Vail Research

Enhancing Everyday Communications

We're passionate about AI research that enhances the everyday experience for the millions of users interacting with our technology.

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Turning Raw Data into Real Impact

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.

Vail Research team posing together in a modern studio setting

Our Philosophy

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

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 Illinois Tech. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Illinois Institute of Technology, and M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Computer Science from Bradley University.

Research interests:Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing

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 and 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.

Research interests:Natural Language Processing, Speech Recognition, Text-to-Speech, Generative AI, Agentic Platforms

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.

Research interests:Natural Language Processing, Generative AI, Speech Processing, Computational Psycholinguistics

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.

Research interests:Spoken Language Understanding, Natural Language Processing

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.

Research interests:Machine Learning Operations, Container-based Virtualization, Text-to-Speech, Machine Learning, Speech Recognition

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.

Research interests:Text-to-Speech

Zachary Houghton

Data Scientist

Zachary earned his Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from the University of Oregon and earned both his Master of Arts in Psychology and PhD in Linguistics from the University of California, Davis. His expertise lies in how humans and machines learn and process language.

Research interests:Natural Language Processing, Speech Processing

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.

Research interests:Speech Recognition, Machine Learning Operations

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.

Research interests:Text-to-Speech

Join the Fun

Interested in applying research to real-world voice and AI challenges? Explore open roles on the Vail team.

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