Creative Technologist [SK-25765] — San Mateo, CA

Aquent is proud to partner with a pioneering technology company that is completely redefining the digital imaging landscape by transforming everyday photos into stunning, authentic portraits. In this role, you will have the unique opportunity to serve as the aesthetic heartbeat and technical architect of a rapidly growing platform, directly shaping how millions of people capture and perceive themselves by blending artistic intuition with cutting-edge generative AI.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a visionary creator who can bridge the gap between art and engineering to define the future of visual self-expression. Working side-by-side with world-class researchers and engineers, you will establish the visual standards for light, skin tone, color, and composition across the platform. This role offers high ownership and the freedom to innovate without administrative layers, allowing you to translate nuanced human preferences into scalable, production-ready generative pipelines that make an immediate impact on a rapidly growing user base.

What You Will Do

• Define the aesthetic standard for exceptional portraiture, balancing flattering visual enhancements with strict identity preservation.

• Design, optimize, and maintain advanced node-based workflows, model architectures, LoRAs, and prompt systems powering production generative outputs.

• Establish structured benchmarking systems and visual quality-review frameworks to objectively evaluate and iterate on model performance.

• Partner closely with full-stack and mobile engineers to curate, test, and ship creative looks and portrait modes directly to users.

• Champion the user perspective by translating real-world photography preferences into technical specifications.

What You Bring

• 5+ years of professional experience across photography, retouching, visual effects, generative imaging, or related creative-technical disciplines.

• A strong portfolio demonstrating high-end portraiture, retouching, or lighting, with an intuitive understanding of human features and expressions.

• Proven, hands-on expertise building with node-based tools (such as ComfyUI) and deploying state-of-the-art image/video generation models.

• Experience designing and shipping consumer-scale creative outputs like filters, lenses, avatars, or visual effects to large audiences.

• A keen eye for identity preservation, with the ability to detect subtle visual artifacts, anatomical inconsistencies, or facial deviations.

• Technical agility and familiarity with modern developer tools and AI coding workflows to automate pipelines and accelerate development.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Experience training custom LoRAs and implementing identity-preserving model techniques (e.g., ControlNet, IP-Adapter).

• A background in developing structured quality review (evals) frameworks for generative AI.

• Exposure to mobile app development, iOS/SwiftUI prototyping, or AV/camera pipelines.

• Experience working with generative video models.

Client Description

Startup (mobile app)

Other Requirements

MUST be able to work onsite 3-4x week in Los Gatos, CA.

Relocation (approx $10K lump sum) is available for candidates outside the area.