Lead AI Engineer - NLP & Conversational AI

Placements24; Queenstown; Hybrid; NZD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully remote

Flexible hours

Dev budget

Health insurance

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Lead AI Engineer specializing in NLP and Conversational AI to drive development of intelligent language systems. You will lead a team of engineers, design, build, and deploy NLP models, chatbots, and virtual assistants in a fully remote setup.

The role requires a strong academic background, proven leadership, and hands-on expertise with transformers, Python, and cloud-based MLOps. You will collaborate with product teams to shape roadmaps and ensure scalable,

Qualifications

• Advanced NLP and conversational AI development experience.
• Proven leadership of AI/NLP projects and teams.
• Strong knowledge of ML/DL techniques and deployment.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and deployment of NLP models and conversational AI.
• Mentor AI/NLP engineers and foster a high-performance remote team.
• Oversee NLP project lifecycles from ideation to deployment.
• Collaborate with product managers to define roadmaps and features.
• Advance MLOps practices and scalable software engineering.

Skills

NLP/Conversational AI

Leadership

Python

Cloud platforms

MLOps

Transformers

Team mentoring

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/AI

Tools

spaCy

NLTK

Hugging Face

Git

Docker

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a prominent innovator in AI & Emerging Technologies, is seeking an experienced Lead AI Engineer specializing in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Conversational AI. This role is pivotal in driving the development of intelligent systems that understand and interact with humans through natural language. You will lead a team of talented engineers in designing, building, and deploying sophisticated NLP models, chatbots, and virtual assistants. The position requires a strong technical background, leadership capabilities, and a passion for creating cutting-edge AI solutions. This is a fully remote opportunity, allowing you to contribute to groundbreaking projects from anywhere. Our client is committed to fostering a collaborative and innovative environment where you can make a significant impact on the future of human-computer interaction. Working remotely, you will have the flexibility to balance your professional and personal life while engaging in challenging and rewarding AI development. We are looking for a visionary leader who can inspire and guide a team towards achieving ambitious goals in the field of conversational AI.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of NLP models and conversational AI systems.
• Manage and mentor a team of AI and NLP engineers, fostering a high-performance culture.
• Oversee the entire lifecycle of NLP projects, from ideation and prototyping to deployment and maintenance.
• Develop advanced techniques for text understanding, sentiment analysis, intent recognition, and dialogue management.
• Collaborate with product managers and designers to define product roadmaps and features.
• Ensure the scalability, reliability, and performance of deployed AI systems.
• Stay at the forefront of NLP research and identify opportunities to apply new techniques.
• Drive best practices in software engineering, MLOps, and team collaboration for remote environments.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, or a related field.
• Extensive experience in NLP and conversational AI development, with a proven track record of leading successful projects.
• Deep understanding of machine learning, deep learning, and NLP techniques (e.g., transformers, LSTMs, attention mechanisms).
• Proficiency in Python and relevant NLP libraries (e.g., spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face Transformers).
• Experience with conversational AI platforms and tools.
• Strong experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and MLOps practices.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Proven ability to manage and mentor engineering teams in a remote setting.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.
• Fully remote work arrangement with flexible hours.
• Opportunity to lead impactful projects in NLP and Conversational AI.
• Generous professional development budget for conferences and training.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Collaborative and innovative remote team environment.
• Direct contribution to shaping the future of human-AI interaction.