I got my start doing research exactly like this. At the time I was looking to apply to grad schools, but had been working in industry for years without any formal ml training. I found a professor who posted about needing collaborators their first year and so I applied.

Turns out the letter of recommendation I received from him was pivotal to my acceptance by my current advisor, since it demonstrated recent research experience, despite having great industry letters of recommendation talking about my abilities as a lead engineer.

I'm sure anyone you collaborate with will be very appreciative of your efforts.