Machine Learning Team Lead, Modulate
$170-210k
+ Equity
1-3 days a week in office (Somerville, MA)
In-game voice chat moderation
Be an early applicant
In-game voice chat moderation
21-100 employees
Be an early applicant
$170-210k
+ Equity
1-3 days a week in office (Somerville, MA)
21-100 employees
Company mission
To create a safer more inclusive voice chat experience for all.
Role
Who you are
- Experience conducting machine learning research and shipping models
- Experience collaborating closely with other researchers (peer, lead, or mentor level)
- Experience communicating research externally (papers, conferences, etc.)
- Strong experience with Python and PyTorch
- Ability to understand and guide complex ML systems and tradeoffs
- Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills
- Ability to align technical work with business priorities
Desirable
- Prior experience managing ML researchers or ML engineering teams
- Experience working with audio models or speech systems (ASR, TTS, etc.)
- Experience with cloud infrastructure, especially AWS
- Experience in fast-paced startup environments
What the job involves
- We’re looking for a Machine Learning Team Lead to guide and grow our ML research and engineering team
- This role combines deep technical expertise in machine learning with strong leadership skills to ensure the team is focused, effective, and aligned with business priorities. You will work closely with executive stakeholders while supporting a high-performing, collaborative research team
- Lead and support Modulate’s machine learning research and engineering team
- Ensure the team is aligned with business priorities and product needs
- Help grow team capability through hiring, mentoring, and skill development
- Maintain high team morale and an effective, collaborative culture
- Drive clarity on feasibility, prioritization, and estimation of ML work
- Ensure Modulate continues to ship high-quality, impactful ML models
- Collaborate with engineers, researchers, and executives (CTO, CEO, VP Product/Design) on ML strategy and priorities
- Deeply understand the team’s models and research to guide technical direction
- Help prioritize research and engineering efforts based on impact and feasibility
- Support the team in designing, training, and shipping machine learning models
- Mentor researchers and engineers and support their technical growth
- Participate in hiring and team expansion efforts
- Communicate model performance and tradeoffs to technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Optionally contribute directly to ML research and engineering work as an IC when needed
- Ensure strong collaboration across research, engineering, and product teams
Our take
Anyone who has played a multiplayer online game knows it can be a free-for-all when it comes to toxic, hate-filled, abusive, and ultimately harmful speech. Modulate is attempting to take on in-game toxic speech, and even potentially predatory behavior, with its AI-powered software ToxMod.
Despite the monumental task at hand, where chat moderation risks creating an over-policed online community, Modulate asserts that its AI can distinguish between friendly banter and sinister chat. ToxMod boasts users like PokerStars VR, Rec Room, and Gun Raiders, with the company hinting at undisclosed high-profile customers. A strategic mode towards Metaverse-based game studios aligns well with the booming growth of the Metaverse gaming industry, projected at around 40% annual growth.
In a notable development, Modulate has forged a partnership with Activision Blizzard. As part of this collaboration, Modulate's work with Activision has led to real improvements in Call of Duty (from a huge 50% drop in toxic voice chat exposure to increased player engagement and retention). Byt proving that AI-driven moderation can scale without disrupting gampole, Modulate is really setting a new standard for online safety. And with growing interest from other studios and industries, the company is well set eto expand its impact and help shape a more respectful future for multiplayer gaming.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (last 2 of 4 rounds)
Aug 2022
$30m
SERIES A
Apr 2022
$30m
SERIES A
Total funding: $66m
Company HQ
Davis Square, Somerville, MA
Leadership
Mike Pappas
(Co-Founder & CEO)Began their career as a Technology Associate at Bridgewater Associates before joining spend and travel management software company Lola as a Software Architect.
Carter Huffman
(Co-Founder & CTO)Previously a Software Engineer at Dimensional Insight before co-founding Modulate. Prior to this they spent two years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory working as part of the Machine Learning and Instrument Autonomy group.
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