Research Intern – Vision Foundation Model and Generative AI

Sony AI America, a branch of Sony AI, is a remotely distributed organization spread across the U.S. and Canada. Sony AI is Sony’s new research organization pursuing the mission to use AI to unleash human creativity. Sony AI works closely with Sony’s other business units, including Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., and Sony Music Entertainment. With some 900 million Sony devices in hands and homes worldwide today, a vast array of Sony movies, television shows and music, and the PlayStation Network, Sony creates and delivers more entertainment experiences to more people than anyone else on earth. To learn more: https://ai.sony/

Position Summary

Sony AI is seeking research interns to join our Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning (PPML) team. Our team mainly focuses on fundamental and applied research, with a focus on building vision foundation models in a responsible manner. The role of a research intern is to conduct innovative research, develop methodologies, design and prototype solutions. You will work with a fast-growing team of world-class scientists and engineers to tackle the most challenging problems in foundation models and generative AI, including vision foundation model (VFM), knowledge transfer into VFM, data synthesis, federated learning, and model compression from VFM to small models on edge. You will see your ideas not only published in papers, but also improve the experience of millions of users of Sony. 

Roles and Responsibilities: 

• Conduct fundamental and innovative research in large vision foundation model, data synthesis, federated learning and knowledge distillation, including but not limited to architecture design and methodology design. 

• Be self-motivated and capable of proposing and implementing innovative ideas. 

• Deep understanding of large vision foundation model development and various CV applications, such as Image classification, object detection, pose detection, semantic image segmentation, etc. 

• Write reports and give presentations to internal and external audiences. 

• Contribute to library and tool development to support research and business. 

• Publish influential research outcomes in top-tier conferences and journals. 

Required Qualifications and Skills: 

• Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining, a master/PhD degree in computer science or related field. 

• Publications or expertise in computer vision applications (e.g., object detection, segmentation), vision and multi-modal foundation model, data synthesis, knowledge distillation, federated learning, etc. 

• Ability to communicate research in a clear and precise manner. 

• Excellent analytical and programming skills in large-scale deep learning.  

• Familiar with Python, Pytorch, etc. 

• Experience with research communities, including having published papers at conferences, e.g., CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, etc. 

• Strong communication and presentation skills 

The target hourly rate for this internship is $50.00 per hour.  The individual will be paid hourly and eligible for overtime.     

#LI-AS1

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, sex (including pregnancy), gender, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, military status, status as a veteran or disabled veteran, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or family status, genetic information, medical condition, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, ordinance, or regulation.

Disability Accommodation for Applicants to Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America provides reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in job application procedures. For reasonable accommodation requests, please contact us by email at careers@sonyusa.com or by mail to: Sony Corporation of America, Human Resources Department, 25 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Please indicate the position you are applying for.

EEO is the Law

EEO is the Law Supplement

Right to Work (English/Spanish)

E-Verify Participation (English/Spanish)

While SCA does not require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, there are certain Sony offices that require employees to be vaccinated in order to enter.  If you will be located at or travel to those offices, you will be required to be fully vaccinated to enter.  The Company will consider requests for reasonable accommodations for documented medical reasons and for sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law.  Please do not include proof of vaccination status or any indication of a possible request for a vaccination accommodation when submitting your application materials.  If applicable, the Company will follow up with you directly to request proof of vaccination and to discuss any potential accommodations.