Staff Machine Learning Scientist

Zendesk; York and North Yorkshire; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading software company is seeking a Staff Machine Learning Scientist to lead the product vision and innovation for AI agents. This role involves mentoring junior scientists and collaborating with cross-functional teams to define and implement cutting-edge machine learning solutions. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in machine learning research, deep learning architectures, and a strong track record in NLP. Hybrid work model offered.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in Machine Learning or NLP research.
• Experience with building NLP-focused deep learning architectures.
• Experience with LLMs and conversational AI is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Define the product roadmap in collaboration with product managers.
• Lead the research and development lifecycle from ideation to implementation.
• Mentor scientists and engineers, enabling them to handle complex challenges.

Skills

Machine Learning research

Collaboration

Deep Learning architectures

Generative AI

NLP

Education

Degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Engineering, Mathematics

Job description

Overview

The AI Agents org is revolutionizing the chatbot and voice assistance landscape with Gen3, a cutting-edge AI Agent system capable of reasoning, planning, and adapting to user needs in real time. Gen3 delivers personalized and engaging user experiences with a multi-agent architecture and advanced language models, handling complex tasks and off-script inquiries.

We are hiring a Staff Machine Learning Scientist for the AI Agent product at Zendesk. This senior leader will bridge cutting-edge ML research with real-world impact, define the product bridge, shape product vision through bottom-up innovation, rapid prototyping, and best practices. You will mentor junior scientists and collaborate with a cross-functional team to build the world’s most advanced AI agents in CX.

Responsibilities

• Pioneer Product Vision and Innovation: Partner with product managers and stakeholders to discover and define the product roadmap. Champion bottom-up innovation and bring forward novel ideas and research to influence strategic direction.

• Lead Rapid Prototyping: Own the full research and development lifecycle from ideation to implementation, translating business requirements into technical designs and quickly validating solutions through rapid experimentation.

• Standardize Research and Evaluation: Establish and evangelize research standards and evaluation practices to ensure consistency and rigor in measuring success of AI agents.

• Mentor and Enable the Team: Act as a force multiplier by mentoring scientists and engineers, enabling them to tackle complex challenges, and helping non-technical stakeholders understand the technical landscape.

• Drive End-to-End Projects: Own designated product areas and guide the team through ideation to implementation, experimentation, and reporting.

• Stay at the Forefront of Research: Keep up with the latest NLP and ML advancements and introduce new concepts and literature as potential solutions to business problems.

• Collaborate and Peer Review: Regularly discuss and peer-review research ideas, contributing to a culture of shared learning and continuous improvement.

Who You Are

• A Proven Innovator: Strong track record in Machine Learning or NLP research, ideally in a senior industry role; skilled at identifying and framing problems.

• Expert in Deep Learning: Deep knowledge of building NLP-focused deep learning architectures and translating research ideas into robust proof-of-concept models.

• Experienced with Generative AI: Significant experience with LLMs, prompt engineering, and AI agent context management. Experience with conversational AI and voice technologies (text-to-speech and speech-to-speech) is a bonus.

• A Collaborative Leader: Positive, proactive, team-oriented, with strong communication and a passion for helping others succeed.

• The Right Qualifications: Degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Engineering, Mathematics, or related field.

How We Measure Success

• Strategic Impact: Alignment with product roadmap and strategic goals.

• Mentorship and Team Growth: Demonstrated improvement in team capabilities and output.

• Bottom-Up Innovation: Identification and championing of ideas leading to product improvements.

• Research Standardization: Widely adopted evaluation frameworks that improve quality and rigor.

• Collaboration: Effective cross-functional collaboration with product managers, engineers, designers, and other stakeholders.

The Interview Process

We want to be transparent about what to expect:

1. Initial Call with Talent Team – 15 mins

2. Interview with one member of the Hiring Team – 45 minutes

3. Take-home technical/research challenge

4. Technical interview with two of our scientists – 1 hour

5. Final interview with two of the following: CTO or Engineering Manager/Director – 45 minutes

About Zendesk

Zendesk builds software for better customer relationships. It empowers organizations to improve customer engagement and better understand their customers. Zendesk products are easy to use and implement, enabling faster innovation and scalable growth.

More than 100,000 paid customer accounts in over 150 countries use Zendesk. Based in San Francisco, Zendesk has operations globally.

Interested in knowing what we do in the community? Check out the Zendesk Neighbor Foundation to learn how we engage with and support local communities.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer and fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion. Employment is considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

By submitting your application, you agree that Zendesk may collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Zendesk's Candidate Privacy Notice explains what personal information may be processed, processing purposes, and rights.

Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience combines onsite collaboration with remote work flexibility. Attendance at a local office part of the week is required; specifics determined by the hiring manager.

The intelligent heart of customer experience – Zendesk software powers billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk is an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer and supports reasonable accommodations during the application process. If you require accommodations, please email [e-mail].