AI Researcher - Natural Language Processing

Placements24; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Conference travel

Relocation assistance

Research infrastructure

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Placements24 in South Africa is seeking an accomplished AI Researcher specializing in NLP to advance state‑of‑the‑art language technologies in Paarl, Western Cape.

You will lead original NLP research, develop deep learning models (Transformers, LSTMs, CNNs), and publish results in top conferences while collaborating with engineers to translate findings into product features.

Applicants should hold a PhD or Master’s with 5+ years of NLP experience and a strong publication record.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master’s with a strong NLP focus.
• 5+ years of NLP research experience.
• Publications in ACL/EMNLP/NeurIPS or equivalent.
• Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks.
• Experience with Transformers, LSTMs, and CNNs.

Responsibilities

• Conduct original NLP research across text generation, sentiment analysis, translation, and information extraction.
• Develop and implement novel NLP models with deep learning architectures.
• Experiment with and fine-tune large language models for tasks.
• Analyze large text datasets and identify key features.
• Collaborate with engineers to integrate research into products.
• Evaluate model performance with quantitative and qualitative analyses.
• Stay updated on NLP/AI research trends and publish results.
• Mentor junior researchers and interns in NLP techniques.
• Contribute to strategic NLP direction within the company.

Skills

NLP Research

Deep Learning

Transformers

Python

Academic Publishing

Education

PhD or Master’s (CS/AI/Computational Linguistics)

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Hugging Face

Job description

About the Role

Our client is seeking a highly skilled and innovative AI Researcher specializing in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to join their dedicated research division in Paarl, Western Cape. This role is focused on advancing the state-of-the-art in NLP, developing novel algorithms and models for understanding, interpreting, and generating human language. You will contribute to cutting-edge projects that aim to solve complex communication challenges and enhance intelligent systems. The ideal candidate possesses a deep theoretical understanding of NLP techniques, including deep learning for language, and has a strong publication record. This is an exceptional opportunity to work in a research-intensive environment, collaborating with leading experts and pushing the boundaries of AI. You will be instrumental in developing next-generation language technologies that drive innovation across various applications.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct original research in Natural Language Processing, including areas such as text generation, sentiment analysis, machine translation, and information extraction.
• Develop and implement novel NLP models and algorithms, particularly using deep learning architectures.
• Experiment with and fine-tune large language models (LLMs) for specific tasks.
• Process and analyze large volumes of text data, identifying key features and patterns.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to integrate NLP research findings into product features.
• Evaluate the performance of NLP models and conduct rigorous quantitative and qualitative analyses.
• Stay abreast of the latest academic research and industry trends in NLP and AI.
• Publish research in top-tier NLP and AI conferences and journals.
• Mentor junior researchers and interns in NLP techniques.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of NLP research within the organization.

Requirements

• Ph.D. or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field with a strong focus on NLP.
• 5+ years of dedicated research experience in Natural Language Processing.
• Proven track record of publications in leading NLP/AI conferences (e.g., ACL, EMNLP, NeurIPS).
• Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Strong understanding of classical NLP techniques and modern deep learning models for language (e.g., Transformers, LSTMs, CNNs).
• Experience with NLP libraries and toolkits (e.g., Hugging Face Transformers, spaCy, NLTK).
• Experience handling and preprocessing large text datasets.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a research team.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary and research grants.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous paid time off and holiday schedule.
• Funding for conference travel and professional development.
• Access to state-of-the-art computing resources and research infrastructure.
• Collaborative and intellectually stimulating research environment.
• Retirement savings plan with company matching.
• Opportunities for career growth and leadership in AI research.
• Relocation assistance available.
• Employee wellness programs.