Through the Interface

A few weeks ago - while I was on holiday, in fact - we posted a job description that I mentioned on LinkedIn:

Interested in developing and applying novel AI-based human simulation to improve the built environment? Come and work in my research team at Autodesk! Candidates open to working in London or Toronto are preferred, but the role will be largely hybrid.

We've already had several really interesting candidates apply for the job, but I did want to talk a bit more about this position and encourage more folks to apply.

Here's the job description itself:

Autodesk Research is dedicated to developing cutting-edge technologies and pioneering new workflows and experiences for our customers across AEC, Design & Manufacturing and Media & Entertainment industries. As a multidisciplinary team comprising scientists, industry practitioners and software creators, we assist customers in reimagining the future of designing and making.

One of our key focuses is the area of designing for human experience. We seek to enable and democratise the pursuit of human-centric principles and insights in all that our customers create by building innovative simulation tools for Autodesk software. To that end, we are exploring the intersection of latest developments in human sciences with advancements in technologies such as wearables, XR, computer vision, AI/ML. We are interested in understanding and then predicting nuances of human behaviour, perception, emotions, cultural contexts as they pertain to informing the design of anything from cities, through infrastructure, landscapes, buildings, products to movies.

We are currently seeking a talented Researcher to lead the creation of new, AI/ML-enhanced simulation tools for human experience and behaviour. We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds, ideally including at least one of the following fields: sociology, behavioural, cognitive or neuroscience, multi-agent simulation. Prior exposure to projects within the AECO industry would be beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Conduct applied research to investigate the potential of human experience simulation within the context of real design workflows
• Design, implement and validate innovative AI/ML algorithms and systems for Autodesk applications 
• Explore diverse data sources and novel data collection methods to support this
• Engage with industry partners and stakeholders to identify challenges and opportunities for human simulation and AI applications in various design workflows
• Communicate ideas, challenges, solutions, and results effectively within a multidisciplinary team of researchers, software engineers, user experience designers, and industry experts
• Publish research findings in top-tier conferences and journals to contribute to the scientific community

Minimum Qualifications

• PhD or Master's degree 
• Published papers in top-tier AI/HCI/simulation conferences 
• Strong technical skills in applying deep learning and generative AI techniques, including implementing custom architectures, pretraining/fine-tuning generative models, building agentic workflows, and deploying solutions with real-world constraints.
• Familiarity with PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX or similar frameworks

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in building AI agents (based on RL, LLMs, etc.)
• Experience in building multi-agent simulation
• Background in Large Language Models/NLP and Multi-modal deep learning
• Exposure to projects integrating human sciences (e.g. sociology, behavioural, cognitive, neuroscience)
• Familiarity with spatial analysis algorithms (e.g. space syntax)

Our dream candidate is someone who has some background in one of the industries we serve - with some preference for AEC, as that's my team's current focus - with experience in human simulation (e.g. multi-agent occupant simulation techniques), brain sciences (cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology, etc.) and recent AI techniques (LLMs, Reinforcement Learning, etc.). Yes, we do think that this might be a bit of a unicorn.

If you're hitting a number of the above points and the position sounds interesting to you, please do apply. We're accepting of the fact that this is going to be hard position to fill, so don't be put off by the above description: we understand that while it's rare to find a unicorn in the wild, we do know how to graft a horn onto a horse. 😉

Apologies for the lame analogy, but hopefully you've understood my point. Whether you're a unicorn or a horse, please consider applying.

We're also in the final stages of getting a brand new position - for Autodesk Research, at least - posted: we're hiring our first visiting scholar (this could be someone from academia or someone with a strong research background) to drive forward our efforts around human simulation and/or human experience data capture. I'll post more details about this position in due course - this is just a quick "heads-up", for now. We expect this to be a full-time, 6-month position, but - again - more on the expectations in due course.

One interesting vehicle for connecting with people who have an interest in this area is the upcoming Academy for Neuroscience in Architecture conference: ANFA 2025 is being held in La Jolla (San Diego, California) from September 18-20. Yes, that's right, the same week as Autodesk University 2025 in Nashville. My current plan is to present my session on the first day of AU, attend the second day and then, during the afternoon, fly out from Nashville to San Diego. All being well I can be there at the end of the day on the 17th, ready to start bright and early on the 18th.

Here's a number of images promoting the conference that I've seen shared by ANFA president (and Encoding Experience attendee), Margaret Tarampi:

If you're interested in either of the positions I've mentioned, please do apply today (or when the visiting scholar posting is live), and if you happen to be going to either AU or ANFA 2025 and would like to meet up to talk, please do let me know!