Research Scientist, Video Foundation Models

As a Research Scientist focused on Video Foundation Models at Cantina Labs, you will work on foundational research and large-scale model development across the full model lifecycle. You'll shape the technical direction of next-generation native video and omni foundation models for multimodal generation and understanding, spanning pre-training, continued training, and post-training for high-quality, controllable, consistent, and efficient generation.

What you'll do

• Research, develop, and scale native video and multimodal foundation models, from early prototypes through large-scale pre-training, continued training, and post-training.
• Explore new model architectures, training objectives, and conditioning mechanisms for video generation, reference- and memory-based generation, multimodal interaction, and joint audio-video generation.
• Build and improve large-scale data curation, distributed training, evaluation, and post-training pipelines for high-quality and controllable generation.
• Design systematic experiments to understand model scaling, generation quality, controllability, consistency, robustness, and inference efficiency.
• Collaborate closely with researchers, engineers, and product teams to help shape the technical roadmap and translate model advances into real-world capabilities.
• Contribute to research publications and open-source releases when appropriate.

What you bring

• Strong research and engineering experience in generative modeling, including areas such as diffusion models, flow matching, DiTs, video generation, multimodal models, world models, or related fields.
• Hands-on experience training and evaluating large-scale image, video, or unified multimodal models using modern deep learning frameworks and distributed training systems.
• A strong track record of developing impactful models or systems, demonstrated through research publications, open-source contributions, production impact, or other significant technical work.
• Ability to independently own ambiguous research problems, move effectively from ideas to experiments, and work well in a highly collaborative environment.
• Specialized depth in one or more areas across the foundation model lifecycle, such as model architecture, data curation, controllable generation, multimodal understanding and conditioning, post-training and reward modeling, model acceleration, inference systems, or deployment.

What we offer

• Annual base salary of $200,000-$320,000
• Generous company equity
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with 99.99% of premiums covered by Cantina
• 42 days of paid time off, including 15 PTO days, 10 sick days, 15 company holidays, and 2 floating holidays
• Generous parental leave and fertility support
• 401(k) retirement savings plan
• Lifestyle spending account of $500 per month
• Complimentary lunch and snacks for in-office employees
• One Medical membership

About Cantina Labs

Cantina Labs is a social AI company developing advanced real-time models for generative video and multimodal experiences. The team builds and powers ecosystems where characters come to life, transforming how people tell stories, connect, and create.