Senior Applied AI Scientist Location: Barcelona

Preply; Barcelona; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Learning budget

L&D budget

Self-development time off

Equity

Job summary

Preply is seeking a Senior Applied AI Scientist for its AI Marketplace in Barcelona. The role sits in a hybrid setup within the Data department, focusing on building scalable AI-powered matchmaking and learning experiences for learners and tutors on a global scale.

You will drive state-of-the-art AI research and collaborate with product and engineering teams to translate research into production-ready solutions, while mentoring junior colleagues and advancing best practices across the team.

Qualifications

• PhD in IR, NLP, ML or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 4+ years of industry experience in deep learning NLP/IR.
• Proficiency in PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Hands-on experience with AWS or Google Cloud.

Responsibilities

• AI Research & Development: Apply state-of-the-art multimodal neural search & ranking to build scalable ML solutions for personalized learning.
• Applied Science Execution: Develop and deploy cutting-edge AI models in production.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner with scientists, engineers, and product teams.
• Mentorship & Knowledge Sharing: Guide junior scientists and engineers.
• ML Best Practices: Contribute to model architectures and deployment pipelines.

Skills

PhD required

DL NLP experience

PyTorch

Cloud platforms

Production deployment

Problem solving

Team collaboration

Education

PhD or equivalent

Tools

TensorFlow

Job description

Senior Applied AI Scientist (AI Marketplace)

Location

Barcelona

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

Hybrid

Department

Data

We power people’s progress.

At Preply, we’re all about creating life-changing learning experiences. We help people discover the magic of the perfect tutor, craft a personalised learning journey, and stay motivated to keep growing. Our approach is human-led, tech-enabled - and it’s creating real impact.

We’ve just reached unicorn status with a $150M Series D, accelerating our vision to transform education through human-led, AI-enhanced learning. Today, 100,000+ tutors teach 90+ languages to learners in 180 countries - and we’re only getting started. As a category-defining company, we’re shaping what the future of learning looks like at global scale.

Every Preply lesson sparks change, fuels ambition, and drives progress that matters. Joining Preply means helping define the future of education at global scale, and building something that truly matters for millions of people, every day.

Meet the team!

At Preply, AI isn't a feature — it's foundational. It powers how we connect millions of learners and tutors, personalise every interaction, and build a marketplace where meaningful learning thrives at global scale.

The Applied AI team sits at the centre of this ecosystem. We design and deploy intelligent systems that drive real-time tutor–learner matchmaking across millions of sessions worldwide. Over time, we've evolved from traditional machine learning approaches into a modern AI-native marketplace — leveraging deep learning, advanced ranking and re-ranking architectures, and proprietary multimodal data including audio, video, and transcripts to deliver smarter recommendations and measurable learning outcomes.

Our scope extends far beyond recommendations. We build and operate the intelligence layer that ensures the marketplace is not only high-performing, but also safe and trustworthy. From neural ranking models in PyTorch to large-scale experimentation infrastructure and full-spectrum Trust & Safety systems, including fraud prevention, abuse detection, and marketplace integrity, we tackle some of the most complex and high-impact challenges in the business.

As part of Applied AI, you'll partner closely with product, engineering, and data leadership to bring cutting‑edge research into production at scale. This is where state‑of‑the‑art modelling meets real‑world constraints, and where every incremental model improvement translates into better matches, stronger trust, and real progress for learners and tutors around the world.

What you’ll be doing:

AI Research & Development: Apply state‑of‑the‑art, multimodal neural search & Ranking models to build and optimize scalable machine learning solutions for personalized learning and AI tutors.

Applied Science Execution: Work on cutting‑edge AI models, contributing to research, prototyping, and deployment in production environments.

Cross‑functional Collaboration: Partner with scientists, engineers, and product teams to deliver AI‑driven solutions that improve learning experiences and business outcomes.

Mentorship & Knowledge Sharing: Support and mentor junior scientists and engineers, fostering an environment of learning and innovation.

Best Practices in ML: Contribute to machine learning best practices, including model architecture, research methodologies, and deployment pipelines.

What you need to succeed:

PhD in Information Retrieval (IR), NLP, Machine Learning, or a related field (or equivalent experience)

4+ years of industry experience, focusing on deep learning‑based NLP and IR applications.

Strong proficiency in deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.

Hands‑on experience with cloud platforms (\"e.g., AWS, Google Cloud\").

Ability to drive AI initiatives from research to production in a collaborative environment.

Strong problem‑solving skills and a track record of building impactful AI solutions.

Passion for advancing AI‑driven personalized learning experiences.

Eagerness to work in a fast‑paced, cross‑functional setting to bring AI research into real‑world applications.

Why you’ll love it at Preply:

An open, collaborative, dynamic and diverse culture;

A generous monthly allowance for lessons on Preply.com , Learning & Development budget and time off for your self-development;

A competitive financial package with equity, leave allowance and health insurance;

Access to free mental health support platforms;

The opportunity to shape the lives of learners and tutors through language learning and teaching in 175 countries (and counting!).

Care to change the world - We are passionate about our work and care deeply about its impact to be life changing.

We do it for learners - For both Preply and tutors, learners are why we do what we do. Every day we focus on empowering tutors to deliver an exceptional learning experience.

Keep perfecting - To create an outstanding customer experience, we focus on simplicity, smoothness, and enjoyment, continually perfecting it as every detail matters.

Now is the time - In a fast‑paced world, it matters how quickly we act. Now is the time to make great things happen.

Disciplined execution - What makes us disciplined is the excellence in our execution. We set clear goals, focus on what matters, and utilize our resources efficiently.

Dive deep - We leverage business acumen and curiosity to investigate disparities between numbers and stories, unlocking meaningful insights to guide our decisions.

Growth mindset - We proactively seek growth opportunities and believe today's best performance becomes tomorrow's starting point. We humbly embrace feedback and learn from setbacks.

Raise the bar - We raise our performance standards continuously, alongside each new hire and promotion. We build diverse and high-performing teams that can make a real difference.

Challenge, disagree and commit - We value open and candid communication, even when we don’t fully agree. We speak our minds, challenge when necessary, and fully commit to decisions once made.

One Preply - We prioritize collaboration, inclusion, and the success of our team over personal ambitions. Together, we support and celebrate each other's progress.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Preply.com is committed to creating an inclusive environment where people of diverse backgrounds can thrive. We believe that the presence of different opinions and viewpoints is a key ingredient for our success as a multicultural Ed-Tech company. That means that Preply will consider all applications for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or veteran status.