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Snap Inc.

Research Scientist, Low Level Vision, Level 4

Snap Inc., Bellevue, Washington, us, 98009

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Overview

Snap Inc is a technology company focused on camera-enhanced experiences. Snap Research serves as an innovation engine, with projects ranging from solving hard technical problems to exploring new directions that can shift how people communicate and express themselves. The Computational Imaging Research Team in NYC focuses on enhancing user experiences with photo and short form video products, and enabling creators to make Lenses more easily in Lens Studio. The 2025 focus areas include improving image and video quality (quality assessment, video super resolution, compression, image editing) and animations (animation generation, 3D avatar, video generation for animations). Research areas include computer vision, computational imaging/photography, 3D motion/video generation, efficient vision-language models, and more. What you’ll do

Propose and develop innovative technologies to improve image and video quality, such as (1) image/video super-resolution/restoration, (2) image/video quality assessment, or (3) advanced video codec

Enhance the quality of AI-generated videos using low-level vision techniques, such as super-resolution and video frame interpolation

Contribute to image editing, efficient vision-language model development, etc.

Partner with product teams to deliver technologies to hundreds of millions of Snapchatters

Work on projects including on-device neural network compression or non-NN methods speedup (optional)

Mentor research interns, publish research at top academic conferences, or contribute to video compression standards

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Ability to identify and define impactful and challenging research and R&D projects in both academic and product contexts

Ability to generate innovative research and engineering ideas through out-of-the-box thinking

Strong prototyping, implementation, and programming skills (in Python and/or C++), including developing or accelerating NN methods (dataset preparation, architecture/loss design, and NN compression), or non-NN methods

Ability to stay at the forefront of low-level vision or computational photography in academia

Ability to remain at the cutting edge of advancements in the image/video quality industry

Fast learner with the ability to quickly adapt to new topics such as image editing and efficient vision-language models

Strong technical foundation in deep learning and computer vision

Proven ability to lead and mentor interns, PhD students, and junior researchers, and to collaborate effectively with product teams

Strong and clear communication skills

Minimum Qualifications

PhD in a technical field such as computer science/electrical engineering, or equivalent years of experience

Hands-on experience with state-of-the-art neural network techniques (e.g., CNNs, Transformers, GANs, diffusion models, VAEs, and/or other emerging techniques)

Industry or academic experience in defining and solving research problems in low-level vision or computational photography, including image/video enhancement and assessment, video compression, image editing, or efficient vision-language modeling

Preferred Qualifications

Hands-on experience with on-device NN compression (quantization, pruning, knowledge distillation, NAS, and related techniques)

Successful publication record in top-tier academic conferences and journals (e.g., CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, ICLR, NeurIPS, SIGGRAPH, TPAMI) or contributions to video compression standards

Strong technical foundation in signal processing, statistics, machine learning, and computer vision

Hands-on experience with state-of-the-art non-NN methods in image processing and speedup on mobile devices (e.g., Metal for iOS, OpenGL or Vulkan for Android)

Policy and Benefits

"Default Together" policy: Snap values in-person collaboration and expects team members to work in an office 4+ days per week. Snap is an equal opportunity employer, committed to employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability (physical or mental), medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable laws. EOE, including disability/vets. Accommodation requests: please contact accommodations-ext@snap.com. Benefits: Snap offers benefits built around employee needs, including paid parental leave, comprehensive medical coverage, emotional and mental health support, and compensation packages that share in Snap’s long-term success. For accommodation details, see the company accommodations form and privacy policy. Compensation

In the United States, work locations are assigned pay zones that determine salary ranges. Starting pay is based on job-related skills, experience, location, and market conditions and may be negotiable within the salary range. Zone A (CA, WA, NYC): $173,000-$259,000; Zone B: $164,000-$246,000; Zone C: $147,000-$220,000. This position is eligible for equity in the form of RSUs. Additional resources: Decade of Snap; CitizenSnap; DEI Innovation Summit; Snap News; Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy.

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