Principal NLP Scientist - Generative AI

Placements24; Durban; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Performance bonus

Remote work flexibility

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking an exceptional Principal NLP Scientist with deep Generative AI expertise to join our advanced research team. Based in Durban or remote, you will lead cutting-edge NLP research, design state-of-the-art generative models, and collaborate with engineering to deploy prototypes at scale.

You will mentor junior researchers, publish in top venues, and shape the long-term NLP roadmap while staying at the forefront of LLM innovations in a globally connected environment.

Qualifications

• PhD with a strong NLP/ML publication track record.
• Significant experience leading NLP/Generative AI research projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead research in NLP and Generative AI with focus on LLMs.
• Design, develop, and fine-tune state-of-the-art generative models (Transformers, GPT variants).
• Explore text generation, summarization, translation, and dialogue systems.
• Publish findings in top-tier venues; contribute to the scientific community.
• Collaborate with engineering to deploy prototypes into production.
• Mentor junior scientists and engineers; provide technical guidance.
• Evaluate model performance and drive continuous improvement.
• Stay current with advances in NLP, LLMs, and AI research.
• Define research roadmaps and contribute to long-term NLP strategy.

Skills

NLP Research

Generative AI

Transformers

PyTorch

Distributed training

Academic publishing

Mentoring

Education

PhD in CS/AI/Computational Linguistics

Tools

Hugging Face Transformers

spaCy

NLTK

Job description

About the Role Our client, a frontrunner in the AI & Emerging Technologies space, is looking for an exceptional Principal NLP Scientist with a deep specialization in Generative AI to join their advanced research team. This role, based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, will involve leading groundbreaking research and development efforts in natural language processing, focusing on creating sophisticated generative models. You will be at the forefront of innovation, exploring novel techniques to build next-generation AI systems capable of understanding, generating, and interacting with human language in unprecedented ways. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of conversational AI and large language models within a highly influential organization, working alongside some of the brightest minds in the field. The position demands a blend of strong theoretical knowledge, practical implementation skills, and strategic vision.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead research initiatives in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Generative AI, with a focus on Large Language Models (LLMs).
• Design, develop, and fine-tune state-of-the-art generative models (e.g., Transformers, GPT variants, diffusion models for text).
• Explore and implement novel approaches for text generation, summarization, translation, and dialogue systems.
• Conduct cutting-edge research, publish findings in top-tier conferences and journals, and contribute to the scientific community.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to integrate research prototypes into production systems.
• Mentor junior scientists and engineers, providing technical guidance and fostering their growth.
• Evaluate and benchmark model performance, identifying areas for improvement and innovation.
• Stay current with the latest advancements in NLP, LLMs, and AI research.
• Define research roadmaps and contribute to the long-term strategic vision for NLP within the organization.

Requirements

• PhD in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field, with a strong publication record in NLP/ML/AI.
• Minimum of 10 years of research experience in NLP, with a significant focus on generative models and LLMs.
• Proven track record of leading research projects from conception to completion.
• Deep theoretical understanding and practical experience with transformer architectures, attention mechanisms, and other deep learning models for NLP.
• Expertise in frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow, and libraries such as Hugging Face Transformers, spaCy, or NLTK.
• Experience with large-scale data processing and distributed training techniques.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex research ideas effectively.
• Experience mentoring junior researchers is a plus.

Benefits

This fully remote position offers a highly competitive salary, comprehensive health benefits, and a generous performance bonus structure. Employees benefit from significant investment in professional development, access to world-class computational resources, and the opportunity to publish groundbreaking research. You will have the flexibility to work from anywhere, fostering an exceptional work-life balance while contributing to impactful AI innovations. This role is designed for individuals seeking to make a significant impact in the field of Generative AI from the comfort of their own location.