics to surface actionable insights across games and seasons.

Education

PhD in Computer Vision, ML, CS

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Python

AWS

SQL

Redshift

Job description

YinzCam is seeking exceptional Research Engineers to lead the development of AI-driven video analysis and game analytics systems that power next-generation fan experiences in professional sports. This is a rare opportunity to conduct publishable research while building products that reach millions of fans in real time.

You'll work at the cutting edge of computer vision and machine learning applied to sports, collaborating with leading academic researchers at Carnegie Mellon University while taking your innovations from prototype to production. This role demands both research rigor and product sensibility. We value publication records and engineering excellence equally. This is a full-time, onsite position based in Pittsburgh, PA.

You will be at the forefront of establishing a new, in-house AI Research Lab within YinzCam, and working with multiple sports teams, leagues, and venues to apply AI to the fan experience and to business operations.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES.

Video Analysis & Computer Vision

• Design and develop AI systems for real-time video understanding of live sporting events (player detection, action recognition, spatial analysis, etc.)
• Build robust computer vision pipelines that handle challenging real-world footage (lighting, occlusion, multiple camera angles)
• Explore novel architectures and techniques in modern CV to solve sports-specific problems

Large-Scale Game Analytics

• Develop AI systems to extract, aggregate, and interpret game data at scale across multiple sports, teams, and seasons
• Create spatial and temporal analytics frameworks that surface actionable insights from video and sensor data
• Build analytics platforms that scale from single games to league-wide deployments

AI-Powered Fan Experiences

• Translate video understanding and analytics into engaging, intuitive experiences for millions of fans
• Collaborate on product features that leverage AI (real-time highlights, personalized stats, interactive visualizations, etc.)
• Ensure research outputs move through the full product development lifecycle

CORE GOALS.

1. Publish Your Work: We intend to publish the work coming out of these research projects. Papers will be published in top-tier CV/ML venues and presented at conferences.
2. Bridge Academia & Industry: Work directly with Prof. Priya Narasimhan (Carnegie Mellon University) and her research team to translate academic innovations into applied systems. Mentor CMU students, collaborate on research projects, and shape the next generation of sports AI researchers.
3. From Research to Product: Own the path from prototype to production. You'll participate in design reviews, handle real-world deployment challenges, and see your ideas impact actual fan experiences at scale.

CORE REQUIREMENTS.

• PhD in Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Computer Science, or a closely related field
• Strong publication track record in top-tier venues (CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, etc.)
• Deep expertise in modern computer vision techniques: neural networks, object detection, semantic/instance segmentation, action recognition, optical flow, pose estimation, or related areas
• Proficiency in ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow) and modern deep learning practices
• Strong software engineering fundamentals: Python, Java, AWS, SQL, Redshift, version control, testing, CI/CD
• Demonstrated ability to implement complex systems end-to-end
• Background in sports analytics, sports tech, or applied computer vision (industry, research, or both)
• Genuine enthusiasm for sports and AI
• Genuine enthusiasm for going beyond book learning, and to have ideas go into large-scale production