VP, Research

About Phaidra

Phaidra is building the future of industrial automation.

The world today is filled with static, monolithic infrastructure. Factories, power plants, buildings, etc. operate the same they've operated for decades — because the controls programming is hard-coded. Thousands of lines of rules and heuristics that define how the machines interact with each other. The result of all this hard-coding is that facilities are frozen in time, unable to adapt to their environment while their performance slowly degrades.

Phaidra creates AI-powered control systems for the industrial sector, enabling industrial facilities to automatically learn and improve over time. Specifically:

• We use reinforcement learning algorithms to provide this intelligence, converting raw sensor data into high-value actions and decisions.
• We focus on industrial applications, which tend to be well-sensorized with measurable KPIs — perfect for reinforcement learning.
• We enable domain experts (our users) to configure the AI control systems (i.e. agents) without writing code. They define what they want their AI agents to do, and we do it for them.

Our team has a track record of applying AI to some of the toughest problems. From achieving superhuman performance with DeepMind's AlphaGo, to reducing the energy required to cool Google's Data Centers by 40%, we deeply understand AI and how to apply it in production for massive impact.

Phaidra is based in the USA but 100% remote; we do not have a physical office. We hire employees internationally with the help of our partner, OysterHR. Our team is currently located throughout the USA, Canada, UK, Norway, Italy, Portugal, and India.

**Please only apply to one opening. If you are a better fit for another opening, our team will move your application. Candidates who apply to multiple openings will not be considered.**

Who You Are

The VP of Research at Phaidra will play a pivotal role in driving the strategic direction of our research efforts — you’ll push the boundaries of applying Deep RL technology for application in real-world industrial control systems and contribute to the realization of autonomous systems that redefine industries. Having pioneered research in the world's leading academic and industrial labs and run a successful industry Research Lab, the VP of Research joins Phaidra to create a world-class Research Lab that specializes in applying Deep Reinforcement Learning to industrial control systems.

The VP of Research at Phaidra oversees the theoretical advancement of DeepRL and plays a pivotal role in translating research outcomes into practical solutions for real-world challenges. By collaborating with cross-functional teams, defining problems, guiding implementation, and evaluating performance, you’ll ensure that the company's DeepRL research has a tangible impact on the development of autonomous control systems.

As a researcher, you are already a thought leader at the intersection of Deep Reinforcement Learning and autonomous control systems.

For this position, we are seeking a team member located within one of the following areas: USA, Canada, UK

Responsibilities

• Research Strategy: Aligns research initiatives with the company's strategic goals and market demands. You’ll identify specific areas within autonomous control systems where DeepRL research can be effectively applied to solve real-world challenges and lead the team to accomplish those pursuits.
• Technical Leadership: Provide expert guidance and technical leadership to a team of world-class researchers, machine learning experts, and engineers. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the alignment of research goals with practical applications.
• Problem Definition: Define research problems that are not only theoretically interesting but also relevant to real-world challenges. You’ll work with stakeholders to identify specific problems that can benefit from DeepRL solutions, ensuring that the research is impactful and practical.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with the engineering, product development, customer success, and business teams. You’ll work with these teams to understand practical constraints, technical requirements, and business objectives — ensuring that research efforts are directed towards creating tangible solutions.
• Product Integration: Ensure that research outcomes are seamlessly integrated into the company's