Lead Research Scientist, Speech and Audio Foundation Models

Lead Research Scientist, Speech and Audio Foundation ModelsLocation: Bangalore (India), Singapore and Palo Alto (CA, US)Type of Job: Full-timeAbout Krutrim: Krutrim is building AI computing for the future. Our envisioned AI computing stack encompasses the AI computing infrastructure, AI Cloud, multilingual and multimodal foundational models, and AI-powered end applications. We are India's first AI unicorn and built the first foundation model from the country.

Our AI stack is empowering consumers, startups, enterprises and scientists across India and the world to build their end AI applications or AI models. While we are building foundational models across text, voice, and vision relevant to our focus markets, we are also developing AI training and inference platforms that enable AI research and development across industry domains. The platforms being built by Krutrim have the potential to impact millions of lives in India, across income and education strata, and across languages.

The team at Krutrim represents a convergence of talent across AI research, Applied AI, Cloud Engineering, and semiconductor design. Our teams operate from three locations: Bangalore, Singapore & San Francisco. Job Description:We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Research Lead for Speech, Audio, and Conversational AI to join our innovative team.

In this role, you will spearhead the research and development of cutting-edge technologies in speech processing, text-to-speech (TTS), audio analysis, and real-time conversational AI. You will push the boundaries of what's possible in automatic speech recognition (ASR), speaker identification, diarization, speech synthesis, and audio generation. Working closely with a team of talented engineers and researchers, you'll design, implement, and optimize state-of-the-art systems that contribute to creating more natural, human-like, and high-quality speech and audio solutions for a variety of applications.

Key Responsibilities:Bring the state of the art in Audio/Speech and Large Language Models to develop advanced Audio Language Models and Speech Language Models. Research, architect, and deploy new generative AI methods such as autoregressive models, causal models, and diffusion modelsDesign and implement low-latency end-to-end models with multilingual speech/audio as both input and output.

Conduct experiments to evaluate and improve the performance of these models, focusing on accuracy, naturalness, efficiency, and real-time capabilities across multiple languages. Stay at the forefront of advancements in speech processing, audio analysis, and large language models, integrating new techniques into our foundation models. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate these foundation models into Krutrim's AI stack and products.

Publish research findings in top-tier conferences and journals such as INTERSPEECH, ICASSP, ICLR, ICML, NeurIPS, and IEEE/ACM Transactions on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing. Mentor and guide junior researchers and engineers, fostering a collaborative and innovative team environment. Drive the adoption of best practices in model development, including rigorous testing, documentation, and ethical considerations in multilingual AI.Qualifications:Ph.

D. with 5 years or MS with 8 years of experience in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field with a focus on speech processing, audio analysis, and machine learning. Train or finetune speech / audio models for representation (like, W2V-BERT, SONAR, AST), generation (like, Hi-Fi GAN, VQ-GAN, AudioLDM), Conformers, multilingual multitask models (like, SeamlessM4T). Expertise with Audio Language Models like AudioPALM, Moshi and Seamless M4TProven track record of developing and applying novel neural network architectures such as Transformers, Mixture of Experts, Diffusion Models, and

State Space Machines (MAMBA, SAMBA). Extensive experience in developing and optimizing models for low-latency, real-time applications. Strong background in multilingual speech recognition and synthesis, with an understanding of the challenges specific to different language families.

Proficiency in deep learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch) and experience deploying large-scale speech and audio models. Demonstrated expertise in high-performance computing with proficiency in Python, C/C , CUDA, and kernel-level programming for AI applications. Experience with audio signal processing techniques and their application in end-to-end neural models.

Strong track record of publications in top AI conferences and journals, particularly in the areas of speech, audio, and language models. Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. Passion for pushing the boundaries of what's possible in speech and audio AI, with a focus on practical, real-world applications.

Join Krutrim to shape the future of AI and make a significant impact on 100s of millions of lives across India and the world. If you're passionate about pushing the boundaries of AI and want to work with a team at the forefront of innovation, we want to hear from you