Lead Research Scientist - LLM

There are NO limits to your career: come shape the future and be part of a truly unique global culture at OutSystems!

About This Role

We are seeking a Research Scientist specializing in Large Language Models to drive innovation and develop cutting-edge AI solutions, particularly in code generation and understanding. You will engage in applied research and practical applications, collaborating with cross-functional teams to integrate advanced LLM capabilities into our products.

Key Responsibilities

• Model Training: Design and implement scalable training pipelines for LLMs, focusing on code generation and comprehension tasks.​

• Reinforcement Learning for LLMs: Utilize Reinforcement Learning (RL) methodologies to enhance LLMs, specifically by training/fine-tuning for improved reasoning and alignment, and by adapting code generation models to perform better on new or domain-specific programming languages.

• Model Evaluation: Develop robust evaluation frameworks to assess model performance using both automated metrics and human feedback.​

• Research and Development: Advance LLM capabilities in code generation and comprehension by exploring and implementing state-of-the-art techniques, ensuring models generate accurate, efficient, and contextually relevant code.​

• Collaboration: Work with engineering and product teams to translate research into real-world applications.​

• Knowledge Sharing: Publish findings in reputable conferences and contribute to the AI research community.​

What You Need To Succeed

• LLM Development: Proven experience in training, fine-tuning, and deploying large language models, particularly for code generation and comprehension tasks.​

• Reinforcement Learning Application: Demonstrated experience applying Reinforcement Learning techniques (e.g., RLHF, PPO, RLAIF) to train or fine-tune large language models, specifically for improving reasoning, alignment, or adapting models to new domains/tasks like novel programming languages.

• Machine Learning Expertise: Strong foundation in machine learning principles, with hands-on experience in deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and JAX.​

• Programming Proficiency: Advanced coding skills in Python, with the ability to develop end-to-end prototypes, including data engineering, data analysis, and algorithm implementation.​

• Data Processing: Experience with data processing platforms like Apache Spark or Ray for efficient handling of large datasets.​

• Problem-Solving and Innovation: Creative, ambitious, and curious mindset with a resourceful and innovative approach to tackling complex challenges.​

Qualifications

• Educational Background: Ph.D. or M.Sc. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or related technical fields.​

• Professional Experience: A combined total of 10+ years of experience in applied machine learning roles, encompassing both academic research (such as Ph.D. studies and postdoctoral research) and industry positions. Within this, at least 2 years of experience focused on large language models (LLMs) is preferred.

• Specialized Knowledge: Deep expertise in deep learning architectures, neural networks, sequence models, and natural language processing, and reinforcement learning techniques applied to NLP/LLMs.

• Technical Proficiency: Extensive experience with machine learning and deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and JAX; familiarity with data processing tools like Apache Spark and Ray; and proficiency with model optimization libraries like DeepSpeed. Experience implementing and experimenting with RL algorithms for LLM training is highly desirable.

• Production Experience (Preferred): Experience deploying large language models in production environments, ensuring scalability and reliability, is a plus.​

• LLMs for Code (Preferred): Experience with machine learning and LLMs applied to code generation and comprehension is advantageous.​

• Strong Publication Record (Preferred): A publication record at top ML and/or NLP conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, …) is a big plus.

The Longer Story:

Working at OutSystems

Our goal is to ensure that OutSystems is a place for bright, happy, and motivated people who share a common purpose and take pride in doing excellent work to pursue our vision of providing the AI-powered low-code development platform enterprise leaders trust to build, secure, and evolve their business applications, agents, and core systems. Our culture is focused on our core values of trust, customer success, innovation, and alignment. Our team members operate with transparency, integrity, and accountability, define success through the lens of the outcomes we deliver for our customers, push the boundaries with excellence, and work together toward our shared vision to deliver on what matters most.

What do we have to offer you?

• A company that is always growing, changing, and innovating. We challenge each other to innovate in our products, in our team, and how we use our own technology. And we give our teams space to be proactive and creative.

• Real career opportunities. We care about growth and development. Yes, vertical career progression is a possibility, but it's not the only one. From lateral moves and joining different teams to mastering specialized skills, we support your growth no matter what your goals are.

• Work colleagues that are as smart, hard-working, and driven as you. We act as one global OutSystems team, taking ownership and working together toward a shared vision.

• Disrupting the status quo is in our DNA. In fact, it’s why our company exists.

• We ask “why” a lot. It helps us connect our individual work to the bigger picture and sometimes even uncover a better way.

Are you ready for the next step in your career? Then we’d love to hear from you!

OutSystems nurtures an inclusive culture of diversity, where everyone feels empowered to be their authentic self and perform at their best. A company that embraces the creativity and innovation that comes through diverse perspectives. We are committed to creating a team that reflects society through inclusive programs and initiatives and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive equal consideration regardless of race, place of origin, color, age, marital status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, protected veteran status, disability status or any other status protected by law.