AI Research Scientist - Natural Language Processing

Placements24; Durban; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and research grant

Comprehensive health coverage

Conference travel funding

Hybrid work arrangement

Access to cutting-edge computation and

Job summary

Placements24 is recruiting on behalf of a pioneering AI and Emerging Technologies lab in Durban for an AI Research Scientist specializing in NLP. You will conduct groundbreaking research, develop novel algorithms, and publish findings in top-tier venues.

You will collaborate with leading researchers and engineers, work with advanced computational resources, and contribute to deploying NLP systems that understand and generate human language.

Qualifications

• PhD in CS, computational linguistics, or related field with NLP focus.
• Strong publication record in top NLP/AI conferences (ACL, EMNLP, NeurIPS).
• Expertise with deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch and NLP libraries.
• Proficient in Python with strong software development skills.
• Solid understanding of statistical methods and modern NLP techniques.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a Durban research environment.

Responsibilities

• Conduct cutting-edge NLP research (text generation, sentiment analysis, MT, IE).
• Develop and prototype novel NLP models using deep learning techniques.
• Implement and evaluate research ideas; publish papers and internal reports.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to translate research breakthroughs into deployable AI products and features.
• Analyze large-scale text datasets to identify trends and opportunities for innovation.
• Stay current with the latest academic research and industry trends in NLP and AI.

Skills

NLP

Deep learning

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Hugging Face

Python

ML research

Academic publications

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science or related field (NLP)

Tools

Hugging Face Transformers

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a pioneer in AI and Emerging Technologies , is seeking a brilliant AI Research Scientist specializing in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to join their innovative research lab in Durban . You will conduct groundbreaking research, develop novel algorithms, and publish findings in top-tier scientific venues. This role is ideal for a candidate passionate about pushing the frontiers of NLP, contributing to the development of intelligent systems that understand and generate human language. You will work in a collaborative environment with leading researchers and engineers, utilizing advanced computational resources to explore new AI paradigms and their applications, enhancing the technological landscape of KwaZulu-Natal .

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct cutting-edge research in areas of Natural Language Processing, including text generation, sentiment analysis, machine translation, and information extraction.
• Develop and prototype novel NLP models and algorithms using deep learning techniques.
• Implement and evaluate research ideas, contributing to academic publications and internal technical reports.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to translate research breakthroughs into deployable AI products and features.
• Analyze large-scale text datasets to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for innovation.
• Stay current with the latest academic research and industry trends in NLP and AI.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, or a related field with a strong focus on NLP.
• Demonstrated track record of research publications in top NLP/AI conferences (e.g., ACL, EMNLP, NeurIPS).
• Expertise in deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch and libraries relevant to NLP (e.g., Hugging Face Transformers).
• Proficiency in programming languages like Python, with strong software development skills.
• Solid understanding of statistical methods, machine learning, and modern NLP techniques.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a research-intensive environment in Durban .

Benefits

• Competitive salary and research grant opportunities.
• Comprehensive health coverage and retirement plan.
• Generous funding for conference travel and research publications.
• Hybrid work arrangement offering flexibility for research and collaboration.
• Access to world-class research facilities and cutting-edge computational infrastructure.