AI Research Scientist - SLM and Voice

Zebra Technologies; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology solutions provider is seeking a Machine Learning Developer to design, develop, and deploy machine learning models with a focus on classification and retrieval tasks. The role requires strong Python programming skills and experience with data management and model deployment on remote servers. Benefits include a competitive commission structure, healthcare support, generous vacation days, and opportunities for personal development. This position offers a hybrid work model, allowing flexibility in work environment.

Benefits

Strong commission-led OTE

Comprehensive benefits package

Generous paid time off

Pension matching

Private healthcare

Learning & development opportunities

25 days of vacation

Up to 32 hours paid time off per year for volunteering

Employee referral bonus

Private medical and dental covers

Cycle to work scheme

Employee Assistance Program

Qualifications

• Strong background in machine learning, especially in classification and retrieval tasks.
• Experience developing and deploying machine learning models on remote servers.
• Proficiency in using version control systems like Git and GitHub.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy machine learning models for classification and retrieval tasks.
• Fine-tune and distill small language models (SLMs) using advanced techniques.
• Work on audio and voice manipulation tasks, including TTS and STT.
• Handle and manipulate large datasets for model development.
• Collaborate effectively in a team on shared codebases using Git.

Skills

Python programming

Pandas

NumPy

Machine learning

Collaboration in team environments

Git

GitHub

Data management

Tools

Weights & Biases

Hydra

Job description

Remote Work: Hybrid

Overview

At Zebra, we are a community of innovators who come together to create new ways of working. United by curiosity and a culture of caring, we develop smart solutions that anticipate our customer’s and partner’s needs and solve their challenges. Being a part of Zebra Nation means you are seen, heard, valued, and respected. Drawing from our unique perspectives, we collaborate to deliver on our purpose. Here you are a part of a team pushing boundaries today to redefine the work of tomorrow for organizations, their employees, and those they serve. You’ll have opportunities to learn and lead in a forward‑thinking environment, defining your path to a fulfilling career while channeling your skills toward causes you care about – locally and globally.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy machine learning models for classification and retrieval tasks.
• Fine‑tune and distill small language models (SLMs) for specific use cases, utilizing retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), foundation model APIs, and advanced prompt engineering.
• Work on audio and voice manipulation tasks, including text‑to‑speech (TTS) and speech‑to‑text (STT).
• Utilize tools such as Hydra for configuration management and Weights & Biases to track and manage experiments.
• Handle and manipulate large datasets to prepare them for machine learning model development and evaluation.
• Collaborate effectively in a team environment, working on shared codebases and remote projects using Git and GitHub for version control.
• Develop and deploy machine learning models on remote servers.

Qualifications

• Strong programming skills in Python with proficiency in Pandas and NumPy.
• Solid background in machine learning, especially in classification and retrieval tasks, and hands‑on experience with large language models, RAG, and prompt engineering.
• Proven ability to collaborate in a team environment, particularly when working on shared codebases and remote projects.
• Proficiency in using Git and GitHub for version control.
• Strong data management and manipulation skills.
• Experience developing and deploying machine learning models on remote servers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong understanding of NLP with experience in audio/voice manipulation tasks, specifically TTS and STT.
• Familiarity with Hugging Face Transformers and Datasets libraries.
• Proficiency in using Hydra for configuration management and Weights & Biases for experiment tracking.

Benefits

• Strong commission‑led OTE, comprehensive benefits package, generous paid time off and pension matching.
• Private healthcare and wellbeing support, learning & development opportunities.
• 25 days of vacation.
• Up to 32 hours paid time off per year to volunteer with a charity of your choice.
• Training and personal development in soft skills and hard skills, access to our internal learning portal and internal career opportunities within Zebra departments.
• Employee referral bonus for bringing new talent to Zebra.
• Pension scheme with a matched contribution up to 7%.
• Private medical and dental covers.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Employee Assistance Program.