Senior Applied Scientist, Shutterstock
AI Content Creation & Editing
Royalty-free media library
Be an early applicant
Royalty-free media library
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
1001+ employees
Company mission
To help creative professionals from all backgrounds and businesses of all sizes produce their best work with incredible content and innovative tools, all on one platform.
Role
Who you are
- Advanced degree or equivalent experience. A PhD or MS in machine learning or relevant experience in computer vision, NLP, or related fields, with 3+ years of experience applying AI customer facing solutions
- Deep ML expertise. Proficiency in recommender systems, with a deep understanding of image and/or video. Strong Python skills, plus familiarity with frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow
- Production-scale know-how. Demonstrated ability to build, deploy, and maintain large-scale AI systems using tools such as Kubernetes, AWS, MLflow, and Snowflake
- Strong experimentation and research background. A track record of iterating solutions against real-world data, running experiments, and adapting to shifting creative or technical requirements
- Collaboration and communication skills. Proven ability to partner with product, engineering, and design teams to translate customer needs into impactful AI features
- Passion for generative AI and user empowerment. Commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology responsibly and ethically to help customers realize their creative visions
What the job involves
- As part of this team, you will develop and refine advanced AI systems that drive on-demand image, video and 3D generation, targeted editing, and seamless integrations with core product experiences
- We have achieved continual growth by standing on the shoulders of giants. A key strategic focus area is building and optimizing our Generative Model Routing Selector, a recommender-style system that chooses the best generator or editing tools for a given user and input
- This work is crucial to supporting Shutterstock’s broader mission of helping customers create, adapt, and succeed with innovative content solutions at scale
- Develop next-generation generative systems. Build and integrate cutting-edge ML models—ranging from transformer-based solutions to diffusion approaches—to enable the creation of new assets (images, 3D, and more) when existing content isn’t sufficient
- Implement and refine the Generative Model Selector. Design sophisticated recommender-style logic that selects the most suitable generative model for each user’s specific needs, optimizing for relevance, speed, and overall creative value
- Provide advanced AI editing capabilities. Create, deploy and iterate on targeted editing tools (background removal, upscaling, etc.) that enable customers to adapt Shutterstock assets quickly and easily, minimizing manual effort while preserving quality
- Collaborate with product and engineering. Partner with platform and product teams to integrate generative and editing features into user workflows, ensuring intuitive experiences within a unified creation and editing interface
- Drive real-world impact at scale. Translate emerging research into production-ready solutions that handle large volumes of content requests in near real-time, supporting a broad range of creative use cases
- Mentor and lead cross-functional teams. Guide junior scientists and engineers, fostering an environment of collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and rapid prototyping
- Champion ethics and integrity. Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure generative and editing tools are aligned with responsible AI principles, protecting artists and customers while pushing creative boundaries
- Measure and refine success. Work backward from our primary KPI—Download Rate of Generated or Modified Content—iterating on models, workflows, and user experiences to maximize the value and adoption of AI-driven features
- Publish and share insights. Present findings internally and externally (e.g., conferences, technical talks) to solidify Shutterstock’s leadership in AI for content creation and editing
Our take
Shutterstock is a global leader in licensed images, videos, and music, serving creative professionals like designers, filmmakers, and marketers. Content creators upload their work, which is then used by businesses and media organizations in various projects. It's a two-sided marketplace that fuels creativity worldwide.
Shutterstock offers a variety of plans for individuals, teams, and enterprise customers as well as creative editing and collaboration capabilities. Their aim is to build sophisticated tools to help the world experience images and videos in a more beautiful way - they believe that the harmonious union of design and technology can influence global communication.
Shutterstock's brand portfolio includes Bigstock, Offset, PremiumBeat, Rex Features, and Shutterstock Custom, adding hundreds of thousands of images weekly. More recently it introduced generative AI and fairly licenses artists' work for their AI-generated content, unlike competitors. This ethical approach bodes well for the company, positioning it well for future growth and innovation.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
5% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Company benefits
- Flexibility: Shutterstock operates in a Hybrid model that is centered around flexibility and enabling collaboration, innovation, and accountability no matter where we are
- Connection: Whether virtual or in person, we make sure there are plenty of opportunities and events to connect and have fun
- Recognition: We never miss an opportunity to celebrate our achievements and recognize great work through our global recognition program
- Empowerment: We offer generous and competitive compensation packages, PTO, wellness initiatives, on-and-off working hours, tuition reimbursement, and an employee referral bonus
- Growth: Your development is top of mind. Our SkillUP Program enables you to take ownership of your personal development through virtual learning offerings, and we are constantly adding to the platform to meet your changing needs
- Belonging: Our goal is to build a workforce that is, at all levels, representative of the diverse global community we serve and where all employees can come to work as their authentic selves
Company HQ
Midtown South, New York, NY
Leadership
Jon Oringer
(Executive Chairman)Previously Board Member at Partnership for New York City for 6 years and Founder, CEO at SurfSecret Software for 5 years.
Salary benchmarks
We don't have enough data yet to provide salary benchmarks for this role.
Submit your salary to help other candidates with crowdsourced salary estimates.
Share this job
View 13 more jobs at Shutterstock