Lead Research Engineer

Thomson Reuters; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 140,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

A global technology firm is seeking a Lead Research Engineer in Toronto. The successful candidate will lead AI/ML projects, design large-scale data solutions, and drive technical innovation. With over 7 years in software engineering, expertise in Python, and deep learning, you will play a pivotal role in shaping advanced capabilities within the organization. Join a diverse and collaborative team, enjoy a hybrid work model, and benefit from industry-competitive programs, including wellness support and career development.

Benefits

Career Development and Growth

Flexible Work Arrangements

Comprehensive Benefit Plans

Mental Health Days Off

Opportunities for Community Impact

Qualifications

• At least 7 years of software engineering experience.
• Experience with large-scale data processing pipelines.
• Experience in building deep learning or LLM-related products.

Responsibilities

• Lead AI/ML projects from concept to deployment.
• Evaluate and advise on emerging technologies.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams.

Skills

Python software development

Cloud computing (AWS preferred)

Agile Methodologies

Deep Learning

CI/CD, DevOps

Technical leadership

Collaboration and communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Related Field

Tools

Deep Learning frameworks

Graph database technologies

Job description

This posting is for proactive recruitment purposes and may be used to fill current openings or future vacancies within our organization.

Do you love creating innovative solutions for customers?

We are seeking a passionate Lead Research Engineer who will bring expertise in AI and Deep Learning and is interested in building data-driven capabilities that drive transformation. As a member of Thomson Reuters Labs you will have a direct impact on our company by helping to create new and innovative capabilities that will delight our customers.

What does Thomson Reuters Labs do? We experiment, we build, we deliver. We support the organization and our customers through applied research and the development of new products and technologies. TR Labs innovates collaboratively across our core segments in Legal, Tax & Accounting, Government, and Reuters News.

As a Lead Research Engineer at Thomson Reuters Labs, you will be part of a global interdisciplinary team of experts. We hire engineers and specialists across a variety of AI research areas to build the foundational intelligence layer that powers every major capability across our legal AI platform—from search and information extraction to agentic reasoning in products like Westlaw, PracticalLaw, and CoCounsel. The science and engineering of AI are rapidly evolving. We are looking for an adaptable learner who can think in code and likes to learn and develop new skills as they are needed; someone comfortable with jumping into new problem spaces; who enjoys directing and supporting the efforts of others.

Is this you? Come join us!

About the Role

Lead and Deliver Large-Scale AI/ML Solutions: Lead significant AI/ML projects from concept to deployment, designing and developing end-to-end solutions including large-scale data processing pipelines, distributed search/retrieval systems, and LLM-powered applications. Deliver high-quality software features that meet release commitments using modern development practices and agile methodologies.

Drive Technical Innovation and Excellence: Demonstrate creativity and ingenuity in solving complex problems with little precedent. Evaluate and advise on emerging technologies to drive business growth. Contribute innovative ideas, propose new approaches, and establish team standards and best practices for scalable system development in large online delivery environments.

Provide Strategic Direction and Ownership: Take operational responsibility by setting and meeting measurable goals for the team. Determine work priorities based on general direction from senior leadership. Break down business requirements into functional specifications and be accountable for end-to-end deliveries.

Influence and Mentor Across Teams: Influence and collaborate effectively with cross-functional and remote teams through dynamic communication. Mentor less experienced colleagues and share knowledge as a thought leader in company-wide forums. Value diverse ideas and partner effectively in a team-oriented environment.

Execute with Quality and Agility: Write high-quality code for complex software programs and build high-performing, scalable systems. Actively lead agile ceremonies and SDLC processes with a strong sense of urgency. Deliver timely solutions in a fast-paced, dynamic environment while maintaining exceptional quality standards.

About You

You are a fit for the position of Lead Research Engineer if your background includes:

