Reduce the time it takes to identify a child sexual abuse victim, elevating the most vulnerable and high risk victims from an ocean of online content
Enable the removal of child sexual abuse material from the internet, finding known and new content
Prevent online abuse from happening in the first place, detecting abusive content before it spreads
They are responsible for ensuring that their work is high quality, as well as mentoring other ML Engineers. They will thrive in highly ambiguous problem spaces and be able to creatively design and build scalable solutions with minimum direction. They will demonstrate persistence and strong technical expertise to navigate legal, product, and technical constraints. They are responsible for partnering with the engineers, product manager and designers across different products to drive requirements, as well as any and all relevant external partners, taking into account all stakeholder needs.
What You’ll Do
Own end-to-end model development: design, build, test and maintain machine learning systems and algorithms
Lead machine learning system designs with a focus on computer vision, set engineering standards, lead technical meetings and proactively engage and mentor other engineers
Help debug, do code review, and support general machine learning initiatives led by other members of the Machine Learning team.
Define data sourcing and labeling strategy with a focus on computer vision tasks, proactively identifying future data needs and partnering with the Sr. Technical Program Manager to drive planning and prioritization
Work closely with specialists at Thorn to create data labeling guides and support labeling efforts. This may involve engaging with sexually explicit material that is not child sexual abuse material
Look for opportunities to streamline and reuse work, proactively identifying cross-team dependencies. Anticipate technical risks across ML systems, define architectural guardrails, establish best practices for scalability and reliability
Represent Thorn as a technical thought leader at conferences and other external forums, advancing the field and strengthening strategic partnerships
Collaborate with engineers, product managers, product owners, and designers to drive requirements, define scope of work, engage with users, and translate user needs into features and deliverables
Collaborate with engineers on product teams to maintain and deploy models, algorithms and model serving infrastructure
Look for opportunities, in collaboration with the Sr. Technical Program Manager, to improve the innovation -> impact cycle across product, academic collaborations, and other external partnerships
Build relationships and collaborate with external partners
Look for opportunities to improve systems, author tools and introduce policies/patterns that raise productivity for the Machine Learning team
Clearly communicate and document problem formulation, feature/model design, training, and evaluation results to technical and non-technical audiences
Identify new problem spaces within online child safety. Stay abreast of technical developments and breakthroughs with an eye towards applying solutions to our issue space.
What We’re Looking For
You have a commitment to putting the children we serve at the center of everything you do
You have a willingness to learn about online child safety and victim identification.
You have 8+ years background in machine learning and/or artificial intelligence, with 3+ years experience in building production-scale computer vision machine learning systems and pipelines
You have a Ph.D or master’s degree in a quantitative field, or equivalent professional experience.
You have an ability and interest in learning and adopting new technologies quickly
You can work with ambiguity, shifting requirements and collaborate with cross-functional internal and external stakeholders
You have a passion for machine learning and an aptitude to work in a collaborative environment, can demonstrate empathy for our team and strong advocacy for our users, while balancing the vision and technical constraints of engineering. Success on this team requires humility, curiosity, and a willingness to both teach and learn.
You excel at identifying unique opportunities and translating them into scalable solutions that align cross-functional stakeholders around a clear, compelling, and actionable vision
You communicate clearly, efficiently, and thoughtfully. We’re a highly-distributed team, so written communication is crucial
Technologies We Use (for relevant roles)
AWS
Python
Pandas
PyTorch
scikit-learn/scipy
Terraform
CI/CD Pipelines
Tensorflow with Keras
Hugging Face Transformers/Diffusers
OpenCV
FAISS or other vector stores
ONNX/onnxruntime
Kubernetes
Compensation and Benefits
A reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role is $171,000-$235,750/year. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to location; skill sets; experience and training; licensure, and certifications.
Our remote-first work model is structured around working from home most of the time. But, there will be times that employees are expected to travel. For example, Thorn may host company-wide gatherings, and smaller teams may hold in-person meetings and team-building events, or require attendance at specific conferences.
At Thorn, we know that great people make a great organization. We value our people and offer employees a broad range of benefits. Learn more about what working at Thorn can mean for you.
Thorn is strengthened by the wide range of experiences and perspectives on our team. We value the diversity of our professional backgrounds, subject matter expertise, cultures, and perspectives because they help us solve complex problems and serve our mission more effectively. We hire based on merit, qualifications, and organizational need, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all employees can thrive.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.
Thorn is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. We provide reasonable accommodations to ensure candidates and employees with disabilities can fully participate in the application process, perform essential job functions, and access all the benefits and privileges of employment. If you need an accommodation, please contact us at hiring@wearethorn.org
Know Your Rights: Workplace discrimination is illegal
