AI Architect - Foundation Models

(Full-time, onsite in El Segundo, CA — U.S. persons required due to the nature of our work) About Cambium:

Cambium is an advanced materials startup building next generation polymer and composite systems for aerospace, defense, and critical industries. We combine physics-based modeling, experimentation, and cutting-edge AI—including multimodal foundation models—to accelerate materials discovery and deployment.

We are looking for a senior AI Architect to own the technical direction, architecture, and hands‑on development of Cambium’s multimodal polymer/materials foundation models, including their augmentation with frontier LLMs and general science AI models developed by collaborators.

This role is responsible for building up Cambium’s foundational AI capabilities used in advanced material design, rapid product development, and manufacturing. You will push the envelope on generative AI models that integrate chemistry, physics, structure, and process data, and scientific knowledge – while honing them in real-world R&D and manufacturing environments.

This role is ideal for someone who wants to build full stack AI—from deep model design to experimental data ingestion pipelines to live deployment—without bureaucracy or silos.

• Own Cambium’s foundation model architecture and long‑term technical direction.
• Design multimodal models combining molecular, physical, experimental, and knowledge data.
• Define and implement workflows for continuous training, development, and benchmarking.
• Lead scaling strategy for distributed training and cloud compute (GCP and/or Azure).
• Collaborate closely with the AI team, materials scientists, product engineers, and operations.

• PHD or equivalent experience.
• Deep experience (7+ years) designing and training large‑scale neural network models (multimodal, scientific, or foundation models).
• 10+ years in industry in a software, data science, or related role.
• Expert in model training, distributed training, ML systems, and model infrastructure.
• Ability to translate ambiguous scientific and operational problems into model‑driven solutions.
  
  Experience working across data, engineering, scientific, and/or business operational team.

• Experience in large‑scale chemical synthesis laboratories.
• CIH, CSP, CHMM, or similar certification.
• Experience implementing EHS management systems (ISO 14001 / ISO 45001).

Cambium offers a highly competitive compensation and benefits plan, including excellent medical, dental, and vision benefits, and a matching 401(k) plan, professional development reimbursement, and an opportunity for equity for most full‑time positions.

As a condition of employment, the candidate may need to successfully complete a medical evaluation and obtain clearance to wear respiratory personal protective equipment (PPE) as required by OSHA 29 CFR .