Required Skills and Experience

• A bachelor’s degree in computer science, Related Field, or Equivalent Experience
• At least 7 years of software engineering experience.
• At least 2 years of building large scale data processing pipelines, distributed search and retrieval systems.
• At least 2 years of working on Deep Learning or LLM related products or solutions.
• Demonstrate ability to provide technical leadership and influence without formal authority
• Have a deep understanding of Python software development stacks and ecosystems.
• Demonstrate ability to write clean, reusable, maintainable and well-tested code
• Demonstrate a desire to learn and embrace new and emerging technology
• Ability to collaborate, communicate effectively, and work as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Keen interest in real-world applications and impact.
• Strong experience with cloud computing development (AWS preferred).
• Have experience with Agile Methodologies.
• Have experience implementing CI/CD, DevOps, and SDLC concepts in the development of an application.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Have experience integrating Deep Learning and LLM solutions into production-grade software and have an understanding of ModelOps and MLOps principles
• Had previous exposure to Natural Language Processing (NLP) problems and have familiarity with key tasks such as Named Entity Recognition (NER), Information Extraction, Information Retrieval, etc.
• Can understand and translate between language and methodologies used both in research and engineering fields
• Hands‑on experience in other programming language/scripting language and development stack (Java, Rust, Scala, Typescript, etc.)
• Expertise with modern deep learning frameworks for distributed training (Transformers, Accelerate, DeepSpeed, FSDP, PyTorch DDP, TorchTune, LLamaFactory), optimizing large-scale model training on multi‑GPU/multi‑node clusters.
• Experience identifying and resolving bottlenecks in training and inference pipelines, familiarity with GPU memory management, OOM debugging and compute‑communication overlap
• Experience optimizing LLM inference for throughput and latency, hands‑on with inference frameworks (vLLM, TensorRT, TensorRT‑LLM, DeepSpeed Inference) and knowledge of quantization techniques (INT8, GPTQ, bitsandbytes)
• Experience with graph database technologies like Neo4j, Amazon Neptune

What’s in it for You

• Hybrid Work Model: We’ve adopted a flexible hybrid working environment (2–3 days a week in the office depending on the role) for our office‑based roles while delivering a seamless experience that is digitally and physically connected.
• Flexibility & Work‑Life Balance: Flex My Way is a set of supportive workplace policies designed to help manage personal and professional responsibilities, whether caring for family, giving back to the community, or finding time to refresh and reset. This builds upon our flexible work arrangements, including work from anywhere for up to 8 weeks per year, empowering employees to achieve a better work‑life balance.
• Career Development and Growth: By fostering a culture of continuous learning and skill development, we prepare our talent to tackle tomorrow’s challenges and deliver real‑world solutions. Our Grow My Way programming and skills‑first approach ensures you have the tools and knowledge to grow, lead, and thrive in an AI‑enabled future.
• Industry Competitive Benefits: We offer comprehensive benefit plans to include flexible vacation, two company‑wide Mental Health Days off, access to the Headspace app, retirement savings, tuition reimbursement, employee incentive programs, and resources for mental, physical, and financial wellbeing.
• Culture: Globally recognized, award‑winning reputation for inclusion and belonging, flexibility, work‑life balance, and more. We live by our values: Obsess over our Customers, Compete to Win, Challenge (Y)our Thinking, Act Fast / Learn Fast, and Stronger Together.
• Social Impact: Make an impact in your community with our Social Impact Institute. We offer employees two paid volunteer days off annually and opportunities to get involved with pro‑bono consulting projects and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives.
• Making a Real-World Impact: We are one of the few companies globally that helps its customers pursue justice, truth, and transparency. Together, with the professionals and institutions we serve, we help uphold the rule of law, turn the wheels of commerce, catch bad actors, report the facts, and provide trusted, unbiased information to people all over the world.

Our use of AI within the recruitment process Thomson Reuters utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our global recruitment process. Unless you opt‑out, our AI system will assess the information provided by you and compare it to the requirements listed for the role, and present the result to our recruitment personnel for further review. The AI system acts as a supporting tool, but there is always a human making the decision if you will be considered for the role.

Thomson Reuters complies with local laws that require upfront disclosure of the expected pay range for a position. The base compensation range varies across locations. For Ontario, Canada, the base compensation range for this role is $140,000 CAD – $175,000 CAD. Base pay is positioned within the range based on several factors including an individual’s knowledge, skills and experience with consideration given to internal equity. Base pay is one part of a comprehensive Total Reward program which also includes flexible and supportive benefits and other wellbeing programs. This role may also be eligible for an Annual Bonus based on a combination of enterprise and individual performance.

About Us

Thomson Reuters informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. We serve professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Our products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth, and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is a world leading provider of trusted journalism and news.

We are powered by the talents of 26,000 employees across more than 70 countries, where everyone has a chance to contribute and grow professionally in flexible work environments. At a time when objectivity, accuracy, fairness, and transparency are under attack, we consider it our duty to pursue them. Sound exciting? Join us and help shape the industries that move society forward.

As a global business, we rely on the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of all employees to deliver on our business goals. To ensure we can do that, we seek talented, qualified employees in all our operations around the world regardless of race, color, sex/gender, including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, citizen status, veteran status, or any other protected classification under applicable law. Thomson Reuters is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer providing a drug‑free workplace.

We also make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law. More information on requesting an accommodation here.

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More information about Thomson Reuters can be found on thomsonreuters.com.