Applied AI Research Scientist

In this pivotal Contract Applied AI Research Scientist role at Value Driven Solutions, you will spearhead the rapid prototyping and validation of state-of-the-art machine learning innovations to drive transformative outcomes across diverse private equity portfolio companies in consumer products, industrials, healthcare, and SaaS verticals. With up to 75% travel to portco sites, you'll collaborate intimately with operating teams to diagnose AI gaps—such as inefficient supply chains or untapped predictive analytics—and translate bleeding-edge research (e.g., from arXiv papers on reinforcement learning or multimodal models) into deployable prototypes that achieve production readiness in under 9 months, targeting $10M+ in annualized value creation through metrics like cost savings, market share gains, or patient outcome improvements.

Your work will encompass leading technical deep dives into portco datasets (e.g., electronic health records, sensor telemetry, or transaction logs), designing experiments with rigorous statistical validation (hypothesis testing, cross-validation), and architecting hybrid models that integrate with legacy infrastructure while scaling via containerization (Docker/Kubernetes). You'll report progress to PE investment committees via data-driven narratives, benchmarking against industry standards (e.g., Gartner AI maturity models), and iterating based on real-world feedback to ensure solutions are robust, interpretable, and compliant with regulatory frameworks like HIPAA or ISO 27001. This role is ideal for PhD-level innovators who excel at bridging academia and industry, having previously accelerated research-to-production cycles in consulting or tech environments, resulting in patented algorithms or peer-reviewed publications with direct business applications.

Value Driven Solutions provides unparalleled access to a ecosystem of portcos, enabling you to benchmark innovations across sectors and contribute to our proprietary Agentic AI playbook. Expect to thrive in an autonomous yet collaborative setting, where you'll influence strategic roadmaps and mentor emerging talent, all while enjoying remote flexibility between high-impact on-site sprints.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct AI opportunity audits and craft 3-year research agendas aligned with portco KPIs (e.g., EBITDA margins, churn reduction).
• Prototype advanced techniques like transfer learning, graph neural networks, or federated AI, validating via simulations and pilot deployments.
• Collaborate with domain experts to curate high-quality datasets, addressing imbalances and ensuring ethical sourcing.
• Author whitepapers and case studies for internal VDS knowledge base, plus executive briefings on ROI projections (e.g., Monte Carlo simulations).
• Evaluate emerging tools (e.g., Hugging Face libraries) and recommend integrations to enhance portco competitiveness.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in AI/ML, Computer Science, or equivalent (Master's with exceptional publications considered).
• 4+ years applied research experience, with proven <9-month paper-to-production timelines and >$5M impact.
• Expertise in PyTorch/JAX, advanced stats (Bayesian methods), and big data tools (Spark, Dask).
• Experience in regulated industries (healthcare/industrials) with focus on explainable AI and risk modeling.
• Excellent stakeholder management for cross-silo alignment and change management.

Preferred Experience:

• Contributions to open-source ML repos or conferences (NeurIPS, ICML).
• Hands-on with digital twins or real-time analytics in Industry 4.0 contexts.
• Background in system integration firms, delivering GAMP-compliant solutions.

To apply: Send CV + short note on the specific impact you’ve driven with AI research in private-equity or industrial settings to [email protected]. Include role title in subject line and your availability.

Leadership Solutions – Value Driven Solutions Accelerating Agentic AI adoption in private equity portfolios

3. Contract Deep Learning / Computer Vision Engineer

VDS Consulting Group – Career Page

Join Value Driven Solutions as a Contract Deep Learning / Computer Vision Engineer to architect and deploy cutting-edge vision systems that unlock operational efficiencies and revenue opportunities across private equity portcos in manufacturing, retail, and medtech. Involving up to 75% travel to client facilities, you'll lead from pain-point discovery—such as defect detection in assembly lines or shelf-space optimization in stores—to full-scale implementation, delivering solutions that reduce scrap rates by 20-30% or enhance diagnostic accuracy by 15%, directly contributing to $15M+ EBITDA growth per portfolio cluster.

You'll design convolutional and transformer-based architectures (e.g., EfficientNet, YOLOv8+, Vision Transformers) tailored to edge-constrained environments, integrating with IIoT gateways and cloud services for real-time inference. Responsibilities include data pipeline orchestration (labeling via LabelStudio, augmentation with Albumentations), model fine-tuning on domain-specific datasets (e.g., thermal imaging for quality control), and performance tuning for low-latency deployment on hardware like NVIDIA Jetson or AWS Panorama. Collaborating with automation teams, you'll ensure ISA-95 compliance, cybersecurity hardening (e.g., encrypted model serving), and ROI validation through controlled pilots, presenting findings to portco boards with visualizations of metrics like precision-recall curves and cost-benefit analyses. This role suits seasoned engineers with a passion for applied DL, who have shipped vision apps in production, driving tangible transformations in resource-limited settings.

Leverage VDS's portfolio network to pilot innovations across sectors, with opportunities to influence our Industry 4.0 AI frameworks and transition to advisory roles.

Key Responsibilities:

• Perform vision system audits and roadmap development for 18-36 month digital visions, prioritizing quick wins.
• Develop and optimize DL models for tasks like object detection, segmentation, and anomaly spotting in varied lighting/noise conditions.
• Integrate CV pipelines with MES/SCADA systems, enabling closed-loop automation (e.g., auto-reject faulty parts).
• Conduct benchmarking against SOTA models and vendor evaluations (e.g., Cognex vs. custom).
• Train portco teams on maintenance and upskilling via hands-on workshops and documentation.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's/Master's in EE/CS with DL focus (PhD advantageous).
• 5+ years in CV engineering, including 2+ years deploying edge models in industrials/retail.
• Mastery of OpenCV, PyTorch Lightning, ONNX for export, and hardware acceleration (CUDA/TPU).
• Proven impact: >10% efficiency gains from vision deployments in PE or consulting.
• Agile in stakeholder engagement, from shop-floor operators to execs.

Preferred Experience:

• Work with food/beverage or life sciences imaging, including GAMP validation.
• Experience in digital twins or AR/VR overlays for training.
• Consulting with integrators on IIoT platforms like Ignition.

To apply: Send CV + short note on the specific impact you’ve driven with CV in private-equity or industrial settings to info@valuedrivensolutions.com. Include role title in subject line and your availability.

Leadership Solutions – Value Driven Solutions Accelerating Agentic AI adoption in private equity portfolios