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Role Description

Autodesk is seeking a Director of AI Research to lead critical post-training and trust-enabling capabilities for our next generation of AI systems. This role oversees multiple research and applied science teams spanning:

• Model post-training and adaptation
• Responsible AI and robustness
• Dataset creation and annotation for AI Research

This is a scientific leadership role for a seasoned AI researcher and people manager requiring both deep technical credibility and strong people management, with direct influence on Autodesk’s AI strategy and research-to-product pipeline. You will partner closely with engineering, product, legal, and design to ensure Autodesk’s AI systems are powerful, reliable, and trustworthy.

The Director will manage and grow multiple research and applied science teams, define technical vision and roadmaps, and ensure that Autodesk’s AI systems are robust, compliant, high-quality, and production-ready, while still pushing the frontier of multimodal and generative AI for Design & Make.

Autodesk's AI Lab is active in the wider research community, targeting publications at CVPR, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, SIGGRAPH, and other top-tier conferences. We collaborate with top academic & industry labs, combining the best of an academic environment with product-guided research. We are a global team, located in London, San Francisco, Toronto, and remotely. This role will report to the Senior Director of AI Research in the AI Lab.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical vision and research agenda for post-training of foundation, multimodal, and domain-specific models, including alignment, fine-tuning, evaluation, and continuous improvement.
• Lead research and applied development in Responsible AI, including robustness, bias and fairness analysis, safety, reliability, explainability, and governance for enterprise and regulated contexts.
• Guide research into evaluation frameworks, datasets, benchmarks, and human-in-the-loop systems that connect model behavior to real-world design and workflow outcomes.
• Balance exploratory research with delivery-oriented applied work, ensuring that innovations transition effectively into Autodesk platforms.
• Build, lead, and mentor multi-disciplinary teams of research scientists, applied scientists, engineers, and data specialists.
• Foster a culture of technical rigor, collaboration, and inclusion, supporting career growth for senior ICs and emerging leaders.
• Provide clear goal-setting, feedback, and performance management across teams with diverse mandates and timelines.
• Partner closely with adjacent AI Lab leaders, product teams, and platform organizations to align priorities and execution.
• Work with product, legal, security, and compliance partners to ensure AI systems meet Autodesk’s enterprise trust and quality standards.
• Translate complex research outcomes into clear technical narratives and decision frameworks for executive stakeholders.
• Represent Autodesk AI Lab in external research communities, academic collaborations, and strategic partnerships.
• Contribute to IP strategy, publications, and long-term technical vision for AI in design and engineering.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent experience in AI, ML, NLP, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience spanning advanced AI research and production systems.
• Proven experience leading multi-disciplinary research teams and managing senior technical talent.
• Strong background in language and/or multimodal AI, with experience delivering systems used in real-world, high-impact settings.
• Demonstrated success translating research into scalable, reliable, and trusted AI products.
• Strong cross-functional leadership skills, with experience aligning research, engineering, product, and business stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• History of external research engagement (publications, partnerships, or industry leadership).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience operating in regulated or high-stakes domains where correctness, explainability, and trust are critical.
• Experience in Architecture, Civil or Mechanical Engineering, Construction, Manufacturing, Media & Entertainment or other Autodesk domains.
• CAD software proficiency.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Annual cash bonuses
• Stock grants