Enhancing everyday communications
We're passionate about AI research that enhances the everyday experience for the millions of users interacting with our technology. We focus on implementing the latest architectures and algorithms and creating cutting-edge solutions in areas like speech recognition, text-to-speech, and speaker verification.
Turning raw data into real impact
We work at the intersection of ML Research and ML Engineering. To a great extent, it is hard to decouple these two disciplines. ML, at its heart, is an empirical discipline. The theoretical foundations of ML are sound in certain areas and evolving in other areas as we continue to push the envelope. The projects we work on involve natural language processing, computational linguistics, large language models (LLMs), networking, security, knowledge acquisition, insight generation, and related areas.
We firmly believe in the “farm-to-table” approach to ML: where possible, we curate our own data to train our own models, and productize them through our unique ML operations (MLOps) approach for better customer experience. As part of this process, we gather new insights which we publish at peer-reviewed conferences and disseminate as technical talks.
Meet the minds behind the breakthroughs
Joseph Black
Data Scientist I
With diverse experience in the ML industry and research, Joseph is passionate about building robust systems inspired by new technological discoveries. He holds an M.S./B.S. in Computer Science from University of Massachusetts Amherst and was a UMass Amherst Bay State Fellow.
Vijay K. Gurbani
Chief Data Scientist
Vijay has authored and co-authored over 75 papers, 5 books, 19 Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) RFCs, and been granted 9 patents by the US Patent Office, many of which are also international patents. In addition to his duties at Vail Systems, he is a Research Associate Professor of Computer Science at Illinos Tech. He holds a Ph.D., Computer Science from Illinois Institute of Technology, and M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Computer Science from Bradley University.
Jordan Hosier
Principal Data Scientist Manager
Jordan’s work leverages her background in Computational Psycholinguistics (MA, Northwestern University) to conduct research and develop models that enable Vail technology to better process and produce human language. She possesses a strong understanding of machine learning and artificial intelligence, especially as it is informed by linguistic analysis.
John Parkinson
Senior Director of Emerging Technologies
A published author of five books and a regular contributor to CIO Insight, CFO Online, and HBR Online, John has helped shape thought leadership at the intersection of AI, technology for 30+ years. Past roles span CTO positions at Capgemini and TransUnion, Head of Innovation and Strategy at Ernst & Young LLP, and global leadership at AXIS Capital Holdings. He is recognized among the Computerworld 100 Leaders in IT, holds 15 patents and is a life senior member of IEEE, with memberships in ACM and CSCMP. He holds a BS in Math and a MS in Information Sciences from Exeter University, UK.
Rick Pettit
Director, Machine Learning Ops
Rick has been with Vail Systems for over 20 years and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from University of Illinois, Chicago.
Dan Pluth
Principal Data Scientist
Dan's interests largely lie in spoken language understanding and have included work on speaker recognition, spoof detection and speech generation. He holds a PhD in Physics from Iowa State University, bringing a unique perspective and analytical toolkit to problem solving.
Steven Taylor
Business Intelligence Analyst I
Steven has a keen interest in engineering and robotics and holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Yu Zhou
Distinguished Data Scientist
Yu joined Vail Systems in 2019 with a diverse research background. He holds a PhD in Physics from Virginia Tech.
Join the fun
(no, seriously, we have a blast)
