Research Engineer

About this role

Higharc, a VC-backed startup transforming residential construction with AI, is seeking a Research Engineer to develop foundational spatial AI research combining reinforcement learning, computer vision, LLMs, and 3D geometry. You'll design novel approaches to construction-specific problems, build domain-specialized LLM pipelines, and deliver research-to-production capabilities for the platform.

What you'll do

• Conduct original research in spatial reasoning and architectural structure understanding for residential construction
• Design LLM training pipelines and domain-specific datasets from architectural drawings, building codes, and construction documentation
• Apply computer vision to extract semantic structure from architectural inputs and develop multimodal training approaches
• Develop reinforcement learning methods for generative design and RAG systems grounded in construction knowledge bases
• Build construction-domain benchmarks, ground-truth datasets, and evaluation pipelines for real homebuilding tasks
• Deliver production-ready research outputs including model artifacts, serving pipelines, and API contracts

What they're looking for

• LLM development, fine-tuning, and applied ML systems in production (2+ years)
• Model training frameworks (HuggingFace Transformers, PyTorch)
• RAG architectures and vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, pgvector)
• 3D modeling, computational geometry, or computer graphics
• Python proficiency across ML ecosystem
• React/TypeScript for integration work
• Reinforcement learning and computer vision techniques
• Familiarity with BIM tools and data formats (preferred)

Benefits

• Remote-first work with flexible hours
• Competitive salary with significant equity
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible PTO and meaningful maternity/paternity leave
• Access to big-company benefits including short and long-term disability