PhD Machine Learning Intern

About You

The PhD Machine Learning Intern has a passion for cutting-edge AI research and its practical applications in narrative intelligence. You will play a key role in advancing our GEN5 System through the development and optimization of state-of-the-art Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures. You are deeply familiar with the latest developments in large language models, vector databases, and information retrieval systems. You thrive on solving complex technical challenges at the intersection of NLP research and production systems, and you're excited about translating academic insights into real-world impact.

Primary Responsibilities

During this internship, you will focus on research, development, and implementation of advanced RAG systems for our GEN5 platform. You will work closely with our Senior Machine Learning Engineers, Data Scientists, and VP of Technology to push the boundaries of what's possible in narrative analytics through intelligent information retrieval and generation.

Specific Responsibilities

• Research and implement novel RAG architectures optimized for multi-modal narrative data processing
• Design and develop advanced retrieval mechanisms using dense and sparse vector representations
• Experiment with hybrid search approaches combining semantic similarity and keyword-based retrieval
• Optimize embedding models and vector databases for large-scale narrative content indexing
• Develop and evaluate chunking strategies for complex, multi-document narrative datasets
• Implement and fine-tune reranking models to improve retrieval precision
• Design evaluation frameworks for RAG system performance, including relevance, faithfulness, and narrative coherence metrics
• Collaborate with the Data Science team to integrate RAG capabilities into existing narrative detection pipelines
• Conduct experiments on prompt engineering and context optimization for improved generation quality
• Research and implement techniques for handling multi-language and cross-cultural narrative content
• Contribute to research publications and technical documentation of methodologies and findings
• Present research progress and findings to cross-functional teams and stakeholders

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, or related field
• Authorized to work in the US
• Must be able to work on US Government contracts that may be restricted to US persons
• Strong theoretical foundation in machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing
• Hands-on experience with transformer architectures, large language models, and embedding models
• Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face)
• Experience with vector databases and similarity search systems (Pinecone, Milvus, FAISS, OpenSearch, PGVector)
• Knowledge of information retrieval concepts and evaluation metrics
• Experience with distributed computing and large-scale data processing
• Strong research and analytical skills with ability to work independently
• Excellent communication skills and ability to present complex technical concepts clearly

Preferred Qualifications

• Published research in RAG systems, information retrieval, or related NLP areas
• Experience with multi-modal learning and cross-lingual NLP
• Knowledge of knowledge graph construction and reasoning
• Familiarity with narrative analysis or social media data processing
• Experience with A/B testing and experimental design for ML systems
• Background in computational social science or digital humanities

What You'll Gain

• Hands-on experience applying cutting-edge AI research to real-world problems with societal impact
• Opportunity to work with large-scale, diverse datasets spanning global narratives
• Mentorship from experienced ML engineers and data scientists
• Exposure to production ML systems serving enterprise clients
• Potential for research publication and conference presentations
• Experience in a fast-paced, mission-driven startup environment

Pay rate for this position is $32.00 per hour and expected duration is 4 months.

Protagonist is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.