Principal Researcher, Imaging/ AI

Join the leader in entertainment innovation and help us design the future. At Dolby, science meets art, and high tech means more than computer code. As a member of the Dolby team, you’ll see and hear the results of your work everywhere, from movie theaters to smartphones. We continue to revolutionize how people create, deliver, and enjoy entertainment worldwide. To do that, we need the absolute... best talent. We’re big enough to give you all the resources you need, and small enough so you can make a real difference and earn recognition for your work. We offer a collegial culture, challenging projects, and excellent compensation and benefits, not to mention a Flex Work approach that is truly flexible to support where, when, and how you do your best work. The Advanced Technology Group (ATG) is the research division of the company. ATG’s mission is to look ahead, deliver insights, and innovate technological solutions that will fuel Dolby’s continued growth. Our researchers have a broad range of expertise related to computer science and electrical engineering, such as AI/ML, algorithms, digital signal processing, audio engineering, image processing, computer vision, data science & analytics, distributed systems, cloud, edge & mobile computing, computer networking, and IoT. You will play a key role in our Advanced Technology Group "ATG". ATG is the research and technology arm of Dolby Labs. It has multiple competencies that innovate on technologies in audio, video, AR/VR, multimodal applied to gaming, music, professional, broadcast, and user-generated content. Many areas of expertise related to computer science and electrical engineering, such as AI/ML, computer vision, image/video processing, image/video/ambisonics capture, digital signal processing, audio engineering, data science & analytics, distributed systems, cloud, edge & mobile computing, natural language processing, knowledge engineering and management, social network analysis, computer graphics, image/video & signal compression, LLMs, computer networking, IoT are highly relevant to our research. What you’ll do As a technology leader within Dolby ATG research, you focus on three key areas of responsibility: State-of the art, cutting edge, hands-on research: • As a researcher, you will invent and create the next generation of AI driven image and video processing with specific focus on image/video capture solutions with new upcoming sensors, camera signal processing, 3D spatial captures. Jointly with Dolby’s world-class global research teams, you will set directions, identify projects, and build the next wave of image technologies driving Dolby’s licensing and cloud businesses. • With a solid understanding of both traditional image processing and newer AI technologies, you will not only perform research using signal processing based only solutions, but you will also work at the intersection of classical image processing and new AI algorithms. You will apply these insights to the research of image delivery, analysis, and content creation technologies. Managing, nurturing, and grooming top research talent: • As a senior leader, you will guide and mentor a small group of researchers working in image processing, computer graphics, computer science, and content enhancement. Partner with your team as a coach and mentor. You are passionate about developing junior, highly talented staff into researchers that work fully independently in a corporate environment. • Contribute to developing a dynamic, flexible, transparent, results-oriented, innovative working atmosphere. Technology strategy and direction setting: • Jointly with Dolby’s world-class global research teams, you will set directions, identify projects, and build the next wave of AI-based technologies driving Dolby’s cloud and licensing businesses. • You will partner with ATG technology leaders to co-define projects and assign your staff to global R&D initiatives led by other technology initiative leads. Work jointly with upper management, lead resources, and work allocation. • You will also collaborate with Dolby’s Business Groups (BG) to bring the research to life in many products, working closely with product managers, program managers, and BG engineering teams worldwide. Education and Desired experience • Ph.D. plus 8 years of corporate research experience with a degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, or Computer Science. • Profound understanding and a strong research record in image sensors, lenses, camera signal processing, spectral processing, 3D modeling, geometry, and calibration. • You are an absolute top expert in AI with a deep and thorough theoretical understanding of the latest state-of-the-art AI technologies. You have a detailed understanding of all main network architectures, deployment modes, data augmentation and preparation, and theoretical performance analysis of model architectures. Knowledge of NLP and/or multi-modal architectures is highly desired. You have a good understanding of: • Diffusion, autoregressive, or other generative models. • Self-supervised, contrastive learning, auto-encoders • Audio, image, or text applications – Source separation, text-to-speech, music synthesis, image segmentation, image captioning, question answering, language models, etc. • Knowledge of Game environments, graphical processing, consumer products, SoC architectures, embedded software, GPU/CPU implementations, algorithm validation and testing, and implementation of ML/AI algorithms. • Demonstrated ability to create fundamentally new, novel (patentable) image processing, enhancement, and rendering technologies. • Sound publication record in major image/video/AI conferences and journals (e.g. NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, etc.). • Strong track of inventing, developing, and productizing video technologies in an industrial research environment. • Ability to envision applications of new technologies in the form of innovative product solutions. Strong innovator. • Highly skilled in C/C++, and Python. • Experience in managing, guiding, and mentoring younger researchers. • Team-oriented work ethic and interest in working in cross-continental teams. • Personal interest in learning, researching, and creating relevant new technologies with high commercial impact. • Excellent communication, collaboration, and presentation skills in English. The San Francisco/Bay Area base salary range for this full-time position is $201,800-$246,500 which can vary if outside this location, plus bonus, benefits, and some roles may also include equity. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, competencies, experience, market demands, internal parity, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range and perks and benefits for your location during the hiring process. Dolby will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of San Francisco Police Code, Article 49, and Administrative Code, Article 12 Equal Employment Opportunity: Dolby is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Our success depends on the combined skills and talents of all our employees. We are committed to making employment decisions without regard to race, religious creed, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, marital status, family status, medical condition, disability, military service, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions or any other classification protected by federal, state, and local laws and ordinances