Research Data Scientist

Innodata; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 160,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

Innodata seeks a Research Data Scientist – GenAI/LLM to lead AI/ML research efforts, focusing on Generative AI, NLP, and multimodal systems. You will design experiments, develop evaluation criteria, and build prototypes using Python and modern ML frameworks.

The role requires strong statistics, data analysis, and collaboration with researchers, data scientists, and client-facing teams to translate research into scalable AI solutions.

Qualifications

• Hands-on research experience in AI/ML, NLP, GenAI, or related areas.
• Strong publication, patent, conference, or project track record.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL with practical ML tooling.

Responsibilities

• Conduct independent and collaborative GenAI/LLM research.
• Design experiments and evaluation methodologies for AI/ML models.
• Develop prototypes and research pipelines using Python and ML frameworks.
• Benchmark, evaluate, and improve model performance across reliability, bias, and hallucination dimensions.
• Collaborate with researchers, engineers, and client teams to translate findings into solutions.

Skills

Python

SQL

NumPy

Pandas

Scikit-learn

PyTorch

TensorFlow

NLP

LLMs

GenAI

Model eval

Experiment design

Education

Master’s/PhD in CS/AI/ML/DS/Stats

Bachelor’s/Master’s from IITs/NITs preferred

Tools

Git

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

Innodata(Nasdaq: INOD) is a global data engineering company. We believe that data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are inextricably linked.Our mission is to enable the responsible advancement of artificial intelligence by providing the data, evaluation frameworks, and human expertise required to build AI systems that can be trusted at scale.We provide a range of transferable solutions, platforms, and services for Generative AI / AI builders and adopters. In every relationship, we honor our 36+ year legacy delivering the highest quality data and outstanding outcomes for our customers.

Scope of the Role:

We are looking for a highly skilled Research Data Scientist – GenAI/LLM to join our AI/LLM Delivery Unit and work on research-driven AI/ML initiatives involving Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), NLP, multimodal AI, model evaluation, and AI data.

The role combines strong research and analytical capabilities with hands-on AI/ML expertise, requiring the candidate to design experiments, develop evaluation methodologies, analyze complex datasets, build research prototypes, and translate research findings into practical AI/ML solutions.

The ideal candidate will have a strong research orientation, excellent statistical and analytical skills, and the ability to work collaboratively with researchers, data scientists, AI/ML engineers, domain experts, and client-facing teams.

What You’ll Own:

AI/ML & Generative AI Research:

• Conduct independent and collaborative research in Generative AI, LLMs, NLP, multimodal AI, machine learning, model evaluation, and AI data.
• Formulate research questions and translate complex AI/ML problems into structured research methodologies and experiments.
• Design, execute, and analyze experiments to evaluate and improve AI/ML models and solutions.
• Build analytical models, prototypes, and research pipelines using Python and relevant ML frameworks.
• Stay current with emerging research, methodologies, papers, and developments in GenAI, LLMs, NLP, multimodal models, and AI evaluation.
• Develop and implement LLM evaluation frameworks, benchmarks, datasets, and evaluation criteria.
• Evaluate models for accuracy, robustness, bias, hallucination, reasoning, relevance, response quality, and other performance dimensions.
• Conduct model benchmarking, error analysis, comparative analysis, and performance evaluation.
• Work on areas such as RAG, SFT, RLHF/DPO, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, embeddings, and LLM optimization, as applicable.
• Identify model and data gaps and recommend improvements to enhance model performance and reliability.

Data Science & Statistical Research:

• Collect, clean, analyze, and interpret large and complex structured and unstructured datasets.
• Perform EDA, statistical analysis, hypothesis testing, significance testing, correlation analysis, sampling, and error analysis.
• Develop data-driven insights and identify patterns, trends, and relationships relevant to AI/ML research.
• Apply appropriate statistical and quantitative methodologies to validate research findings

AI Data & Dataset Development:

• Develop and evaluate datasets, sampling methodologies, taxonomies, annotation frameworks, data quality frameworks, and evaluation criteria for AI/ML models.
• Analyze data quality and identify issues affecting model performance.
• Collaborate with annotation, data engineering, and AI/ML teams to improve AI training and evaluation data.
• Translate data and research findings into actionable recommendations for improving AI system
• Contribute to research papers, technical reports, whitepapers, patents, benchmarks, internal publications, and other research outputs, where applicable.
• Identify opportunities to apply emerging research and technologies to real-world AI and data challenges.
• Explore new methodologies, models, datasets, and evaluation approaches to improve AI capabilities.
• Contribute to capability building and innovation within the AI/LLM practice

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement:

• Work closely with researchers, data scientists, AI/ML engineers, data/annotation teams, domain experts, and delivery teams.
• Present research findings, analytical insights, and technical recommendations to senior technical stakeholders.
• Translate complex research and technical concepts into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Where required, participate in client-facing technical discussions and presentations and help translate business requirements into AI/ML solutions.

You’ll Thrive in This Role If You Have:

• Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Computational Science, or a related discipline.
• Bachelor’s/Master’s degree from IITs, NITs, or other premier engineering/research institutions is strongly preferred.
• 4–7 years of hands‑on research experience in AI/ML, Data Science, NLP, Generative AI, LLMs, or related areas.
• Strong demonstrated research experience with the ability to independently formulate research questions, design experiments, analyze results, and communicate findings.
• Demonstrated research track record through research publications, patents, conference presentations, open-source contributions, or significant AI/ML research projects.
• Candidates with publications in reputed conferences/journals and a strong academic/research profile will be preferred
• Strong proficiency in Python and SQL.
• Strong hands‑on experience with NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, and preferably PyTorch/TensorFlow.
• Strong understanding of:
  • Machine learning algorithms
  • Statistics and experimentation
  • Data analysis and feature engineering
  • Model evaluation and performance metrics
  • Hypothesis testing and statistical inference
• Hands‑on exposure to LLMs, NLP, Generative AI, and multimodal AI.
• Experience with one or more of RAG, LLM evaluation, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, SFT, RLHF/DPO, embeddings, or model benchmarking.
• Experience working with large‑scale structured and unstructured datasets.
• Familiarity with Git and cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP is desirable.

The expected salary range for this position is $160,000 - $185,000 p/year, based on experience, skills, and qualifications.

As set forth in Innodata Inc.’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.