Sesame · 12 hours ago
Research Engineer – Synthetic Data for Vision
San Francisco, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
$175K/yr - $280K/yrSesame is a company focused on designing lifelike computers that can interact with us naturally. They are seeking a Research Engineer to build synthetic data pipelines that enhance vision model development, combining classical computer vision techniques with modern machine learning tools.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Consumer ElectronicsConsumer SoftwareSoftware
Responsibilities
Build and maintain synthetic data generation pipelines (e.g., neural rendering, diffusion/score-based models, controllable generative priors, procedural assets) with levers for pose, expression, illumination, materials, and sensor characteristics
Apply transfer learning and domain adaptation (self-supervised pretraining, style/appearance transfer, sim-to-real) to bridge distribution gaps between synthetic and real data
Integrate off-the-shelf and open-source components where practical; fine-tune or distill models to meet latency, memory, and quality targets on target hardware
Stand up end-to-end systems—from capture and calibration to generation, data curation, quality gates, rendering/evaluation suites, and deployment
Define dataset and model evaluation frameworks (coverage, bias, sim-to-real gap, task-level KPIs such as gaze error) and iterate based on quantitative results
Survey literature across graphics, vision, and generative ML; prototype, adapt, and, where needed, invent new approaches that push facial reconstruction, appearance modeling, and synthetic data quality forward
Qualification
Required
Demonstrated experience with 3D reconstruction, photorealistic rendering, appearance modeling, or synthetic data generation for vision tasks
Ability to navigate and deliver results in high-ambiguity, open-ended problem spaces
Familiarity with large-scale, multi-camera datasets and the practicalities of curation, annotation, and evaluation
Excellent communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively across disciplines
Bachelor's degree or higher in computer graphics, vision, imaging, machine learning, or a related field
Preferred
Master's or Ph.D. in a relevant discipline
Hands-on experience training or adapting neural rendering models (e.g., NeRF/3DGS variants, relighting, inverse rendering) and modern generative models (e.g., diffusion/latent diffusion, controllable text-to-image/video, inpainting/outpainting)
Proficiency in PyTorch, JAX, or other modern ML frameworks
Benefits
401k matching
100% employer-paid health, vision, and dental benefits
Unlimited PTO and sick time
Flexible spending account matching (medical FSA)
Company
Sesame
Sesame is a voice tech startup focused on developing AI voice assistants that create natural and emotionally resonant conversations.
Founded in 2022
11-50 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Sesame has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2021 (2)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$307.62MKey Investors
Andreessen Horowitz
2025-10-21Series B· $250M
2023-11-01Series A· $47.5M
2023-09-12Seed· $10.12M
Recent News
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2025-12-24
2025-10-29
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