AI Research Scientist - Natural Language Processing

Placements24; South Africa; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,600,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Research grant

Health benefits

Professional development

Hybrid work

Job summary

WhatJobs Direct is seeking an innovative AI Research Scientist specializing in Natural Language Processing (NLP) for a client based in Pretoria. This hybrid role blends independent research with team collaboration and aims to push the boundaries of NLP technology in real-world challenges.

The ideal candidate holds a Ph.D. or Master’s in CS/Computational Linguistics or AI, with strong NLP research and publications (ACL/EMNLP/NeurIPS).

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master’s with strong NLP research focus.
• Publications in ACL/EMNLP/NeurIPS indicate research impact.
• Strong theoretical and practical NLP with deep learning.
• Proficiency with Python and DL frameworks (PyTorch or TensorFlow).
• Experience with NLP libraries (Hugging Face, spaCy, NLTK).
• Ability to work with large text corpora and data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Conduct fundamental and applied NLP research across text generation, sentiment analysis, MT, and QA.
• Develop novel NLP algorithms and models using deep learning techniques (Transformers, RNNs, CNNs).
• Design experiments to evaluate NLP models and publish findings.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to productionize research prototypes.
• Stay current with NLP/AI research and publish results.

Skills

NLP research

Transformers

Python

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Publications

Education

PhD in CS/Computational Linguistics/AI

Master's degree (acceptable)

Tools

Hugging Face Transformers

spaCy

NLTK

Job description

About the Role

WhatJobs Direct is seeking an innovative AI Research Scientist specializing in Natural Language Processing (NLP) for our client based in Pretoria. This role is perfect for a candidate passionate about pushing the boundaries of NLP technology and applying it to real-world challenges. You will be involved in cutting-edge research, algorithm development, and prototyping of advanced NLP models. Working within a highly collaborative environment in Pretoria, Gauteng, you will contribute to groundbreaking projects that leverage language understanding and generation. The ideal candidate possesses a strong academic background, significant research experience, and a desire to translate theoretical advancements into practical AI solutions. This hybrid role offers a dynamic blend of independent research and team collaboration.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct fundamental and applied research in Natural Language Processing, including areas like text generation, sentiment analysis, machine translation, and question answering.
• Develop novel NLP algorithms and models using deep learning techniques (e.g., Transformers, RNNs, CNNs).
• Design and implement experiments to evaluate the performance of NLP models.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to integrate research prototypes into production systems.
• Stay current with the latest research trends and publications in NLP and AI.
• Publish research findings in top-tier academic conferences and journals.
• Analyze large text datasets to extract insights and identify patterns.
• Contribute to the development of intellectual property through patents and publications.
• Mentor junior researchers and contribute to the team's knowledge sharing.
• Present research findings to technical and non-technical audiences.

Requirements

• Ph.D. or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field with a strong research focus on NLP.
• Demonstrated research experience in NLP, evidenced by publications in leading conferences (e.g., ACL, EMNLP, NeurIPS).
• Strong theoretical understanding and practical experience with deep learning models for NLP.
• Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Experience with NLP libraries (e.g., Hugging Face Transformers, spaCy, NLTK).
• Ability to work with large text corpora and perform data analysis.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in an academic or industry research lab setting.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, hybrid team environment.

Benefits

• Our client offers a competitive salary, a generous research grant, and comprehensive health benefits.
• Employees benefit from extensive professional development opportunities, including funding for conferences and workshops.
• The hybrid work model in Pretoria provides flexibility, combining productive in-office collaboration with remote work convenience.
• Access to state-of-the-art research facilities and high-performance computing resources is provided.
• We foster an environment of intellectual curiosity and offer unique opportunities to contribute to high-impact AI research.
• Additional benefits include a wellness program and performance-based incentives.
• Join us to shape the future of language understanding.