Remote Lead AI Research Scientist — Drive Breakthrough ML

Placements24; Johannesburg; Hybrid; ZAR 2,000,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Highly competitive salary

Health insurance

Flexible working hours

Professional development allowances

Full remote role

Job summary

Placements24 in South Africa seeks a Lead AI Research Scientist to helm a fully remote team tackling state-of-the-art AI, ML, DL, NLP, and computer vision. You will define research roadmaps, design advanced algorithms, and drive the deployment of cutting-edge AI solutions from home.

The ideal candidate holds a PhD, 7+ years of publication-backed research, and strong leadership. You will mentor researchers, collaborate with distributed engineers, publish findings, and help shape the AI research

Qualifications

• PhD in CS/AI/ML or related field.
• 7+ years of research experience with a strong publication record.
• Proven experience leading research teams and projects.
• Deep expertise in ML, DL (CNNs, RNNs, Transformers).
• Proficiency in Python and ML frameworks TensorFlow/PyTorch.
• Experience with large-scale data processing and distributed computing.
• Strong theoretical understanding of AI fundamentals and math.
• Excellent problem-solving and innovation.
• Outstanding communication and collaboration, remote work experience.
• Experience in NLP, computer vision, or reinforcement learning valued.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor AI/ML researchers and engineers to define and execute research objectives.
• Design and implement novel AI algorithms and models.
• Research emerging AI technologies and their applications.
• Collaborate with product teams to translate breakthroughs into deployable AI solutions.
• Publish findings in top AI conferences and journals; contribute to patents.
• Develop and maintain robust experimental frameworks for evaluating AI models.
• Stay at the cutting edge of AI research and identify opportunities.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of the AI research division.
• Communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Skills

AI research leadership

Machine learning

Deep learning

NLP

Computer vision

Python

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Distributed computing

Mathematics

Communication

Education

PhD in CS/AI/ML

Tools

Python

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Job description

Placements24 in South Africa seeks a Lead AI Research Scientist to helm a fully remote team tackling state-of-the-art AI, ML, DL, NLP, and computer vision. You will define research roadmaps, design advanced algorithms, and drive the deployment of cutting-edge AI solutions from home.

The ideal candidate holds a PhD, 7+ years of publication-backed research, and strong leadership. You will mentor researchers, collaborate with distributed engineers, publish findings, and help shape the AI research