Preply
Senior Principal Applied AI Scientist
Part remote, part office, you need to live within commuting distance of a named location.
Hybrid · Barcelona
Employer listed it 3 weeks ago · Added yesterday
Been open since 3 weeks ago, still being checked, but it has been live a while.
Salary
Not stated
Location
Hybrid · Barcelona
Timezone
Not stated
Contract
Full-time
Experience
Lead
Category
Data
This employer didn't state pay. Jobs like this usually pay around $185k–$265k a year, a typical range taken from 158 lead-level data roles on Nomaders that do state pay. It's a guide, not an offer.
Remote flexibility
Hybrid
This role is only partly remote, the employer expects time in the office around Barcelona, Hybrid, so you need to live within commuting distance.
What the employer says
- Source listing states candidate location: "Barcelona, Hybrid"
- Listing mentions "Hybrid"
What Nomaders makes of it
- Not suitable if you plan to move between countries
The quotes above are the employer's own words; the reading is ours. Always check the original listing and employment terms before working from another country.
About the role
We power people’s progress.
At Preply, we’re all about creating life-changing learning experiences. We help people discover the magic of the perfect tutor, craft a personalised learning journey, and stay motivated to keep growing. Our approach is human-led, tech-enabled - and it’s creating real impact.
We’ve just reached unicorn status with a $150M Series D, accelerating our vision to transform education through human-led, AI-enhanced learning. Today, 100,000+ tutors teach 90+ languages to learners in 180 countries - and we’re only getting started. As a category-defining company, we’re shaping what the future of learning looks like at global scale.
Every Preply lesson sparks change, fuels ambition, and drives progress that matters. Joining Preply means helping define the future of education at global scale, and building something that truly matters for millions of people, every day.
As a Senior Principal Applied AI Scientist, you will lead the development of AI-driven personalized learning solutions and shape Preply's scientific roadmap. Collaborating with a team of exceptional scientists and engineers, you will architect state-of-the-art models and systems that enhance the experiences of millions of learners worldwide. With a high level of autonomy and influence, you will report directly to the VP of Data and Applied AI, playing a pivotal role in setting the direction of our most ambitious AI initiatives.
What you’ll be doing:
Innovative R&D: Leverage your extensive experience in Deep learning, NLP, Information Retrieval (IR), LLMs and multimodal AI to design and deploy scalable machine learning solutions for personalized learning and intelligent tutor systems.
Scientific leadership: Develop long-term scientific roadmaps, aligning them with Preply’s product strategy and business goals. Act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on investments, technology direction, and organizational planning.
Cross-functional collaboration: Partner closely with applied science leaders, product managers, and engineering teams to deliver AI solutions that address user needs and unlock new business opportunities.
Mentorship & knowledge sharing: Guide and mentor scientists and engineers, fostering a collaborative and innovative science community within Preply.
Drive best practices: Establish and advocate for best practices in machine learning, including architecture design, research roadmaps, and deployment pipelines.
What you need to succeed:
Academic and professional background:
PhD in NLP, IR, Machine Learning, or related fields (or equivalent experience).
8+ years of industry experience, with a strong focus on deep learning-based NLP, LLM continuous pre-training, and IR methods.
Scientific and technical expertise:
Demonstrated expertise in retrieval models and extensive experience with ranking models.
Strong understanding and experience with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and LLMs for real-world applications.
Proficiency in deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud).
Leadership & impact:
Proven ability to lead scientific roadmaps across multiple product areas, aligning them with business objectives while collaborating with Product and Engineering.
Track record of solving real-world problems throughout the entire product lifecycle, from research to production.
Visionary mindset:
Requirements
The employer hasn't listed requirements separately, they're described in the role summary above and on the original listing.
Benefits
No benefits package published with this listing. Ask about it at first interview.
How to apply
- 1Check the flexibility label above, hybrid, matches where you plan to live and work.
- 2Tailor your CV to the role at Preply, mentioning your remote working experience.
- 3Apply directly on the employer's careers page using the button below. Nomaders never handles your application.
Found 1d ago. Last checked today. Always confirm the details on the original posting, salary and location can change after publication.
Listing sourced from Company boards.
Similar roles
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Free to apply, no account needed.
Typically $185k–$265k · You'll be taken to the employer's careers page.