Job Opportunity for AI Researcher at Digital Green in Bangalore, Karnataka, India

## AI Researcher (Language, Voice and Image)

**About Digital Green:**

Digital Green is a global not-for-profit organization that empowers smallholder farmers through the use of technology and data. Our mission is to create a world where farmers use technology and data to build prosperous communities. We achieve this by facilitating knowledge sharing, capacity building, and market linkages, enabling farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices and increase their productivity and income. Backed by leading philanthropic organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Walmart Foundation, USAID, and UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, we are committed to leveraging data and technology to empower smallholder farmers and strengthen agricultural extension systems.

**Job Summary:**

As an AI Researcher at Digital Green, you will play a crucial role in developing innovative AI solutions for the agricultural domain. You will focus on building language, voice, and computer vision models specifically tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers. Your work will directly contribute to enhancing the capabilities of our conversational bots, voice-enabled interfaces, and computer vision systems, enabling them to effectively understand and respond to user queries in local languages, recognize speech accurately, and analyze agricultural images.

**Key Responsibilities:**

* **Domain-specific Language Modeling:** Develop and optimize language models trained on agricultural text data to improve our bots’ ability to understand and generate content related to farming practices, crop management, pest control, and other relevant topics. This includes enhancing comprehension and generation in local languages and designing algorithms to recognize and interpret agricultural terminology.

* **Voice Recognition Model Development:** Develop and optimize automatic speech recognition (ASR) models for native languages spoken by smallholder farmers, incorporating domain-specific terminologies and regional dialects. Utilize advanced techniques like deep learning, transfer learning, and data augmentation to ensure high accuracy and reliability.

* **Computer Vision Model Development:** Design and develop computer vision models and generative AI algorithms for agricultural applications, such as plant disease detection, field infestation monitoring, crop detection, and image generation from textual descriptions.

* **Data Collection and Annotation:** Formulate and coordinate a comprehensive plan to collect, annotate, and ensure high-quality agricultural text, speech, and image data in local languages, capturing diverse linguistic variations and agricultural contexts.

* **Model Training, Optimization, and Evaluation:** Train and optimize language, ASR, and computer vision models using state-of-the-art techniques to achieve high accuracy and reliability. Evaluate model performance using key metrics and iteratively refine models based on feedback and insights.

* **Collaboration and Integration:** Collaborate closely with software engineers, data scientists, agricultural experts, and product managers to integrate AI capabilities into Digital Green’s platforms, ensuring seamless functionality and user experience.

* **Continuous Improvement and Knowledge Sharing:** Stay updated with the latest advancements in NLP, ASR, and computer vision research and techniques, continuously refining and optimizing models. Document model architectures, training procedures, and best practices, and share knowledge with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.

**Qualifications:**

* **Education:** Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, or a related field with a focus on NLP, speech recognition, or computer vision.

* **Experience:** Proven experience of 8+ years in AI research, with a strong track record of developing language models, ASR models, and computer vision algorithms. Experience in the agricultural domain is a plus.

* **Programming Skills:** Proficiency in Python and experience with machine learning frameworks and libraries such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Hugging Face Transformers, Kaldi, Mozilla DeepSpeech, OpenCV, and Keras.

* **Analytical Skills:** Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to critically evaluate research papers, design experiments, and interpret results.

* **Domain Knowledge:** Familiarity with agricultural practices, terminology, plant biology, crop diseases, and field monitoring techniques. Demonstrated ability to customize AI solutions for domain-specific requirements.

* **Communication Skills:** Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and stakeholders and communicate technical concepts to non-technical audiences.

**Job Location:**

Bangalore, Karnataka, India

**To Apply:**

Please submit your application, updated CV, and a cover letter explaining your suitability for the position through Digital Green’s online application platform.