Research Engineer

Cohere; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Open and inclusive culture

Weekly lunch stipend

Full health and dental benefits

100% Parental Leave top-up

Personal enrichment benefits

Remote-flexible work policy

6 weeks of vacation

Job summary

A cutting-edge AI research organization in Toronto is seeking a Research Engineer to contribute to innovative AI systems. In this role, you will build experiments, debug models, and scale training pipelines alongside scientists and engineers. Ideal candidates have a strong background in machine learning or NLP, enjoy collaborative work, and understand deep learning frameworks. This position offers a dynamic research environment with extensive perks, including vacation time, health benefits, and opportunities for personal growth.

Qualifications

• Strong engineering background in machine learning, NLP, or related areas.
• Enjoy writing clean, reliable code.
• Comfortable with experiments and analyzing results.
• Experience with model optimization techniques.

Responsibilities

• Build experiments and debug models.
• Scale training pipelines and implement new methods.
• Run large-scale experiments to support research.

Skills

Machine learning

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Programming (Python)

Collaborative teamwork

Experimentation

Education

Master's degree or equivalent in relevant field

PhD preferred

Tools

PyTorch

Distributed training frameworks

Experiment management

Job description

Who are we?

Our mission is to scale intelligence to serve humanity. We’re training and deploying frontier models for developers and enterprises who are building AI systems to power magical experiences like content generation, semantic search, RAG, and agents. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI.

We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. We like to work hard and move fast to do what’s best for our customers.

Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are passionate about their craft. Each person is one of the best in the world at what they do. We believe that a diverse range of perspectives is a requirement for building great products.

Join us on our mission and shape the future!

Cohere Labs is the dedicated research arm of Cohere. Our mission is to push machine learning forward through open, collaborative research and hands‑on experimentation. We work on frontier problems in NLP and AI while creating space for researchers and engineers from different backgrounds to contribute, learn, and grow.

We care about building things that are both thoughtful and useful, from new methods and datasets to tools that make research more accessible. Our team values curiosity, ownership, and practical impact over hype.

Why join Cohere Labs?

Cohere Labs brings together researchers and engineers to explore ambitious ideas and turn them into real systems. We focus on advancing machine learning while expanding access to applied research training and global collaboration.

We pursue this mission in two ways:

• Creating open, collaborative research spaces where engineers and researchers work side‑by‑side on ambitious ML problems.
• Expanding access to applied research training, helping early‑career engineers grow into strong research contributors.

About the role

We’re looking for Research Engineers who enjoy getting their hands dirty: building experiments, debugging models, scaling training pipelines, and turning research ideas into working systems.

This is a highly practical role. You’ll work closely with scientists and other engineers to implement new methods, run large‑scale experiments, and help shape the infrastructure that supports our research programs.

You don’t need to have everything figured out yet. We care more about curiosity, strong fundamentals, and a willingness to learn quickly in a fast‑moving research environment.

You may be a fit if you:

• Have a strong engineering background in machine learning, NLP, or related areas (through a Master’s degree, industry experience, or equivalent hands‑on work).
• Enjoy writing clean, reliable code and building systems that others can use and extend.
• Are comfortable experimenting, running ablations, analyzing results, and iterating quickly.
• Have experience with deep learning frameworks and model optimization techniques (PyTorch, distributed training, RLHF, finetuning, evaluation frameworks).
• Like collaborating closely with researchers and translating ideas into practical implementations.
• Are excited to grow your research instincts while staying grounded in engineering excellence.

At Cohere Labs, research engineers are not just support roles. They are core contributors who help define how ideas become reality. If you want to work on meaningful problems, learn fast, and help build tools that shape the future of AI, we’d love to hear from you.

If some of the above doesn’t line up perfectly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply!

We value and celebrate diversity and strive to create an inclusive work environment for all. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please submit an Accommodations Request Form, and we will work together to meet your needs.

Full‑Time Employees at Cohere enjoy these Perks:

🤝 An open and inclusive culture and work environment

🧑💻 Work closely with a team on the cutting edge of AI research

🍽 Weekly lunch stipend, in‑office lunches & snacks

🦷 Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget to take care of your mental health

🐣 100% Parental Leave top‑up for up to 6 months

🎨 Personal enrichment benefits towards arts and culture, fitness and well‑being, quality time, and workspace improvement

🏙 Remote‑flexible, offices in Toronto, New York, San Francisco, London and Paris, as well as a co‑working stipend

✈️ 6 weeks of vacation (30 working days!)