Data Scientist, Multimodal AI, AI Practice

AI Practice is the AI R&D and capability development arm of GovTech's Government Technology Office (GTO). As a Data Scientist (Multimodal AI) on the Multimodal AI Squad, your work will span two broad areas:

Frontier exploration and evaluation. Systematically scanning, experimenting with, and interpreting the latest AI developments across vision, video, audio, and document modalities. This includes producing fast-response technical explorations when meaningful new capabilities emerge, as well as deeper assessments of maturing areas. The emphasis is on getting your hands dirty. This is empirical work, not editorial.

Agency engagement and transformation. Translating frontier AI capabilities into real outcomes for government agencies. The squad builds AI capabilities through rapid experimentation and works with agencies to identify and test promising capabilities against their own data and use cases, with viable solutions graduating onward for productisation. You will support the journey from discovery through experimentation and prototyping.

Day to day, you can expect to:

• Experiment with state-of-the-art multimodal models (VLMs, MLLMs, diffusion models, speech and audio models) and evaluate their applicability to government use cases and strategy

• Design, build, and run evaluations and benchmarks for AI models on real-world Singapore government tasks

• Build functional prototypes and proof-of-concept solutions for agency engagements spanning smart city video analytics, document intelligence, generative media, and content authentication

• Stay current with the latest developments in applied AI and assess what translates from research settings to practical government applications

• Support the development of our multimodal AI showcase and prototyping platforms

• Produce technical write-ups and contribute to knowledge artifacts such as handbooks, reports, and evaluation findings

[What we are looking for]

We are looking for a data scientist who sits at the intersection of exploration and applied AI. Someone who can pick up a new model or technique, understand how it works, and turn it into something users can actually try.

Technical Foundation

• Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, AI/ML, Engineering, or a related field

• Proficiency in Python and familiarity with deep learning frameworks (PyTorch preferred)

• Solid understanding of machine learning fundamentals, including model training, evaluation methodology, and experiment design

• Foundational knowledge of computer vision concepts and/or experience working with image, video, or audio data

• Interest in or exposure to multimodal AI systems, vision-language models, or generative AI

• Comfortable reading technical documentation and staying current with new developments in applied AI

AI-Augmented Proficiency

• Comfortable using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, OpenAI Codex) to accelerate your work

• Able to critically evaluate AI-generated outputs rather than accepting them blindly

• Treats AI as a collaborator, using it to learn new libraries, debug, and move faster

Mindset

• Curious and outcome-oriented. You enjoy going deep on a problem but ultimately care about whether it works in practice

• Intellectually driven. You try new models and stay current because you genuinely enjoy it

• Comfortable with ambiguity. Government AI work means scoping problems that aren't always well-defined

• Strong communicator. You can explain what you built and why it matters to both technical peers and non-technical agency stakeholder

Learn more about life inside GovTech at go.gov.sg/GovTechCareers.

Stay connected with us on social media at go.gov.sg/ConnectWithGovTech

Please note the following:

1. By submitting my application, I hereby give my consent to GovTech and relevant Government agencies to:

a. Obtain and verify information from or with any source (including third parties) as may be deemed appropriate by GovTech and relevant Government agencies for the purposes of assessing my application for employment.

b. Share my personal data set out in this application form and any other personal data subsequently provided by me in connection with my application for employment with other Government agencies for the purposes of recruitment and review of recruitment practices, and for such personal data to be also used as part of de-identified and aggregated data for reporting purposes.

2. I declare that all the information given by me in this application for employment and any additional documents attached hereto are true to the best of my knowledge and that I have not wilfully suppressed any material fact. I accept that if any of the information given by me in this application is in any way false or incorrect, my application may be rejected, any offer of employment may be withdrawn or my employment with the Service may be terminated summarily or I may be dismissed from the Service.