Research Scientist II

Adobe Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 187,000 - 271,000; Full time

Job summary

Adobe Speech AI Lab in San Francisco seeks a Senior Audio Research Scientist to advance our speech generative AI and multimodal research efforts. You will lead novel audio models, publish in top venues, and translate insights into products used by millions.

You will collaborate with engineers and product teams, mentor researchers, and drive the end-to-end research pipeline from concept to deployment, ensuring technical excellence and real-world impact.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. preferred or Master’s in CS/EE with focus on audio, speech, and ML.
• 3+ years of industry research experience preferred.
• Proven independent research contributions (first-author papers, etc.).
• Deep expertise in audio and ML: speech generation, representations, large models.
• Hands-on with modern AI architectures and training pipelines.
• Strong Python and DL development, with reproducibility.
• Excellent communication and impact-focused mindset.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute independent research in speech generative AI and multimodal learning.
• Design and evaluate state-of-the-art audio models and training procedures.
• Stay current with model architectures and scaling techniques.
• Publish at top venues and pursue patent protection.
• Build prototypes and collaborate with engineering and product teams.
• Provide technical mentorship and raise research quality.

Skills

Audio ML

Speech generation

Large-scale training

Python

Deep learning

Research leadership

Communication

Education

PhD preferred

Master's in CS/EE

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

The Opportunity

The Speech AI Lab at Adobe Research is seeking a Senior Audio Research Scientist to join our speech generative AI and multimodal research efforts, based in San Francisco.

This role is ideal for researchers who stay deeply up to date with the latest AI model architectures and innovations and are motivated to push them forward in real-world creative systems. You will work alongside a world-class team of scientists and engineers to invent, evaluate, and scale next-generation audio and speech technologies - translating state-of-the‑art research into products used by millions.

Our lab values independent research leadership, technical excellence, and impact. We actively support publication at top venues, collaboration with academia, and rapid iteration from research insight to deployed technology.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute independent research in speech generative AI, audio modeling, and multimodal learning (text and visuals), with a strong focus on modern large-scale model architectures.
• Design, analyze, and advance state-of-the‑art AI models and training procedures, including foundation models, representation learning, and generative systems for speech and audio.
• Maintain strong technical currency with the latest developments in model architectures, optimization techniques, data scaling, and training strategies, and apply them creatively to audio and multimodal problems.
• Demonstrate deep understanding of both audio signal fundamentals and machine learning, enabling principled model design and insightful experimentation.
• Publish research at leading conferences and journals and pursue patent protection for impactful innovations.
• Build high-quality research prototypes that demonstrate technical rigor, scalability, and clear paths to product integration.
• Collaborate closely with engineering and product teams to ensure research outcomes translate into robust, real-world impact.
• Provide technical mentorship and help set a high bar for research quality and engineering excellence.

Requirements

• Ph.D (preferred). or Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with a strong research focus in audio, speech, and machine learning.
• 3+ years of research experience in industry strongly preferred.
• Proven track record of independent research contributions, such as first-author publications or equivalent leadership in research projects.
• Deep expertise in audio and machine learning, including strong intuition for:
  • Speech and audio generation
  • Audio representations and modeling
  • Training large-scale neural models
• Hands‑on experience with modern AI architectures and training pipelines, and a demonstrated ability to quickly adopt and extend new techniques.
• Strong Python and deep learning development skills, with attention to performance, reproducibility, and experimental rigor.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to clearly articulate complex technical ideas.
• A clear appetite for real-world impact, coupled with a commitment to technical excellence and high research standards.

About Adobe

Adobe empowers everyone to create through innovative platforms and tools that unleash creativity, productivity and personalized customer experiences. Adobe's industry‑leading offerings including Adobe Acrobat Studio, Adobe Express, Adobe Firefly, Creative Cloud, Adobe Experience Platform, Adobe Experience Manager, and GenStudio enable people and businesses to turn ideas into impact, powered by AI and driven by human ingenuity.

Our 30,000+ employees worldwide are creating the future and raising the bar as we drive the next decade of growth. We're on a mission to hire the very best and believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. At Adobe, we believe that great ideas can come from anywhere in the organization. The next big idea could be yours.

Let's Adobe together

At Adobe, we believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. Learn more about Adobe life, including our values and culture, focus on people, purpose and community, Adobe for All, comprehensive benefits programs, the stories we tell, the customers we serve, and how you can help us advance our mission of empowering everyone to create.

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. Learn more.

Adobe aims to make our Careers website and recruiting process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, email [e-mail].

AI Use Guidelines for Interviews

Our interviews are designed to reflect your own skills and thinking. The use of AI or recording tools during live interviews is not permitted unless explicitly invited by the interviewer or approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation. If these tools are used inappropriately or in a way that misrepresents your work, your application may not move forward in the process.

At Adobe, we empower employees to innovate with AI - and we look for candidates eager to do the same. As part of the hiring experience, we provide clear guidance on where AI is encouraged during the process and where it's restricted during live interviews. See how we think about AI in the hiring experience.

Expected Pay Range

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this position is $142,700 — $270,950 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process.

In California, the pay range for this position is $187,100 - $270,950

At Adobe, for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC = base + commission), and short-term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans. Non-sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short-term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).

In addition, certain roles may be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.

State‑Specific Notices

California

Fair Chance Ordinances

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

Colorado

Application Window Notice

If this role is open to hiring in Colorado (as listed on the job posting), 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

Massachusetts Legal Notice

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.