Sr. Machine Learning Scientist, 2D/3D Computer Vision and Visual Effects, Prime Video

Job summary
How often have you had an opportunity to be a founding manager of a team solving significant customer problems through innovative AI at Amazon scale? We are looking for passionate science leader to join our fast paced start-up to help invent the future of how customers watch videos. We are disrupting a 100-years old industry through cloud services (AWS), 2D/3D computer vision, NLP, audio and speech processing and ASR, scalable visual effects (VFX), and multimodal search and classification.

Prime Video is disrupting traditional media with an ever-increasing selection of movies, TV shows, Emmy Award-winning original content, add-on subscriptions including HBO and Showtime, and live events like Thursday Night Football and Major League Baseball. We are a premier provider of digital entertainment worldwide and we continue to grow very quickly! We need your passion, innovative ideas, and creativity to help continue to deliver on our ambitious goals.

We are building a new team to automate visual effects end-to-end process using machine learning and 2D/3D computer vision. Visual Effects artists perform a lot of manual steps, and go through a long process using multiple software packages to achieve a realistic effect. We will change this process from the creation of 3D object models, adjusting light, texture, tracking, and quality checks. This is a new space with no off the shelf algorithms and we are highly motivated to extend the state of the art.

What you will do here:

• As a Senior Applied Scientist, you will play a pivotal role in building the technology enabling these innovations. You will build models, prototypes, simulations, and state-of-the-art optimization algorithms from the ground up that can scale across several product lines.
• This is a greenfield with no "off-the-shelf algorithms" that can perform the job. We experiment a lot and it is a must to learn and be curios. You will also influence an entire science team and be the thought leader, working with multiple scientists to achieve common goals. You will design, propose, and communicate research plans that extends state of the art and deliver incremental value to our product. - We embrace the challenges of a fast paced market and evolving technologies, paving the way to universal availability of content. You will be encouraged to see the big picture, be innovative, and positively impact millions of customers. This is a young and evolving business where creativity and drive will have a lasting impact on the way video is enjoyed worldwide.
• You will advise and closely collaborate with product and engineering teams to develop innovative products that disrupt established industries. In this role, you will also work closely with the renowned machine learning and optimization community at Amazon.

We are looking for a proven ability to execute both strategically and tactically, and someone who is excited to take on new, ambiguous projects that will be industry defining. As a Senior Applied Scientist, your specific responsibilities will include:

• Proposing and executing research plans that influence multiple applied scientists on the team as well as owning critical parts of the plan.
• Build new models across various computer vision and visual effects techniques from the ground up or extend existing research
• Create a high-quality applied research culture within your team and publish your work in Scientific Conferences and Journals within and outside Amazon
• Represent Amazon Prime Video in scientific conferences
• Influence, collaborate, and communicate effectively with other science, engineering, and business teams and leaders
• Apply business judgement to identify and prioritize opportunities and develop science strategies
• Advise and collaborate with product and engineering teams to design and implement solutions for machine learning and optimization problems
• Communicate scientific solution and insights effectively to a non-scientific audience
• Collaborate with the Machine Learning and Computer Vision community at Amazon

Inclusive Team Culture

We are committed to furthering our culture of inclusion. Amazon’s culture of inclusion is reinforced within our 14 Leadership Principles, which remind team members to seek diverse perspectives, learn and be curious, and earn trust. Our team members come from 7 different countries. We celebrate this rich mix of cultures and actively seek diverse backgrounds to join us.

Work/Life Balance

Our team puts a high value on work-life balance. It isn’t about how many hours you spend at home or at work; it’s about the flow you establish that brings energy to both parts of your life. We believe striking the right balance between your personal and professional life is critical to life-long happiness and fulfillment. We offer flexibility in working hours and encourage you to find your own balance between your work and personal lives.

Basic Qualifications

• 3+ industry experience applying machine learning in Computer Vision, Augmented Reality, Gaming, Visual effects, or perception applications.
• Proven track record of successfully applying ML-based and optimization solutions to complex problems in business, science, or engineering.
• 4+ years of practical experience applying machine learning to solve complex problems in an applied environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with teams, technical teams, and leadership
• Proven track record in technically leading and mentoring scientists
• Ability to clearly communicate high level strategy and technical details effectively across disciplines, locations, and organizations, including to senior leadership
• Breadth in state-of-the-art machine learning technologies with in-depth focus on Computer Vision, Augmented Reality, Gaming, Visual effects, or perception
• Must be comfortable starting research in a new applications from scratch without prior art and iteratively making progress through collaboration with other scientists

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Visual Effects automation
• 10+ years of relevant experience in industry and/or academia.
• Publications at top-tier peer-reviewed conferences or journals in one of those areas ( computer vision, image processing, deep learning)
• Proven track record of innovation in creating novel algorithms and advancing the state of the art

Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please visit https://www.amazon.jobs/en/disability/us.