Senior Data Science Engineer

Upstaff LTD; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Upstaff LTD is seeking a Senior Data Science Engineer to design, develop, and scale conversational AI from pilots to production. You will focus on NLP, ML, generative AI, and deep learning to deliver reliable conversational experiences.

You will collaborate with Data Science and ML teams, shape technical strategy, and mentor junior engineers while upholding best practices across the model lifecycle and production workflows.

Qualifications

• Senior-level experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, NLP, or a related field.
• Strong experience developing and scaling NLP or conversational AI solutions.
• Solid understanding of machine learning, deep learning, and transformer-based models.
• Experience working with pre-trained language models and fine-tuning techniques.
• Experience designing and evaluating generative AI systems.
• Strong Python and SQL skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and scale conversational AI and chatbot solutions from pilot implementations to production environments.
• Analyze conversational data to identify patterns, generate insights, and provide recommendations for improving AI-driven products.
• Design and implement solutions using pre-trained language models and AI-as-a-Service platforms.
• Lead model fine-tuning, optimization, and evaluation activities using NLP and machine learning techniques.
• Design evaluation frameworks for generative AI systems, including approaches such as LLM-as-a-Judge, with a focus on quality, safety, and real-world resolution.
• Collaborate with Machine Learning Engineers to deploy, maintain, and improve models in production.
• Establish and promote best practices for NLP, conversational AI, and data science projects.
• Contribute to technical strategy and communicate data-driven recommendations to stakeholders.
• Mentor junior team members and provide technical guidance on projects.

Skills

NLP & ML expertise

Chatbot/ Conversational AI

Python

SQL

Model lifecycle management

Mentoring

Tools

Docker

Git

Pre-trained language models

Job description

• Senior Data Science Engineer with extensive experience in NLP and Machine Learning, specializing in developing and scaling conversational AI solutions.
• Expertise in architecting chatbot systems, leveraging pre-trained language models, and designing novel evaluation frameworks for generative AI using LLM-as-a-Judge approaches.
• Skilled in Python (scikit-learn, pandas, NLTK, spaCy), SQL, Docker, and production-grade ML pipelines.
• Experienced in software development best practices, model lifecycle management, and cross-functional collaboration, mentoring junior engineers, and driving innovation in AI strategy.

Role Overview

We are looking for a Senior Data Science Engineer to help design, develop, and scale conversational AI solutions from early-stage pilots to production environments.

The role focuses on Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning, generative AI, and deep learning, with an emphasis on building reliable, scalable, and high-quality conversational experiences.

The engineer will work closely with Data Science and Machine Learning teams, contribute to technical strategy and best practices, and provide technical guidance to less experienced team members.

Responsibilities

• Develop and scale conversational AI and chatbot solutions from pilot implementations to production environments.
• Analyze conversational data to identify patterns, generate insights, and provide recommendations for improving AI-driven products.
• Design and implement solutions using pre-trained language models and AI-as-a-Service platforms.
• Lead model fine-tuning, optimization, and evaluation activities using NLP and machine learning techniques.
• Design evaluation frameworks for generative AI systems, including approaches such as LLM-as-a-Judge, with a focus on quality, safety, and real-world resolution.
• Collaborate with Machine Learning Engineers to deploy, maintain, and improve models in production.
• Establish and promote best practices for NLP, conversational AI, and data science projects.
• Contribute to technical strategy and communicate data-driven recommendations to stakeholders.
• Mentor junior team members and provide technical guidance on projects.

Technologies & Tools

• AI & NLP: Natural Language Processing, Large Language Models, transformer models, generative AI, pre-trained language models
• Machine Learning: Machine learning, deep learning, model fine-tuning, optimization, evaluation
• Generative AI Evaluation: LLM-as-a-Judge and custom evaluation frameworks
• Programming & Data: Python, SQL, scikit-learn, pandas, NLTK, spaCy
• Infrastructure: Docker
• Engineering Practices: Git, testing, code reviews, model lifecycle management, production ML practices

Requirements

• Senior-level experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, NLP, or a related field.
• Strong experience developing and scaling NLP or conversational AI solutions.
• Solid understanding of machine learning, deep learning, and transformer-based models.
• Experience working with pre-trained language models and fine-tuning techniques.
• Experience designing and evaluating generative AI systems.
• Strong Python and SQL skills.
• Experience with relevant Python data science and NLP libraries.
• Understanding of production ML workflows and model lifecycle management.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to mentor engineers and contribute to technical best practices.