Principal NLP Engineer - Large Language Models

Placements24; Durban; Híbrido; ZAR 1.800.000 - 3.200.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Competitive salary package

Health insurance and benefits

Flexible remote work

Learning and development opportunities

Retirement plan and time off

Descripción de la vacante

Placements24 is seeking a highly experienced Principal NLP Engineer to join a global AI research team. The role is remote, offering the chance to shape next-generation NLP and LLM technologies across distributed platforms.

You will lead design and deployment of production-ready NLP systems, mentor engineers, and collaborate with data scientists and software engineers. A strong track record in transformer models, PyTorch or TensorFlow, and cloud delivery is essential.

Formación

• Master's or Ph.D. in CS, computational linguistics, AI, or related field.
• 10+ years of NLP experience with at least 5 years in large-scale language models.
• Expertise in PyTorch or TensorFlow and NLP libraries (Hugging Face Transformers, spaCy).
• Experience building and deploying production NLP systems.
• Strong understanding of transformer architectures and attention mechanisms.
• Proficiency in Python and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP).
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to lead projects in a remote setting.
• Publications in top NLP/AI conferences (ACL, EMNLP, NeurIPS) a plus.
• Experience working with teams in South Africa or with SA-based teams is beneficial but not mandatory.

Responsabilidades

• Lead the research, design, and implementation of advanced NLP models with a focus on LLMs.
• Develop and fine-tune state-of-the-art NLP architectures for text generation, summarization, translation, and QA.
• Drive innovation in prompts, model interpretability, and ethical AI for LLMs.
• Collaborate with engineers and data scientists to integrate NLP into production systems.
• Evaluate and benchmark NLP models for high performance and robustness.
• Stay updated with the latest NLP/AI publications and advancements.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical excellence.
• Architect robust data pipelines for training large-scale language models.
• Communicate complex ideas and project status to technical and non-technical audiences.

Conocimientos

NLP expertise

LLMs

Deep learning

Python programming

Research leadership

Educación

Master's or Ph.D. in CS/Computational Linguistics/AI

Herramientas

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Hugging Face Transformers

spaCy

AWS

GCP

Descripción del empleo

About the Role

Our client, a distinguished entity in the AI & Emerging Technologies landscape, is actively seeking a highly experienced Principal NLP Engineer to join their cutting-edge research team. This role is offered remotely, allowing talent from anywhere to contribute, but requires an individual with a strong foundation in Natural Language Processing and Large Language Models. You will be at the forefront of developing next-generation AI technologies that understand and generate human language with unprecedented accuracy and nuance. This is a unique opportunity to influence the direction of AI research and product development within a globally recognized organization. If you possess a deep passion for language, AI, and have a proven track record of innovation, we encourage you to apply. The role offers the chance to work on challenging problems with significant real-world implications.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the research, design, and implementation of advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) models, with a focus on Large Language Models (LLMs).
• Develop and fine-tune state-of-the-art NLP architectures for tasks such as text generation, summarization, translation, and question answering.
• Drive innovation in areas like prompt engineering, model interpretability, and ethical AI for LLMs.
• Collaborate with software engineers and data scientists to integrate NLP capabilities into scalable production systems.
• Evaluate and benchmark NLP models, ensuring high performance, efficiency, and robustness.
• Stay abreast of the latest research publications and advancements in the NLP and LLM fields.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to fostering a culture of technical excellence.
• Architect robust data pipelines for training and evaluating large-scale language models.
• Communicate complex technical ideas and project status effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in NLP, with at least 5 years focusing on large-scale language models.
• Expertise in deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow, and NLP libraries (e.g., Hugging Face Transformers, spaCy).
• Demonstrated experience in building and deploying production-ready NLP systems.
• Strong understanding of transformer architectures, attention mechanisms, and other LLM fundamentals.
• Proficiency in Python programming and experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP).
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to work independently and lead projects in a remote setting.
• Published research in top-tier NLP/AI conferences (e.g., ACL, EMNLP, NeurIPS) is a significant advantage.
• Prior experience working in South Africa or with teams based there is beneficial but not mandatory.

Benefits

• Our client provides a highly competitive salary package, including a generous base salary, performance bonuses, and stock options.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance are provided to all employees and their dependents.
• We offer a flexible remote work environment, allowing for a strong work-life balance.
• Opportunities for continuous learning and professional development, including access to online courses and conference attendance, are encouraged and supported.
• Employees are part of an innovative and collaborative global team, working on impactful AI projects.
• A retirement savings plan with company contributions is available.
• We also offer generous paid time off and company-wide holidays.
• This role presents a significant opportunity for career growth and leadership within the AI domain.