Senior Research Engineer, ML/AI

At ACT, Your Work Makes a Difference

Education has power - a power that changes lives forever. It creates opportunities that lift up individuals, their families, and sparks societal change that echoes through generations to come. From our grassroots we have fought the good fight for equity in education, and we remain devoted to helping anyone who struggles to access that power. This is what matters to us and we must do better -- we've never been more sure of our purpose.

ACT team members are part of an organization dedicated to a mission that has never been more important: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. Advancing that mission within our organization, by helping our team members achieve education and workplace success of their own, is core to our values. ACT values a diverse workplace and is committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable environment in which every team member has an opportunity to grow.

We want our team members to have the well-being and confidence they need to do their best work, in an environment where both they and ACT thrive. To support this, our total rewards include company paid life insurance, medical, dental, vision, flexible health and dependent spending accounts, 401(k) retirement savings with company match, paid holidays, paid time off, and so much more.You can find a comprehensive list of our benefits here.

We are seeking a Senior Research Engineer, ML/AI to help us fulfill that mission.

As part of the Digital Science team, the Senior Research Engineer, ML/AI will work with our Senior Research Scientist and other team members to design, develop, and deploy novel machine learning models and tools. They will build prototypes based on our group's research, providing a crucial bridge between conceptualization and implementation. Our initiatives leverage technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, deep learning, computer vision, and reinforcement learning to drive innovation and improve learning experiences and outcomes.

The finalist will be hired at the salary and level commensurate with their qualifications. For this position, we anticipate offering an annual salary in the range of $130,000 to $143,000. ACT manages salaries within the range based on relevant factors including, skills, experience, and internal equity.

Location: This is a remote position, based in the United States.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for visa sponsorship.

What you will be working on:

• Designing, developing, and deploying machine learning models and tools that enhance various aspects of education and assessment development
• Modeling statistical performance of assessment items
• Prototyping ML capabilities/features and contributing to ACT's ML/AI research agenda
• Collaborating with research scientists, prompt engineers, psychometricians, content specialists, etc. to enhance data quality and process efficiency
• Gathering requirements from technical and non-technical stakeholders to develop solutions for complex challenges unique to the assessment industry
• Assisting with other ML/AI related projects as required
• Contributing to and keeping up with the scientific literature in your field
• Presenting research results and demoing prototypes for technical and nontechnical audiences, including to members of the C-suite

Role Progression:

• Within 1 month, you will become familiar with ACT's internal stakeholders and the different types of ML/AI projects they are currently working on/require assistance with. You will attend meetings with non-technical and technical staff and assist with gathering requirements for projects requiring ML/AI driven solutions. You will work under the supervision of our Senior Manager and Senior Research Scientist to plan and execute these projects. You will assist technical staff with building prototypes and work as part of a cross-functional team to further ACT's strategic goals. You will understand ACT's client infrastructure and management solutions and be able to provide solutions to solve well-defined problems.
• Within 3 months, you will co-facilitate meetings with non-technical and technical staff and assist with gathering requirements for projects needing ML/AI driven solutions. You will work collaboratively with our Senior Research Scientist to plan and execute these projects. You will continue to assist technical staff with building prototypes and to work as part of a cross-functional team to further ACT's strategic goals. You will attend meetings for a research subgroup tasked with exploring how to effectively model statistical performance of assessment items. You will be able to provide solutions for other increasingly more complex problems.
• Within 6 months, you will facilitate meetings with internal stakeholders to gather requirements for projects needing ML/AI driven solutions. You will work collaboratively with our Senior Research Scientist and other Digital Science staff or as an individual contributor to plan and execute these projects. You will build prototypes/prototype features and work as an integral part of a cross-functional team to further ACT's strategic goals. You will serve as a representative of Digital Science within a research subgroup tasked with exploring how to effectively model statistical performance of assessment items.

This could be the job for you if you have (minimum requirements):

• Proficiency with Python (in Linux-based environments), Git, ML frameworks (PyTorch/Scikit-learn, etc.)
• Strong background in mathematics and statistics
• Proficiency with other programming languages like Java and/or R
• Expertise in Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• Experience with visualizing and manipulating big datasets
• Experience building application prototypes with generative models
• Experience developing machine learning models and employing model evaluation techniques
• Proven track record of rapidly designing, developing, and deploying machine learning models and prototypes/prototype features
• Experience working with relational databases (Postgres, MySQL)
• Experience with cloud deployment (GCP, AWS), containerization (Docker), vector search engines, and knowledge graphs
• Excellent problem-solving, troubleshooting, and analytical skills
• Excellent communicator with the ability to synthesize and communicate ideas visually, verbally, and in writing and explain highly technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Adaptability and a willingness to learn and grow in a rapidly evolving field
• Ability to stay current with industry trends and advancements in technology and apply knowledge
• Ability to collaborate within cross-functional teams and across the organization
• Excellent time management, planning, prioritization, and organization skills
• Familiarity with Agile practices
• Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related field, with 5+ years professional experience working on Machine Learning Projects OR
• Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related field, with 3+ years professional experience working on Machine Learning Projects OR
• PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related field, with 1+ years professional experience working on Machine Learning Projects

It's a plus if you have:

• ML publications or competition participation
• Experience working in a similar role within the assessment industry

About ACT

When ACT was founded in 1959, it disrupted the assessment industry with a new approach to helping students better understand their readiness so they could take steps to improve it. By leveraging our expertise and authority in assessment and research, we will again disrupt the industry-helping more people learn, better measure their progress, and improve their navigation through life's transitions.

More than ever before, ACT is fulfilling its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. We're doing it by pushing the boundaries of learning innovation through the work of our people, who we call team members because we're all in this together.

We know transformation does not come without challenge. That's why ACT invests in a variety of experiences for team members to strengthen their connections, explore ideas, learn from customers, and celebrate success.

Learn more about working at ACT at act.org!