Lead Research Scientist

Company Description

We're seeking an accomplished Lead Research Scientist with extensive experience (15+ years) in Generative AI and applied machine learning, who combines deep technical expertise with hands-on development and strategic leadership. This role requires guiding technical decisions, fostering innovation, and ensuring high-quality solutions that align with organizational goals-while actively contributing to coding, experimentation, and model development. The ideal candidate is a visionary thinker, an effective communicator, and a collaborative leader who can bridge research and production.

What You'll Bring

• Expertise in Generative AI: Deep knowledge of LLMs (e.g., GPT, Claude, Gemini), fine-tuning techniques, and prompt engineering.

• Applied ML Skills: Hands-on experience with semantic search, vector databases (FAISS, Weaviate, Pinecone), hallucination detection, summarization, and model evaluation.

• Strong Coding Ability: Proficiency in Python and ML libraries such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and scikit-learn, with a willingness to contribute directly to development.

• Solid ML Foundation: Expertise in experimentation, feature engineering, and hypothesis-driven problem-solving.

• Technical Leadership: Ability to guide architecture and design decisions, set priorities, and ensure alignment with strategic goals.

• Road-to-Production Knowledge: Understanding of deployment pipelines, scalability, and operationalization of ML models for production environments.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Skilled at translating complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights for non-technical audiences, influencing decisions, and building consensus across diverse stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Technical Direction: Define and drive the technical roadmap for Generative AI and ML initiatives.

• Hands-On Development: Actively contribute to coding, prototyping, and model development alongside the team.

• Mentor and Guide: Coach senior and junior researchers, fostering skill development and knowledge sharing.

• Ensure Quality: Oversee solution design and implementation, ensuring robustness, scalability, and adherence to best practices.

• Facilitate Collaboration: Lead technical conversations across teams, aligning research goals with product and engineering requirements.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Represent the research team in strategic discussions, communicate decisions, and manage expectations.

• Production Readiness: Ensure research outputs are designed for deployment, collaborating with engineering teams on integration and scalability.

• Innovation Leadership: Identify emerging trends, evaluate new technologies, and champion innovative approaches.

Qualifications

• Visionary Leadership: Ability to set a clear technical direction, inspire the team, and foster a culture of innovation and excellence.

• Strategic Influence: Skill in aligning research initiatives with organizational priorities and influencing decisions at all levels.

• Quality-First Mindset: Commitment to delivering robust, scalable, and maintainable solutions through best practices and rigorous reviews.

• Collaborative Spirit: Proven success in building strong cross-functional relationships and driving consensus among diverse stakeholders.

• Clear Communication: Exceptional ability to simplify complex technical concepts into actionable insights for both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Forward Thinking: Anticipate emerging trends, identify opportunities, and proactively shape the roadmap for future research and production readiness.

Additional Information

Enjoy a flexible and rewarding work environment with peer-to-peer recognition platforms.

• Recharge and revitalize with help of wellness plans made for you and your family.
• Plan your future with financial wellness tools.
• Stay relevant and upskill yourself with career development opportunities

Our Benefits

• Flexible working environment
• Volunteer time off
• LinkedIn Learning
• Employee-Assistance-Program (EAP)

About NIQ

NIQ is the world's leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. In 2023, NIQ combined with GfK, bringing together the two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights-delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms-NIQ delivers the Full View. NIQ is an Advent International portfolio company with operations in 100+ markets, covering more than 90% of the world's population.

For more information, visit NIQ.com

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Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At NIQ, we are steadfast in our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace that mirrors the rich diversity of the communities and markets we serve. We believe that embracing a wide range of perspectives drives innovation and excellence. All employment decisions at NIQ are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. We invite individuals who share our dedication to inclusivity and equity to join us in making a meaningful impact. To learn more about our ongoing efforts in diversity and inclusion, please visit the