Research Director

Scope / Objectives / Deliverables

• Define and evolve CCAT’s research agenda in alignment with the Center’s annual priorities and institutional thesis.
• Collaboratively design and oversee the lab’s experimentation plan: research questions, development pathways, evaluation criteria, and propose publication or dissemination strategies.
• Co-Establish and maintain methodological standards for ML work conducted under CCAT’s name, including demos, prototypes, and public-facing technical claims.
• Conduct feasibility and risk review for proposed projects and programs where ML is a core medium or technical component.
• Stay current with developments across model training, large language models, neural networks, and computing infrastructure, and bring that knowledge actively into CCAT’s program planning.
• Familiarity with spatial computing, XR technologies, or robotics is a strong asset and will inform CCAT’s expanding technical scope.
• Interdisciplinary Program Collaboration
  • Participate in Working Group co-development of program concepts, research thesis, and curatorial framing.
  • Surface technical opportunities, constraints, and risks that shape what CCAT can responsibly commit to publicly.
  • Partner with the 2 other Research Directors, Senior Curator, and Technical Director(s) to translate research into public programs, exhibitions, and knowledge-sharing outputs.
  • Serve as a required input on all programs where ML is a core medium or where public-facing claims about machine learning are involved.
• Educational Engagement and Institutional Integration
  • Support and contribute to the interdisciplinary dimensions of CCAT’s visiting artist program, contributing technical context and perspective to artist engagements.
  • Contribute to CCAT’s annual symposium, white paper publications, and other knowledge-sharing outputs as a technical author and co-thinker.
  • Represent CCAT’s technical vision to external partners, funders, and field participants with the same fluency applied internally.
• Administration
  • Full-time position (FTE), reporting directly to the Executive Director of CCAT.
  • Solid-line direct reports: Faculty Fellows and Post-Grad Fellows, Student Fellows (as applicable).
  • Dotted-line enablement support: Technical Directors and Research Coordinator.
  • On-campus presence at CalArts (Valencia, CA) required; specific cadence to be agreed upon with the Executive Director.
  • Active participant in the CCAT Program Working Group.

Qualifications

• Senior-level or principal-level expertise in machine learning research and development, with independent research authorship and a demonstrated ability to set (as well as execute) a technical agenda.
• Experience at this level in both research and applied industry or academic contexts is strongly preferred.
• Track record of rigorous, original technical work, in academic, industry, or independent research contexts.
• Genuine openness to interdisciplinary inquiry and demonstrated ability to collaborate across technical and non-technical communities.
• Strong communicator capable of translating complex technical concepts for artists, humanists, and non-specialist audiences without condescension or oversimplification.
• Comfort working within a higher education environment, including a willingness to engage with Art students and support emerging researchers.
• Familiarity with spatial computing, XR technologies, or robotics preferred.
• Experience managing researchers or fellows; ability to mentor without micromanaging.
• Commitment to responsible and ethical AI development practices.
• Fluent in standard open-source frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow).
• Programming fluency in Python, C/C++ or Rust.
• Adherence to CalArts and CCAT institutional policies on AI use, and active participation in ongoing policy conversations to help maintain and evolve those standards as the field changes.