Research Assistant (Building a Local AI Personalized assistant for Hand Drawn Animation Artist with ComfyUI)

Job description

School of Art, Design and Media (ADM) is a premier creative hub in Singapore, renowned for combining art, technology, and design. We are seeking a Research Assistant to work on an exciting project using ComfyUI to build a personalized, local AI assistant for a hand-drawn animation artist. You will support world-renowned animator Professor Raimund Krumme during his two-month residency at ADM (Mid Sept–Mid Nov 2026), helping to bring his strictly analogue, ink-and-brush process into a local, privacy-safe AI workflow — one that is genuinely simple for a non-technical artist to pick up and use. Key Responsibilities: Set up and optimize local, open-source AI models (Stable Diffusion/ComfyUI) on high-end workstation hardware, with no cloud dependency. Train local LoRAs and ControlNets on a curated archive of the artist's analogue sketches and scans. Package the ComfyUI workflow into a simple, easy-to-run form (e.g. presets, node groups, or a lightweight Gradio front-end) that the artist can operate independently. Provide on-the-ground technical support during Prof. Krumme's residency (14 Sept – 13 Nov 2026). Document the system architecture and user-testing feedback for the final research report. Job Requirements: Bachelor's degree in Animation, Film Studies, Media Studies or a related discipline. Hands-on experience with ComfyUI and local AI deployments (Automatic1111, Forge, etc.), including training LoRAs/ControlNets. Understanding of local hardware optimization (GPU/VRAM management). Comfortable putting together a simple working interface for a workflow (e.g. Gradio) — no formal UX/UI design background required. Able to translate an artist's creative intent into technical parameters, with patience for working with a non-technical collaborator. We regret to inform that only shortlisted candidates will be notified. Hiring Institution: NTU