Lead the research vision for a high-impact European technology initiative, shaping both scientific direction and technical execution across AI, machine learning, and data science. This role combines hands-on research leadership with strategic team building, requiring deep technical expertise and the ability to translate discovery into deployable systems.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and maintain the organization’s research roadmap, ensuring alignment with product goals and cross-team technical synergies.
- Recruit, mentor, and manage a growing team of researchers, data scientists, and research engineers.
- Conduct foundational research in areas such as speech recognition, machine translation, multimodal reasoning, visual analysis, knowledge graphs, and temporal or statistical modeling.
- Develop and lead external R&D initiatives, including grant applications, public tenders, and collaborative consortia with academic and industrial partners.
- Institute rigorous research practices: reproducible workflows, benchmarking frameworks, experiment tracking, and model documentation.
- Bridge research and production by delivering robust, adoption-ready solutions—not just prototypes or publications.
- Represent the organization in technical engagements with government bodies, research institutions, industry groups, and funding agencies.
- Collaborate with legal and leadership teams to shape intellectual property and dissemination strategies.
- Work closely with platform, insights, innovation, and customer-facing teams to ensure research relevance and integration.
- Coach senior researchers in technical communication, scientific rigor, and cross-functional influence.
Qualifications
Applicants must have at least eight years of experience in applied AI/ML or deep technical R&D, with three or more years in leadership roles overseeing research programs or cross-functional technical initiatives. A strong mathematical foundation in machine learning is essential, along with expert-level Python and hands-on experience developing models using PyTorch and CUDA.
Proven experience in distributed training environments—using tools like Ray or Horovod—and multi-GPU workflows is required. Candidates should demonstrate a track record of designing evaluations, constructing benchmarks, and ensuring reproducibility in experimental research.
Experience must span at least one of the following domains: natural language processing, speech/audio analysis, computer vision, multimodal systems, knowledge graphs, temporal reasoning, or statistical modeling on structured data. A history of delivering tangible outcomes—such as deployed systems, patents, or influential prototypes—is expected.
Applicants must have contributed to winning collaborative R&D proposals, grants, or public tenders and possess strong technical writing skills for proposals, work packages, and scientific narratives. The role demands a hands-on, player-coach mindset with high technical standards and low ego.
Eligibility to work in Germany is required. Fluency in German (C1 or higher) and experience operating in German or EU public-sector research environments are essential.
Preferred Background
- Publications in peer-reviewed venues, open-source contributions, or a recognized technical reputation.
- Direct experience with EU research programs such as Horizon Europe, EDF, DIANA, or EUDIS.
- Background in defense, law enforcement, geospatial analysis, or intelligence-related fields.
- Familiarity with ML deployment tools like Triton, KServe, or MLflow.
- Established relationships with universities, research and technology organizations (RTOs), prime contractors, SMEs, or European innovation networks.
Technical Environment
Python, PyTorch, CUDA, Ray, Horovod, multi-GPU training, Triton, KServe, MLflow
Work Environment
Remote-first within Germany, with occasional in-person gatherings in Berlin. The role supports flexible working arrangements while maintaining strong collaboration across distributed teams.
Culture & Impact
The organization prioritizes technical excellence, real-world application of research, and cross-functional cooperation. Work is guided by public-interest objectives and the development of sovereign European technology. Researchers are expected to operate at the frontier of AI while ensuring their work translates into operational capabilities.
