Description
AI Filmmaking Research Engineer
Katapult Labs - Remote (LATAM)
The Role:
We're working on one of the most ambitious creative technology questions of our time: can a world-class film director create a fully immersive, live-action feature film — almost entirely with AI? Not as animation. Not as a gimmick. As cinema.
You'll work directly with our Creative Director and Katapult's leadership team to research, prototype, and push the frontier of AI-native filmmaking — while also collaborating on the broader challenge of building and running an AI-first organization. This means evaluating frontier tools, automating workflows, and operating at the cutting edge of what's technically possible.
This role sits at an almost impossible intersection: systems builder, AI researcher, and someone who genuinely understands the craft of cinema. We're looking for the rare person who is all three.
What You'll Do:
- Research and prototype across the full AI filmmaking stack — video synthesis, image generation, voice cloning, motion control, LoRA fine-tuning, ComfyUI workflows
- Test the limits of tools like Runway Gen-4, Sora, Kling, Veo 3, and Luma Ray3 — document what works and what's still unsolved
- Translate the Creative Director's vision into technical experiments, from shot-level briefs to full pipeline design
- Build workarounds for gaps in the tooling — or identify when something upstream needs to change
- Partner with Katapult's leadership on AI strategy, platform automation, and frontier tool evaluation
- Stay ahead of the research — not just flagship releases, but the GitHub repos and Discord communities that are months ahead of the public narrative
Who You Are:
- You've built generative AI pipelines — not just used tools — and understand the stack at a technical level (ComfyUI, ControlNet, IP-Adapter, LoRA, or equivalent)
- You have a genuine understanding of cinematic craft: framing, lighting, pacing, visual language
- Strong Python skills and comfort with APIs, model inference, and video processing workflows
- Self-directed and research-oriented — you define your own questions and operate well in ambiguity
- Based in Latin America
Nice to Have:
- Background in VFX, motion graphics, or post-production
- Experience fine-tuning models (LoRA, DreamBooth, or similar)
- Familiarity with 3D tools like Blender or Unreal Engine
- Active presence in AI art/filmmaking communities
What We Offer:
- Competitive base salary plus performance bonuses - 100% remote (LATAM)
- Direct access to frontier AI tools, APIs, and compute budgets for R&D
- Work alongside a filmmaker with serious creative ambitions and Katapult's leadership team
- 15 days PTO, country-specific holidays, and personal days
- This is serious R&D work at the intersection of cinema and frontier AI — the kind that has no playbook yet. If you've been building at this intersection because you couldn't stop yourself, we want to talk._